601 W. Main St.
Morristown, TN
37814-4508 map
423.586.6201
Fax: 423.585.5551
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The Symbolism
Our All Saints' window is a beautiful illustration of the Te Deum Laudamus
found on page fifty two of the Book of Common Prayer and seen below in red.
It is in fact what is called a Te Deum window.
We praise thee, O God;
we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
The opening line of the prayer spans the bottom of each side lancet window. The images found in this song of praise come from the book of Revelation and are brilliantly combined in this window with other symbols and symbolic use of color that have been used by Christian artists for centuries.
All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting.
To thee all Angels cry aloud,
The Heavens and all the Powers therein.
To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry:
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth;
Heaven and Earth are full of the majesty of thy glory.
The childlike cherubim are the angels at the top of each side lancet window. The seraphim, with characteristic red wings, are on both sides of the central figure of Christ on His throne above all the earth.
The glorious company of the apostles praise thee.
St. Peter holds the keys given to him in Matthew 16:19: "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven." St. Peter's yellow mantle is a symbol of revealed truth. St. Paul has the "sword of the spirit" and St. James the Great,the first disciple to go on a missionary journey, is identified by the shell on his hat and pilgrim's staff. The scallop shell is used to symbolize pilgrims because unlike clams, which dig into the sand and stay put, scallops actually move from place to place. St. John is depicted beardless, since he was thought to be one of the younger disciples. St. Philip is holding the basket, symbol of his conversation with Jesus during the feeding of the 5,000. Andrew and Thomas round out the company of the apostles.
The goodly fellowship of the prophets praise thee.
The left lancet window depicts Moses holding the tablets of the Ten Commandments; Elijah is standing behind Daniel who is shown recording his visions.
The noble army of martyrs praise thee.
The right lancet window depicts St. Barnabas in chains. Red is often used to represent martyrdom. St. Barbara, a converted pagan whose own father turned her over to the Romans to be punished, holds a red cross. The figure with the crown is St. Catherine who protested the persecution of Christians.
The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee,
the Father, of an infinite majesty,
The left section of the center panel depicts St. Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury representing our Anglican roots. Interestingly, it is said that on the occasion of another St. Augustine's public confession and baptism in the fifth century, the Te Deum was sung for the very first time. He later became Bishop of Hippo and is generally known as St. Augustine of Hippo. Archbishop Thomas Cramner, Father of the Book of Common Prayer, is pictured in the Canterbury cap holding a prayer book. The remaining figures represent us, the holy Church throughout the world.
Thine adorable, true and only Son,
Christ holds in his left hand an orb which is called the cross of triumph. The sphere represents the earth. The Cross represents Christianity. The bands intersecting through the middle of the sphere represent the spread of Christianity around the world. Christ's robe is red for his shed blood. He is seated on a throne "and round the throne was a rainbow that looked like an emerald" (Rev 4:3). The rainbow is also the symbol of pardon and reconciliation given to the human race by God. The vibrant blue background and even Christ's pink shoes seem also to follow the descriptions from the Book of Revelations: "and before the throne there is as it were a sea of glass, like crystal" (Rev. 4:6); "the words of the Son of God, who had eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze" (Rev. 2:18).
Also the Holy Ghost the Comforter.
The descending dove with the tri-radiant nimbus above Christ's head
depicts the Holy Ghost.
Thou are the King of Glory, O Christ
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father,
When thou took upon thee to deliver man,
Thou did humble thyself to be born of a Virgin,
When thou had overcome the sharpness of death,
Thou did open the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God, in the glory of the Father.
We believe that thou shalt come to be our judge.
In art, glory is represented by a luminous glow that combines the nimbus surrounding the head and the aureole surrounding the body. It expresses the most exalted state of divinity and is the attribute of God, the supreme Lord of Heaven, and of Christ the Judge. The mandorla or almond shaped aureole is frequently given to Christ in pictures of the last judgement.
NIKA is a Greek word for conqueror and is combined with the Greek Chi Rho symbol for Christ to illustrate that Christ conquers death. The scales symbolize the weighing of souls with equality and justice.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants,
Whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
Make them to be numbered with thy saints,
In glory everlasting.
The red and blue ribbons flowing from the white cross through the bottom of all three windows provides a very appropriate base, illustrating the final lines of the Te Deum and symbolic of the blood and water said to have flowed from Jesus when he was pierced in the side when crucified on the cross.
The Window That Almost Wasn't
hen the present church building was under construction, from 1978 to 1980, the Vestry decided that we should have a glorious stained glass window on the north wall above the altar. Past records revealed that the windows from the previous church (now hanging in the east and west sides of the present nave) were designed by Payne Studios in New Jersey. After being contacted by the Vestry, Mr. Payne himself came to Morristown to determine our exact needs and discuss plans for the window. He said he wanted to get a personal feel for where the window would hang, rather than rely on impersonal measurements. Mr. Payne assured the committee that he had been inspired with a wonderful, spectacular vision for the All Saints' window. Mr. Payne was described as being somewhat eccentric in a funny and kind way and, being quite an animated character, he got everyone excited about the wonderful, glorious All Saints' window that he would create.
Not long after his return to New Jersey, word came that Mr. Payne had died and no one at Payne Studios knew anything about our All Saints' window. Those whom Mr. Payne had befriended on his visit here were saddened by his death, and the committee was now faced with finding another studio for the work. The church was nearing completion and clear glass had to be placed in the window openings. Then a surprise call came from Payne Studios. It seemed that Mr. Payne did design our window after all. In fact, it may have been the last thing Mr. Payne designed before his death. The drawings, complete with color notations and production notes, had been found in his desk drawer. Payne Studios was able to produce and deliver our window; it was installed in March 1980. Since then, Payne Studios has reproduced the same All Saints' window for other churches and won major awards for the spectacular, glorious design.