Trinity History

Windows


THE WINDOWS

     With several exceptions, the stained glass windows in the church are the original installations and are representative of the Romantic Movement of 19th century. They display an interesting combination of the pictorial and symbolic, lacking the heraldic element common to both the glass of the medieval period and the Gothic Revival of our own time. Strictly speaking, they are “painted glass,” made for close inspection and possessing much of the quaint simplicity of contemporary engravings. Presumably the windows are of American origin, though some have believed they were imported from England. Parish records remain silent on the subject, and the artist is unknown. Without a doubt they reflect an English style and were probably produced by an English-trained artist working in America. They are rich in an iconology that would have been familiar to a nineteenth-century audience. These symbols serve as portals, transporting the viewer to deeper levels of spirituality and piety.



The Great Window

     The Great Window at the rear of the nave is a common feature of Gothic and Gothic Revival architecture. The artist made no attempt at continuity of subject, and the result is a mass of color almost overwhelming in its variety; even the rarely-used purple is found. The treatment is naturalistic throughout with themes drawn indiscriminately from both the Old and New Testaments.



     This large, geometrical-curvilinear window consists of four traceried lights surmounted by two quatrefoils with a circle in the center, the whole topped by a trefoil flanked by two small triangles. The trefoil shows a red triangle, the familiar symbol of the Holy Trinity, containing a blue circle to denote the eternity of the God-head, the circle framing the Dove of the Holy Spirit, and the words, “Glory be to Thee, O Lord,” surrounding all. Angels in adoration are portrayed in the small flanking triangles.






     The quatrefoil to the left shows a cross patée (one of the forms most frequently used in Christian art) and the Alpha and Omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet), recalling Our Lord’s words, “I am the Beginning and the End.” The right quatrefoil shows the circle with the Hebrew letters which stand for “Jehovah,” the name of God too sacred for utterance by human lips.






    At the top of the first light, we see the miter, which represents the historic episcopate. The second and third windows both portray the menorah (the seven-branched candlesticks of the Jewish Temple), while the fourth shows the crossed keys symbolizing the power of absolution given by Christ to His Apostles and the ministers in their succession.








Beneath the gray monochrome medallions are seen the symbols of the Four Evangelists.







     One will notice that the four lights each consist of three panels. The first window (looking from top to bottom) shows the Ascension of Our Lord (Acts 1: 9-11), the Savior weeping over Jerusalem (Matthew 23: 37-39, and Luke 19: 41-44), and Jesus visiting with and teaching Nicodemus (John 3: 1-21). The Ascension image shows Jesus aloft in the clouds. His face is finely painted, much like a nineteenth century engraving. The weeping image of Jesus contains many interesting segments of colored glass, each individually painted, which come together to form the picture. The panel of Jesus with Nicodemus has been extensively restored and renders the face of our Lord somewhat more crudely than the other panels. The scene is illumined by the depiction of an ancient hanging oil lamp, which dominates the image.







     In the second light, we find, from top to bottom, the Cross of Calvary; the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River; and Moses striking the rock for water at Meribah. The top panel of the Cross is complete with lightning bolts, signifying the moment immediately after Jesus’ death (Mark 15: 33-34, Matthew 27: 45, Luke 23: 44-47). At the foot of the cross are his clothes and his crown of thorns. In the foreground we see the symbols of the Eucharist displayed on a table – a loaf of bread, a chalice, and a tankard, all an obvious depiction of Christ’s sacrifice. The panel depicting Christ’s baptism (Matthew 3: 13-17, Mark 1: 9-11, Luke 3: 21-23) shows St. John the Baptist garbed in traditional skins, with the yellow glass highlighting the rays of light coming from the sky when Jesus rises from the Jordan. The bottom panel showing Moses at Meribah (Numbers 20: 9-11) depicts a period when the Hebrews had lost faith in God, and Moses acted on his own to give them water. The use of water in this panel ties it thematically with the one above it.
  






