The Great Physician  

The Great Physician window features three scenes depicting Jesus’ healing ministry.  According to Matthew 4:23, ‘Jesus went all about Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.’  Each of the three lancets depicts scenes in which individuals of great faith were healed.  The center lancet depicts the Healing of the Palsied Man Let Down from the Roof, as mentioned in Matthew 9: 2, Mark 2: 3 and Luke 5: 18. Flanking this scene are two events described in Matthew 9:18-25, Mark 5: 22-43, Luke 8: 41- 56: the Woman of Great Faith (at left) who was healed of her chronic ailment, of which she suffered twelve years, after touching Jesus’ garment and the Raising of Jairus’ Daughter (at right).  In the upper tracery two symbols recall Jesus’ role as a physician: the cadeuses and the mortar and pestle.

This will be a Nave Window.  

The Friend of Sinners  

According to Matthew 11:19: ‘The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man of gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners.  But wisdom is justified of children.’  The three scenes depicted are The Woman of Samaria (at center) derived from John 4: 1-30, Christ Cures the Palsied Man (at left) described in Matthew 9: 1-8, Mark 2: 1-12, Luke 5: 17–26 and Christ at Supper with Simon the Pharisee (at right) as mentioned in Luke 7: 36-50.  The medallions above reinforce the theme of Jesus, Friend of Sinners.  A hand casting a stone recalls John 8:7, ‘He that is without sin among you, let him cast a stone at her.’  The olive branch, at right, is a traditional symbol that denotes peace.

This will be a Nave Window.  

Son of God

The design for the Son of God window depicts three scenes from the life of Jesus.  Each scene illustrates various aspects of Jesus’ duality as human and divine.  Featured in the central lancet is the story of Jesus among the Doctors, the first recorded example of Christ’s teaching.  A twelve-year old Jesus stands in the foreground surrounded by the Temple elders, who listen intently as the boy engages in learned debate.  In his hands, Jesus holds a scroll symbolizing the Old Law and the Gospels.  In the background, Mary and Joseph, who had been searching for him, stand at the Temple entrance.  At left, the scene of Jesus in the Carpenter Shop depicts Joseph instructing his faithful son the trade of carpentry. Jesus’ Temptation, the forty days and forty nights Jesus spent in the desert, tempted by then devil, is recalled in the lancet at right.  The upper symbols include a lamb with a tri-radiant nimbus- the Agnus Dei or Lamb of God and an oil lamp revealing a cloven flame of fire, symbolizing the inspiring word of God.

This will be a Nave Window.  

Sacraments  

This double lancet window will depict the familiar symbols of the Holy Eucharist.  At left, wheat and a loaf of bread represent the body of Christ.  The chalice and grapes at right represent the blood of Christ.

St. Paul (Gifted) 

Paul has been depicted at center; his right hand baring his object of martyrdom- the sword and in his left a book, referencing his role as the author of the Epistles.  Below, his emblem, the Spiritus Gladius or sword of the Spirit, derived from Ephesians 6: 17: ‘that which the spirit give you’ and his martyrdom. Scenes to the left and right of Paul illustrate Paul’s Conversion on the Road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9) and St. Paul Imprisoned at Philippi (Acts 16: 16-26).  In the tracery above, a threaded needle before a tent references Paul’s profession as a tentmaker.  According to Acts 18:3, Paul lodged with the couple Aquilla and Priscilla.  Sharing the same profession as Paul, the trio worked together during his stay in Corinth.  Here, Paul Christianized the pair and wrote the book of Galatians and the Epistle to the Romans.  At left a rayed Latin cross symbolizes the shield of Faith.

St. Peter  (Gifted) 

Peter is shown holding the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, one gold the other, silver.  At his feet the church stands on a rock, referencing Matthew 16: 18-24, “You are Peter, the Rock; and on this rock I will build my church . . . I will give you the keys of Heaven.”  To the left, Christ calls the fisherman Andrew and Peter to ‘come follow me’ (Mark 1: 16-18) at right, Peter’s unsuccessful attempt to follow Christ across the water (Matt. 14: 22-33).  Familiar symbols of St. Peter have been depicted in the tracery.  At left, an inverted Latin cross recalls the martyrdom of Peter following his imprisonment and torture under the Roman Emperor Nero, in 64 BC.  So as not to imitate his mentor Christ, the humble apostle Peter, by his own wish, requested he be nailed to an inverted cross. (Acts 12:1-11)  The cock, a reminder of the fulfillment of Christ’s prophesy that Peter will deny him, references Mark 14: 66-72.  Three times Peter denied knowing Christ, and each time a cock crew.  Peter, upon realizing Christ’s earlier prophesy had been fulfilled, burst into tears.

Psalm 23 (Gifted)

The single lancet 23rd Psalm window design presents Christ as the Good Shepherd, standing before us in a pastoral field.  Above him are the last lines of the Psalm, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”

Old Testament  

The tracery of the Old Testament window depicts the story of the Creation of Heaven and Earth as described in Genesis I. The upper most panel features the Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek Alphabet, signifying that Christ is the beginning and the end of all things. Directly below, we find the Agnus Dei, or Lamb of God and the dove of the Holy Spirit as it descends from Heaven.  Seven scenes follow, each illustrating particular moments as the heavens and the earth were brought into existence. All seven days of creation have been represented:  the sun, moon and stars; the sky of morning and evening; the earth and its bountiful vegetation; swarms of living creatures including the winged birds, fish and wild creatures such as the giraffe; and finally humankind- male and female, living souls, created in his image.

The Old Testament theme continues with events described in the books of Genesis, Jonah, and Ruth.  Moving counter clockwise, Beginning with the left panel of the predella, and moving counter-clockwise, is the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3), Noah and his Ark (Genesis 7), Ruth and Boaz (Ruth 2-4), David the Psalmist- the shepherd boy who became king, Jonah and the Great Fish (Jonah 1), Moses Receiving the Law, Moses Crossing the Red Sea, and finally Abraham and the Three Angels (Genesis 18: 1-19).

New Testament  

The four lower panels of the predella feature Jesus’ Last Supper, as mentioned in Matt. 26: 17-29, Mark 14: 12-25; Luke 22: 7-23 and John 13: 21-30.  The imagery, which depicts the final meal Jesus shared with his disciples before his arrest, has been executed in a Renaissance manner, echoing Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, located in Milan, Italy.

New Testament Top  

The tracery of the New Testament window designed for the Episcopal Church of Saint Peter and Paul, Marietta Georgia, will depict imagery from the apocalyptic Book of Revelation.  An image of the descending dove, symbolizing the Holy Spirit, is featured in the upper most panel.  Jesus Christ, ‘the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of earth’ has been represented by two of the earliest symbols employed in Christian art: the Agnus Dei seen lying upon the Book of Seven Seals and the ancient monogram of a cross superimposed above the first and last letters of the Greek Alphabet, Alpha and Omega, signifying that he is the beginning and the ending.  Next, we find the Chi Rho placed before an image of the earth surrounded in clouds.   The central panel features a winged angel flanked by clouds, beneath a rainbow.  This trio suggests Revelation 10: 1, ‘And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire.’ Next, the ‘pure river of water of life’ surrounds the Tree of Life, taken from Revelation 22: 2, baring twelve fruits and leaves for the healing of nations.  Finally, the four winged creatures mentioned in the fourth chapter of Revelation- the winged man, the winged lion, the winged calf and the eagle- each placed before an open book, signify the Four Evangelists.