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Church Symbols

 		Epworth United Methodist Church, Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors, Collage

Church Symbols - What Do They Really Mean?

By Rita Green

We will be calling your attention to some of the meaningful symbols around our church, so that we can all become more familiar with the importance of these symbols as well as their beauty.

Graphic bulletThe Cross and Flame
Graphic bulletThe Symbol of the Fish
Graphic bulletThe Cross and Flame
Graphic bulletChristian Flag
Graphic bulletChrismons
Graphic bulletLenten and Easter Symbols
Graphic bulletThe Cross
Graphic bulletThe Altar
Graphic bulletColors for the Christian Year
Graphic bulletThe Story of the Nativity

THE CROSS AND FLAME

with text excerpted from Multiply God's Love: A United Methodist Handbook

United Methodism's Official Symbol is the cross and flame. Animated Cross and Flame It has been in use nearly three decades and is seen in cities, towns and rural areas at every point on the globe. The insignia is a cross linked with a dual flame. This symbol relates our church to God by way of the second and third persons of the Trinity: the Christ (cross) and the Holy Spirit (flame). The flames suggests Pentecost when witnesses saw "tongues as of fire." And the duality of the flame was meant to represent the merger in 1968 of two denominations: The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church.

If you take a look at the masthead for Epworth Matters on the cover, you will see that the cross and flame figure prominently as a part of Epworth's identification!

THE SYMBOL OF THE FISH

(Adapted from New Invitation, 1996)

Red Fish Symbol on Blue BackgroundEarly Christians were punished for being Christian. A secret symbol was used to let other Christians know who they were. That secret symbol was a fish. The five letters in the Greek word fish are the first letters in the words Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior.

Christians met in the homes of one another to worship. To let others know where the meeting was being held, they put a drawing of a fish outside their house.

Sometimes strangers would meet at the marketplace. As they talked, one might quietly draw a fish in the sand with his or her foot. If the other person were Christian too, he or she would draw a fish also. Then the two would smile, and one might say, "There are many people in our town who know all about fish. I am inviting them to come to my home, so I may learn about fish. Would you like to come?"

Christian Flag photo

THE CHRISTIAN FLAG

(Adapted from Our Christian Symbols by Friedrich Rest)

Have you ever noticed that there are two flags in our Sanctuary? The American Flag is up front on the left side of the sanctuary and there is a white one on the right side by the door leading to the Jr. High room. The white one is call the Christian Flag.

"The Christian flag, envisioned on September 26, 1897, by Charles C. Overton, signifies Christianity in its entirety-the faith, worship, responsibilities, and all of its other blessings. The cross on the flag symbolizes the Christian religion, God's love for man as exemplifies in Jesus' life and death, and the promise of eternal life. The blue background of the cross speaks of the faithfulness and sincerity of the Savior, who was obedient unto death. The white portion of the flag is symbolic of purity, innocence, and peace. The white color also bears witness to the purity and sinlessness of the founder of the faith, and man's joy in contemplating God's initiative in redeeming the world."

Chrismons

Each year we decorate our church tree with Chrismons. Do you know what they mean? The word Chrismon is really a combination of two words, Christ and monogram. The original Chrismon symbols were strictly monograms. Early Christians used Chrismons as a way of identifying themselves with others in the Christian community. Today many new symbols have been created that have meaning for the church.

Chrismon ornaments are made with only the colors white and gold. White is the color of Christmas and gold represents the majesty and glory of Christ.

The tradition of a tree decorated with Chrismon ornaments was begun in 1957 in the Lutheran Church of the Ascension in Danville, VA. See their webpage describing Chrismons

Lenten and Easter Symbols

Animated ButterflyButterfly - A butterfly is often used to symbolize Jesus' resurrection. A caterpillar, entombed in a chrysalis, seems to have died. And yet, suddenly, as if born again, a beautiful butterfly appears. This reminds us that Jesus who died and was buried, left his dark tomb and is alive. It also reminds us that we become like new people when we decide to follow Jesus.

The Color Purple - Purple is a symbol of royalty and during Lent we are reminded about the time when people recognized Jesus as a King.

Elaborate Easter Eggs Easter Egg - Many forms of new life develop from an egg. The egg is a symbol of new life. The egg reminds us of the new life God gave to Jesus on Easter.