   The upper panel of the third light depicts three important themes in Jesus’ life: Jesus as the Good Shepherd (John 10: 11-18); the proclamation by the Christmas angels to the shepherds of the Nativity (Luke 2: 8-20); and Our Lord’s agony in the garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22: 39-46). Each of these panels is finely painted in great detail. The use of inset panels, such as the Star of Bethlehem in the center panel, gives them a distinctive appearance.





     At the top of the fourth light, we see Christ with St. Peter as He walked upon the water (Matthew 14: 22-33). The middle panel portrays King David playing the harp (1 Samuel 16: 23 and the Psalms), and the third shows the dove returning to Noah’s Ark, carrying the olive leaf at the end of the Great Flood (Genesis 8: 6-12). The top panel is dark and difficult to see, but both figures of Jesus and Peter are finely painted. The King David panel is remarkable for its rich purple, a reflection of his kingship. The lower panel with the dove and ark, predominantly pale blue, is elegant in its simplicity and artistically one of the finest panels in the window.














































    In addition to the major subjects, each panel of the four lights has at its corners pictorial and symbolical medallions depicting a variety of subjects. They reflect a great variety of Old and New Testament themes: the Fountain of Redemption (symbolic of Eternity); the Anchor of Hope; the Lamb of God; the Tables of the Law; Abraham preparing to sacrifice Isaac at the divine command; the Star of Bethlehem; the Ewer or pitcher (symbolic of wine and baptismal water); the Crucifixion nails symbolic of the Passion; the ram’s horn (an Old Testament symbol); the chalice (symbolic of the Eucharist); the lyre; a burning altar with an animal sacrifice; a bouquet of flowers; a flying hourglass (indicating the passage of time); a scallop shell (symbolic of baptism); a baptismal font; a hammer and spear (both symbols of Christ’s passion); an olive branch (a symbol of peace); and an old-type paten with communion bread. All of these medallions have the delicacy of nineteenth century miniatures.






























































The Side Windows







     Each of the side windows have unifying themes in their decorations and are intricately painted. Moving up the Gospel (left) aisle, the first window is devoted to education, Christian initiation, and nurture. At the top of this window is a bouquet of violets, which represents humility and in some medieval manuscripts is also symbolic of the Virgin Mary. Below it is a richly-colored panel of Jesus blessing the children and the inscription, “Suffer the little children to come unto me” (Matthew 19: 14). It also depicts the font in which they are made members of His family and the Church, and the clasped Bible resting on a pillow, a symbol of the Book of Faith from which they are instructed in His word. The grapes symbolize both Holy Communion and Christian nurture. The entire window is unified by a grape vine running through it, emblematic of Christ as the True Vine (John 15: 1). On the edge of the window are oak leaves and acorns, symbolic of endurance and faith.







     The Eucharistic motif provides the background for the second window, which symbolizes Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. In addition to the familiar grapes at the top, it contains two crosses: the so-called “Trinity” or Bottony cross, shown with fleur-de-lis buds on the ends, which are symbols of the Holy Trinity. At the bottom is a Celtic cross, which plays a prominent role in both Irish and Anglican Church decoration and architecture. The central circle of the cross is thought to represent eternity. The window is unified with lilies, which are symbols of purity and resurrection. The theme overall is trust in the Cross for redemption.






     The third window portrays the Guardian Angels hovering over a sleeping child in a central, frosted panel wrought in fine detail. It has a naturalistic floral background with the descending Dove of the Holy Spirit in the top panel, set in green glass, and below it, a white winter rose or Christmas rose, a symbol of the Nativity as well as a herald of better days ahead. It is not, as some have believed in the original guide, a Rose of Sharon, which resembles a crocus. The rose is surrounded by green leaves and framed in purple glass. A sleeping lamb can be seen in the bottom panel, symbolic of a child now at rest. The use of what appear to be anemone flowers throughout the window symbolizes the Holy Trinity. This is the only window in the church containing a memorial inscription: “In Memoriam, Adelia Mary,” named for Adelia Mary Bond, the infant daughter of Charles and Lavina (Ewing) Bond, who died in 1861. The Bonds, who donated this window, were prominent parish leaders, with Charles Bond serving as parish treasurer at the time of the church’s construction.




