Featured Window

Our Lady of Grace, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

Click any image to enlarge.

MSGC : Collections : Window

Window

Building Name: St. Andrew Catholic Church

Studio Name: Emil Frei Associates, Inc.

City: Saginaw

Window Shape: 3 (arched)

Date of Window: 1912

Subject/Title of Window: Holy Orders

Brief Description of Subject: From Faith in Stained Glass Saint Andrew Church booklet by Michael Bell, published August 15, 1976.
This is one of the windows of the apse. The apse, that is, the semi-circular area of the sanctuary which contains the altar, has been a usual feature of Christian churches since the first century. The first churches were usually converted Roman basilicas, buildings which were used for assembly halls or law courts. The place where the judge originally sat became the spot from which the priest came to preside over the Mass. In time the altar was moved from its central, free standing position and it was place against the back wall of the apse where it remained until the Second Vatican Council restored it to its original position. The apse of St. Andrew's is lit by nine small Gothic windows. Seven of them portray the seven sacraments; the first and last windows bear the "alpha" and the "omega", the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet.

One of Seven Sacraments: Holy Orders. At the Last Supper Christ told the apostles, "Do this in remembrence of me" (Luke 22:19). The apostles, when their number appeared to be too small to serve the people of God, commissioned others by laying on of hands (Acts 6). The chalice and host represent the priest's function as chief celebrant of the Mass. The book of Gospels symbolizes his action of proclaiming God's word. The stole is the universal symbol of the authority of the priesthood. It is derived from a large cloth which originally hung over the shoulder or around the neck of Roman servants.

Condition of Window: Good

Height: 5' or 6'

Width: 2'

Type of Glass and Technique: Enamel Paint

The MSGC is a constantly evolving database. Not all the data that has been collected by volunteers has been sorted and entered. Not every building has been completely documented.

All images in the Index are either born-digital photographs of windows or buildings or are scans of slides, prints, or other published sources. These images have been provided by volunteers and the quality of the material varies widely.

If you have any questions, additions or corrections, or think you can provide better images and are willing to share them, please contact donald20@msu.edu