Lily - The lily begins life as a brown dead-looking bulb that we plant in the ground. In the spring a green shoot bursts from the bulb and pushes its way upward through the ground and continues to grow. Finally, a beautiful white flower blooms on the lily stem. The lily reminds us that Jesus was given new life at Easter and is no longer in the tomb. The lily reminds us that because Jesus lived, died, and was resurrected, we too, can have new life.

Pretzels - As the time of his death drew nearer, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. The pretzel was originally shaped to look like hands folded in prayer and therefore has often been used as a symbol of prayer.

New Invitation Spring 1994 and 1998, Children's Teacher vol. 5, No. 3

Peacock - Peacocks are known for their beautiful tail feathers. These feathers drop off, and new, even more beautiful feathers grow in their place. This has become a symbol of new life coming from death.

Phoenix - A bird with an interesting story to tell. The ancient world had stories about a bird that flew up from the ashes of a fire in which it had been burned. That is why the phoenix is shown with wings in flight, rising from flames. Early Christians took this story of a dead bird that lives again and used it to represent the resurrection and new life of Jesus Christ after death.

Pomegranate - A pomegranate is a shrub that produces a fruit about the size of an orange. The pomegranate fruit grows so many seeds that it bursts open from the pressure. The pomegranate symbolizes the power of new life bursting forth.

(Taken from Cokesbury 's Exploring Faith Preteen student booklet. Spring 2002, Vol. 2, No. 3)

The Cross

The most familiar of all symbols for Christ is the cross. Protestants usually use the empty Cross on rockcross (especially on the altar) to emphasize the risen and victorious Christ. Some scholars have estimated that there are over four hundred forms of the cross; approximately fifty of these are used in Christian symbolism. The most popular form of all crosses is the Latin Cross, the from on which it is said our Lord was crucified. This design has the upper arm and the two side arms of equal length and the lower arm is twice as long.

"The Golden Legend has preserved the apocryphal story of the connection of the wood of the cross with the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. Briefly put, the legend tells that a branch of this tree was planted on Adam's grave. Solomon had it cut down to use in building the temple, but it was found unsuitable. Instead it was used for a time as a bridge across a brook. Later it was buried in the pool of Bethesda. At the time of the Crucifixion it floated up and was used for the wood of the cross."

(Symbols of Church Seasons & Days, pg. 40)

The Altar

I attended a meeting recently at a beautiful new church. As I sat in the sanctuary though, I realized something was missing. There was no altar. This prompted me to do some research on altars.

"The altar in Christian churches is the symbol of Christ's sacrificial death. The altar is the throne of God in his house. It is an everlasting symbol of his spiritual presence in the church. The offering of the people is placed on the altar, symbolizing their sacrifice to God." ...The two candles we light symbolize "Jesus Christ, the Light of the world. When one candle appears on each side of the altar the two natures of Christ, divine and human, are emphasized."

The letters IHS are on the front of our altar. "One explanation for these letters is that they are formed from the Greek word IHCOYC for Jesus. As knowledge of Greek became rare, the Greek C was changed to a Latin S." (Our Christian Symbols by Friedrich Rest)

Do you know the story of the Nativity?

The first nativity was created by the people of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome during the 10th Century. Other churches adopted the custom and made them elaborate constructions of gold, silver and even precious stones. The resemblance to Christ's humble birth was lost and not even available to be seen by the masses.

St. Francis of Assisi redesigned these grand nativity scenes into simpler and more reverent manger scenes. St. Francis created a creche in the village Greccio in 1224. Hay, carved wooden figures and live animals were used to create the scene that has come to symbolize Christ's birth.

Having a creche in your home (with pieces that children can touch) is a great way for your children and grandchildren to learn and retell the story of Christ's birth.

Colors for the Christian Year

Ever wonder why the cloths on the altar, lectern, and pulpit are changed? The cloths are changed to coincide with the colors of the Christian Year. The Christian year contains two cycles: the Christmas Cycle (Advent-Christmas-Epiphany) and the Easter Cycle (Lent-Easter-Pentecost). Within each cycle are--

 

 

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Epworth Online logo Last modified February 2, 2006

Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors is a registered Trademark of the United Methodist Church used with permission. The Cross and Flame Logo is the copyrighted property of the United Methodist Church, used with permission.