The Apostles' Windows — University Christian Church of Austin

The Apostles’ Windows

The Apostles Windows line the sanctuary.
They were planned by Henry Lee Willett in consultation with Rev. Wassenich.
Neither Judas Iscariot or James the Less (about whom little is known except his name) have windows.

**Ship**
- his trade as a fisherman and his missionary journeys.

**Fish and boat hook**
- Simon’s occupation
- Missionary travels with St. Jude
- Greatness as a fisher of men through the Gospel

**Three purses and a Roman fasces**
- Matthew’s former occupation as a tax collector, and
representative of Roman empire.

- Per UCC history, window background is “purely decorative”. Thomas was the doubter who acknowledged his faith in the words of the text.
- Wood shavings (perhaps) – indicating his trade

**Flaying knife**
- In legend, he was flayed (skinned) alive and crucified
- The pane above “God” is rotated 180 degrees. This
happened during a restoration.

Fish
- universal Christian symbol representing his occupation
(fisherman), and
- later identity as a “fisher of people.”
This window is not illuminated by the sun, but by 24 fluorescent light fixtures! The Education Wing closed off this window from the outside when it was built.

**Two large crossed keys**
- the keys to the kingdom (heaven) given by Jesus to Peter,
a symbolic way of showing that he would be the leader of
the entire Church

**Serpent rising out of the hourglass**
- continuing presence of evil in the stream of history
(because of the contrast between good and evil in John’s
Gospel)
OR
- “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so
must the son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in
him may have eternal life,” (John 3:14).
OR
**Serpent (snake) in a chalice (cup)**
- Someone supposedly tried to kill John by putting poison
in a chalice. When John drank from it, he was miraculously
unharmed.

**Basket**
- recalling Phillip’s remark when Christ fed the multitude
**Tau cross**
- recalling Phillip’s death after missionary labors in Galatia
and Phrygia

Fleur-de-lis

- Beneath the windows is trim using the fleur-de-lis design.
- Origin of the design is unknown
- A fleur-de-lis representing the light of learning also appears on the Mace of Authority of The University of Texas, created in 1956. (See On Campus, The University of Texas at Austin, v. 26, No. 1, September 18, 1998.)
- This was painted all white until the 1990s restoration when they were painted with gold highlights.