     The two windows behind the Baptistery were given in 1930 by Nellie Wood in memory of her husband, James J. Wood (1856-1928), a Fort Wayne inventor. The designs are bold and dramatic in line and color, suggesting the use of a stencil in their making and obviously coming from a different hand than the other more restrained windows seen elsewhere in the church. Overseeing all in the first window is the Eye of God, an ancient symbol of God the Father. Below it is the celestial Crown of Eternal Life, and further below is a large butterfly, which is symbolic of the Resurrection. According to one source, the various stages of a butterfly’s life represent Christ’s earthly life, the tomb, and the resurrection. At the bottom is what some have termed an “antique British cross.” It does not follow any of the known standard cross designs, but is instead reminiscent of a free-standing altar cross. Its significance lies in the perspective of the lines in the background, which give it a three-dimensional effect, making it project outward from the window if one looks at it in just the right way. There is an inscription in Greek: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord,” (Revelations 14:13), the comforting words heard at every burial office.





     The other window shows the celestial Crown of Life, a pictorial representation of the Lamb of God (usually depicted with a banner but not in this instance), the baptismal Font (also with a three dimensional effect), and a large figure of Christ as the Good Shepherd. The style is similar to that of a Renaissance painting. There are sheep around him, and he holds one in his arms. In the background in the distance is a town and a castle.



     The round window above the double lancet, known architecturally as a Rose Window, is also modern and reproduces Heinrich Hofmann’s well-known 1886 painting of the Agony in the Garden. It is a memorial to Hubert H. Rogers, given by his wife Hazel in 1955 and replaced an earlier window (now lost) of three trefoil circles with insets of symbols representing the Holy Trinity.






     Crossing now to the Epistle (right) side, we come to the first window whose theme is eternal salvation. There is a tradition, perhaps apocryphal, that since this window was placed originally next to the organ, it reflected a belief that church musicians would be ushered at death directly into heaven by St. Michael. It is also the most complex window in the church after the Great Window on account of all of the medallions included in it. The central theme is that of St. Michael the Archangel conducting infant souls to Paradise. The inscription, “Hodi mihi cras tibi” means “It is my lot today, yours tomorrow” a memento mori is found in nineteenth century religious images.
     Again in this window we find the celestial Crown of Life, a theme in other the windows in the church, although this one is adorned with stars. Also here is a cluster of pink roses, which, because of their color, likely reflect Isaiah’s prophesy from Isaiah 35: 1, “The desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.” One also finds the mystical Name of the Almighty in Hebrew characters, inserted in a triangle, a symbol of the Holy Trinity. At the bottom is another descending dove, representing the Holy Spirit, surrounded as well by butterflies, which symbolize the resurrection of the soul. The birds are a charming touch in this window, reminding us of the joy that we should take in God’s creation as well as the soaring of the soul to heaven. Unifying the window are its rich colors. The vivid cobalt blue harmonizes with the deep red, making this window one of the most attractive in the church.














     There are many medallions inset within this window, some of which repeat symbols found in the Great Window. At the very top are two medallions in juxtaposition, one representing a scythe and the other, the Hand of God. One is a symbol of God’s judgment, the other of God’s offer of salvation. Below these are two more medallions, one of an unusual draped figure clinging to a cross, a symbol of faith, and the other holding the cross in victory. Neither figure represents Jesus, but instead are soul effigies, both rather crudely drawn and painted. Beneath these are two more medallions, a cross and the Anchor of Hope. Two more medallions appear, one of the Holy Bible and the other of an hourglass representing the passage of time. The final four medallions contain the following symbols: the grapes and wheat, representative of the Eucharist because they are paired together; the Lamb of God, this time carrying a banner; and the Fountain of Salvation.
 






