St. John Window

Here is the final stained-glass window from my rural Iowa church, which is LCMS Lutheran........not that my denominational loyalties are extremely strong, but it happens to be where I am a member. A person marries young, joins a church because of that, and years later wonders what on earth she was thinking. But, here she is, and here she will remain.

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St. John.......Apostle, Evangelist, and author of the fourth Gospel in the New Testament, has been bestowed with the symbol of winged eagle since ancient times. Not that I knew that before taking a close look at these windows. Its been very interesting learning about them.

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Matthew - winged man or angel

Mark - winged lion

Luke - winged bull or ox

John - winged eagle

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These symbols are from the Bible-----from Ezekiel 1:10, and Revelation 4:7----- although who first attached them to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, is a mystery to me. Probably it was the early Church Fathers.

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I'd be curious to know how many Christian denominations have used these symbols in their churches, in stained-glass windows or elsewhere. I grew up in a Baptist Church and never heard therein about these symbols and their connection to the Gospels.