How to Use This Guide

Regardless of actual compass direction, the walls of cruciform churches are denoted as follows: the altar is in the east; thus the window over the altar is the East Window. The wall at the back of the nave (the narthex and the front vestibules) is the west wall. To the left as one faces the altar is the North transept, etc. For your convenience the windows are numbered clockwise, starting with the window over the high altar. As you leave this altar, turn to your left to begin a tour with the window in the South transept, Christ Triumphant (window 2).

A plan of the church with windows numbered is presented below. Click on one of the numbered windows to link to a description of the window complete with a picture. In each case you can select to download a larger version of the picture you see at first. Be warned! It takes about ten times longer to load the larger version than it does to load the shorter version.

For the sake of brevity, symbols, once discussed, are subsequently only named. So it's best to use these pages in numerical sequence. To avoid repetition, less well known numerology is discussed mainly for the Magdalene window ("The Resurrection," South Aisle 5), and unusual color symbolism mainly for "Healing the Sick" (South Aisle 6).

A pleasant oddity: the optimistic adorners of this church have installed three resurrection windows in a row (South transept and South Aisle). But there is no crucifixion window. That subject is expressed in emblem and symbol only.

To view a picture of a particular window, click on the number and title in the drawing below.

Theme and Variations

The rose of Sharon is not the local althea (marrow) or hollyhock (malvaceae); it could be St. John's wort (hypericum); but more likely it is of the crocus family. Several Biblical commentaries stress the simplicity of the crocus nestled in the stony hills of Palestine, which grew in marked contrast to the more elegant lily of the valleys. Both flowers have come to symbolize Jesus. "I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys" (Song of Sol. 2:1). Stylized in various permutations by the several artists who created these windows, these roses of Sharon sometimes have four petals, sometimes more. They are so stylized that they sometimes seem to be glass and stone quatrefoils wonderfully burst into bloom. They can also remind us of the native dogwood blossoms abounding near these windows.

 Works Consulted

E .L. Armitage, Stained Glass: History, Technology, and Practice

(Newton, Mass.,1959)

G. Berefelt, A Study of the Winged Angels (Stockholm, 1968)

J. E . Cirlot, A Dictionary of Symbols, tr. Sage, 2nd ed. (New York, 1971)

C. E. Clement, Angels in Art (Boston, 1898)

G. Davidson, A Dictionary of Angels (New York, 1967)

pseudo-Dionysus the Areopagite, On the Heavenly Hierarchy,

tr.Parker ( Merrick, N.Y., 1887-89)

A. L. Hull, Annals of Athens 1801-1901 (Athens, Ga. 1906)

J. H. T. McPherson, A Short History of Emmanuel Church 1843- 1943

(Athens, 1943)

W. E. Post, Saints, Signs, and Symbols, 2nd ed. (Wilton, Conn., 1974)

H. Read, English Stained Glass (London, 1926)

C. E. Whittemore, Symbols of the Church (Nashville,1959)

E.S.Whittlesey, Symbols and Legends in Western Art (New York, 1972)

F. E. Wilson, An Outline of Christian Symbolism (New York, 1938)

E. von Witzleben, French Stained Glass, tr. Garvie (London, 1968)

C. Woodforde, English Stained and Painted Glass (Oxford, 1954)

n.a., Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 6th ed. rev. (London, 1962)