    Hope is the theme of the second window, which depicts in its central panel a female figure at the foot of the Cross with the words, “Simply to Thy Cross, I cling” (from the hymn “Rock of Ages”), on a ribbon beneath the panel. Antiquarians will note the use of the long s in the word “cross.” This is one of the most dramatic panels in the church, perhaps because the yellow, purple, and green combine in a very pleasing way. The Lily of the Valley (a symbol of humility) and the Agnus Dei are also shown, the whole being surrounded by ivy leaves and tendrils. The ivy is symbolic of fidelity, while the berries represent Christ’s redeeming blood. The Anchor of Hope, a common symbol in the church’s windows, is used multiple times in the medallions of other windows. Note the cross contained within the anchor, which signifies our hope for salvation in the Cross. The Agnes Dei or Lamb of God carries a banner with a cross, the usual depiction of this symbol. The image represents Christ’s victory over death as well as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. A scroll in the window was apparently never inscribed.





     The third window is devoted to prayer and might be called the “Our Father” window. At the top we see yet another celestial crown adorned with stars, surmounting a cross. Under the crown are the tablets of the law, containing the Ten Commandments of God. Bordering the window are oak leaves, which, as we have seen, symbolize endurance and faith. The window makes extensive and effective use of geometric forms in its background with the cartouche in the center containing a child in a golden gown in the act of prayer with the words “Our Father,” signifying the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. Below this is the scroll of the Holy Gospel and another place for a memorial that was apparently never inscribed.


     The windows above the doorways represent newer additions to the nave and were created during the extensive renovation of 1985 under the rectorate of the Rev. C. Corydon Randall. The window over the door leading out to the Garth, known as the Athanasius Window, was made by Steven Purdy of Fort Wayne, a nationally-renowned artist for City Glass. Using glass elements from a much older window that was discovered behind the altar in the chancel and recovered during a later renovation, Purdy crafted a new design that made the panel fit above the door. The window depicts an ancient Shield of the Trinity that appears in many medieval manuscripts and summarizes the Athanasian Creed: Father is God, Son is God, and Holy Spirit is God. The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is not the Father. The ivy with tendrils that encircles the window represent eternal life. Another fragmentary panel from the original chancel windows, recovered in 1991, now hangs on the door in the Common Room and depicts God the Father in the words “I Am,” and God the Holy Ghost, shown as a descending dove. Perhaps a third panel, now lost, depicted God the Son in the form of a cross.



















    The double automatic doors under this window lead out to the Garth and were donated in 1998 to provide better handicap access to the nave. They replaced an earlier wooden set of double doors given (along with the others in the church) in 1924 by N. R. Pettit in memory of Joseph Dayton Nuttman. The new doors contain painted stained glass panels, each of which were designed and wrought by artists of City Glass of Fort Wayne and contain specific ecclesiastical themes of both the Old and New Testaments. They are, left to right from the top: the Star of Bethlehem lighting manger; the Chariot of Fire used by the prophet Elijah (2 Kings 2:11); the Lamb of God; and the Sacred Heart of Jesus, surrounded by tendrils and three daggers, symbolic of the three wounds Christ received. In the second row we see, left to right: a lyre, symbolic of the Psalms; a cross with Easter lilies, symbolizing Christ’s victory over death; a sheaf of wheat over a scroll, symbolic either of the Eucharist or the Jewish festival of Shavuot; and grapes, symbolic of the Eucharist. In the third row we find, left to right: a chasuble worn by the priest at the celebration of the Eucharist; the dove of the Holy Spirit (shown ascending upward, a deliberate error by the artist); a baptismal font; and the dove of Noah’s Ark returning with an olive branch in its beak. In the fourth or bottom row we find, left to right: three Easter lilies, symbolic of the Resurrection and the Holy Trinity; a basket floating on water containing a spray of palm trees, an unusual image possibly symbolic of Moses and the Promised Land; a harp with a crown, emblematic of King David; and Noah’s Ark at the end of the Great Flood, together with the rainbow that signifies God’s new covenant with humanity.





