1859 ~ Martin Luther Lutheran Church ~ 2009
150th Anniversary
“For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their Shepard;
he will lead them to springs of living water.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:17
The Rose Window ~
High above the altar is the incredible beauty of the Rose Window. The Rose Window was made by Henry Lee Willett of Philadelphia, the son of the Mr. Willett who made the famous window in the Chapel at West Point College, and comes from a long line of glass artists.
The glass contained in this window is 13th century glass imported from Belgium, and is handmade. There are 6600 pieces of glass in the rose window, most of which were painted eighteen different times and had to be fired in a furnace after each painting. Because of its design, this window is called a rose window. The symbols in the various openings are Biblical symbols and each of them tells a story.
v In the quatre-foil (a flower with four leaves) at the top of the window a hand is pointed downwards. This hand signifies the Father.
v The hexa-foil (six leaves) in the center of the window you will see the Lamb lying in the book of seven seals and bearing the flag of victory as described in the book of Revelations. This is emblematic of the Son.
v In the lower quatre-foil is a Dove. This is to signify the Holy Spirit. Thus, we have the three Persons of the Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
v In the tre-foil (three leaves) in the lower left and lower right hand corner is a triangle with an eye in the center. The “all-seeing eye” represents the all-knowing and ever-present God. This is also another way of representing the Trinity.
The following are the four Major Prophets, representative of the Old Testament and are placed into the window in order to indicate that we believe and accept the Scriptures of the Old Testament as the Word of God.
v In the upper quatre-foil at the left side of the window is a lion. This is emblematic of the prophet Daniel.
v In the upper quatre-foil at the right side, the tongs and a saw, which represent the prophet Isaiah.
v In the lower quatre-foil at the left side, the turreted city gates, which represent the prophet Ezekiel.
v In the lower quatre-foil at the right side, the wand, which is emblematic of the prophet Jeremiah.
Around the center, in the twelve openings, there is a symbol in each. These are the symbols of the twelve apostles. They are placed here in order to indicate that we are also accept the New Testament of the Scriptures. In the heart-shaped openings at the end of each apostolic symbol right in the center is a little white flame. This is to represent the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and is put into this window in order to indicate that we believe that the Scriptures are inspired.
All the other openings of the window are leaves belonging to the rose. The leaves indicate life. Now, putting all this information together we get a theme for the Rose Window:
The Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, through the inspired Word of the Old and New Testaments, gives us everlasting Life.
Acknowledgement: The description of the Rose Window was taken from a paper prepared by
Rev. F. J.Schellhase, recorded in the 100th anniversary book of Martin Luther Lutheran Church.
Next Month: The Organ