    Leaving the rear of the nave to the Narthex is another window above the doors. Known as the Canterbury Window, it illustrates the relationship of Trinity Church to the Diocese of Northern Indiana, the National Church, and the Anglican Communion. It was given as a memorial in 1985 by Paula and Robert Parrott in memory of their parents, Cora Agnes Christofferson, Paul Conrad Timothy Verne, Ednah Pearl Caniff, and Alfred Horace Parrott. At the top of the design is a communion chalice with the triquetra or Trinity Knot representing infinity and eternal life, designed as part of the parish’s crest by parishioner George Alatza. To the bottom left is the lighthouse at Michigan City, representing the shield of the Diocese of Northern Indiana. To the right is the white shield bearing the Red Cross of St. George, the shield of the National Episcopal Church. At the center is the pallium, the ancient symbol of Episcopal authority, representing Canterbury.
    The third window of more recent design by Steven Purdy, known as the Holy Trinity Window, stands above the front door, and like the others, was added in 1985. Carol Bishop gave the window in memory of Roscoe Tapp and Ruth Foust Tapp. It features symbols of the Trinity, including, at the top, the Hand of God representing God the Father; to the left, the Lamb of God, representing the Son; and to the right, the Dove, symbolic of the Holy Spirit. In the center are crossed fish, a sign of Christ both as the “fisher of men” and of his miracle of the loaves and fishes. Purdy’s signature can be seen on this panel.




    On the east wall of the Narthex is another original 1866-era window, smaller than those in the nave. It features the scroll of the Holy Gospel, and at the bottom, a winged ox, symbolic of Christ’s sacrifice and of the Gospel of St. Luke.
     The windows of the church are seen at their best in mid-afternoon on a brilliant day. You are cordially invited to so view them.







More Windows can be found in the Common Room, the room outside the Nave leading tot he church offices. On the door leading to the offices in the main hallway is a fragmentary panel that was part of the original chancel windows installed in 1866. It was discovered directly behind the main altar. The top panel of this window that contained the Athenasius design, previously discussed, is over the doors leading out the the Garth. The lower two panels, seen here, depict the Dove of the Holy Spirit, the words "I Am," depicting God the Father, and the Holy Bible. Considered together, they represent the Holy Trinity to whom the church is dedicated.







On the door beside the Sacristy leading to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, there is a two-paneled window memorializing two previous rectors, the Rev. James McNeal Wheatley (1896-1969), and the Rev. George Bartlett Wood (1910-1999). The window was presented about the year 2000 by Mary Jane Rusler Cambray and Harriet Hooper McClure. The top panel depicts a communion chalice with the triquetra symbol of the Holy Trinity, surrounded by a holy light. The bottom panel depicts what is likely the Great Flood, a highly-unusual image for stained glass. It shows what appears to be a rain cloud in the shape of an umbrella, with rain flowing in large drops beneath it
Looking out toward the Garth are six panels of stained glass, all of modern and minimalist design. All were installed as memorials in the early 2000s during the rectorate of the Rev. Rebecca Ferrell Nickel. The first window, looking left to right, depicts the Hand of God above an angel at prayer and memorializes Elizabeth Staines DeVoss (1942-2001). The second window depicts the crozier of a bishop, the hook surrounding a heart signifying the love of God. At the bottom is a lamb, which may symbolize either the Lamb of God or more likely common souls being led by the Great Shepherd. It was given by Paula Parrott in memory of her husband, Robert. The third window contains a cartouche with the letters IHS (a symbol for Christ) surrounded by shafts of wheat, all above a communion chalice. It was given in thanksgiving for Charles M. Lee by his family. The fourth window depicts a large cross rising out of a baptismal font, which overflows with living water. It memorializes Mary Lou Sinks. The fifth window shows a cross surmounted by a burning candle. A wreath or crown of thorns in green can be seen behind it. It memorializes John and Anne Siemer. The sixth and final window commemorates the divine conception of the Virgin Mary. The dove of the Holy Spirit can be seen at the top, while the Virgin and Child are depicted in an embrace. It memorializes Jack C. Bliven.


 

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