The Nave
Early Christian churches were modeled on the old Roman public court buildings, called basilicas. Basilicas featured a long central arcade, an apse and a clerestory. In Christian churches, the central portion, which extends from the narthex (entry vestibule) to the chancel is called the nave (Latin, navis, “ship”) and is used by the laity (The chancel is used by the clergy.) The hammerbeam roof of Trinity’s nave gives the appearance of an overturned boat. The ship represented salvation, saving its passengers from stormy dangerous seas and delivering them safely home, as the ark saved Noah’s family (1 Peter 3:20-21) and Jesus saved St. Peter on the stormy Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35-41). The mast of a ship forms a cross, which also made a convenient symbol for early Christians. The Church Father Tertullian (A.D. 155-240) said of Jesus saving the apostles in a storm-tossed ship at sea (Matthew 8.23-26), “that little ship represented a type of the Church because on the sea, which means this present world, it is being tossed about by the waves, which means persecutions and temptations while our Lord in his long-suffering is as it were asleep, until at the last times he is awakened by the prayers of the saints to calm the world and restore tranquility to his own.”
The tracery lights between the heads of the pairs of lancets have a cross design, often a cross set upon a globe. Beneath the saddle bar of each window are symbols of the passages illustrated in the window along with dedications.
The Lower Nave
The original windows of the lower nave (#7) were replaced by ten memorial windows between 1931 and 1960. The windows depict key events—the five on the north side are from the life of Christ, the five on the south side are from the acts of the apostles. The late Bishop Henry Disbrow Phillips (1882-1955), rector of Trinity Church from 1922 to 1938 (see #20), planned this series of windows. Windows #21 and #22 were installed and dedicated on All Saints’ Day in 1931 and window #27 was installed in 1934. No windows were installed for over twenty years until under the leadership of the Reverend Gray Temple (1914-99), rector of Trinity (1956-1961), a great effort in the late 1950s led to the completion of the series. On 14 November 1956 the vestry commissioned Powell & Sons/Whitefriars to create and install the remaining windows in the lower nave. All but one of the seven remaining windows were installed in 1958, and the series was completed in January 1960 with the installation of window #28. The Reverend Temple dedicated all ten windows on 28 February 1960 and in the next year was elevated to Bishop of South Carolina.
North Wall of Lower Nave: Life of Jesus
20.The Annunciation and Adoration of the Shepherds (1958)
The right lancet shows Mary seated at a lectern. A dove sends down light from above as the angel Gabriel tells her that she will give birth to a son who will be named Jesus. Luke 1:26-38 relates the story and Luke 1:30 furnishes the inscription: “Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.” Below that inscription are three Easter lilies, symbolic of the purity of Jesus’s birth.
The left lancet tells the Christmas story from Luke 2:8-16. Mary cradles the baby Jesus in her arms, while Joseph looks over her shoulder. At Mary’s feet, three shepherds with a lamb kneel in adoration of the baby. Above Mary, a bright star, a thatched roof, and cattle remind us of the baby’s humble birthplace. Beneath the scene is inscribed Luke 2:14: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace.” Below that inscription is a cradle, emblematic of Christ’s birth.
DEDICATION: IN LOVING MEMORY OF THE RT. REV. HENRY DISBROW PHILLIPS, D.D. & ELLA REESE PHILLIPS.
MEMORIAL: THIS WINDOW WAS GIVEN IN LOVING MEMORY OF THE RIGHT REVEREND HENRY DISBROW PHILLIPS, D.D., 1882-1955, AND ELLA REESE PHILLIPS BY MRS. HENRY D. PHILLIPS. DR. PHILLIPS WAS RECTOR OF TRINITY CHURCH FROM 1922 TO 1938. IN 1926, THE PARISH HOUSE WAS DEDICATED AND LATER NAMED PHILLIPS PARISH HOUSE IN HIS HONOR. IN 1938, HE LEFT TRINITY TO BECOME BISHOP OF SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. HIS FINAL RESTING PLACE IS IN THE TRINITY CHURCHYARD.
21.The Baptism of Christ and the Calling of the Apostles (1931):
The right lancet of this window illustrates Luke 3:21-22. A dove with the tri-radiant nimbus
brings down the Holy Spirit in the form of a shaft of light upon John baptizing Jesus while others watch. “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost
descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came down from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:21-22). Beneath that inscription is a scallop shell, a symbol of baptism. (see #26)
The left lancet illustrates Matthew 4:18-21, in which Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw Peter and Andrew casting their nets. Behind the figures is a ship, the barque of Peter. The inscription below the scene is Matthew 4:19: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Beneath that inscription is a cross.
DEDICATION: “IN LOVING MEMORY OF DAVIDGE GAMBRILL (8 AUG. 1836-14 DEC. 1905) AND EMMA GUIGNARD GAMBRILL (7 MAY 1847-25 NOVEMBER 1928.”
MEMORIAL: THIS WINDOW WAS GIVEN IN LOVING MEMORY OF DAVIDGE GAMBRILL (8 AUGUST 1836-14 DECEMBER 1905) AND EMMA GUIGNARD GAMBRILL (7 May 1847-25 NOVEMBER 1928) BY THEIR NIECE MARY GAMBRILL JENKINS.
22.The Sermon on the Mount and Christ Charging the Apostles
(1931):
In the right lancet, Christ preaches the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) to the people arrayed in front of and behind him, above and below him. The inscription is Matthew’s introduction to the Beatitudes: “He opened his mouth and taught them” (Matthew 5:2).
In the left lancet, Jesus charges the Disciples to go forth in the world and preach his Word. The inscription reads “Preach, saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 10:7). None of the disciples is facing Jesus because they are already setting forth on their separate ways.
DEDICATION: IN MEMORY OF GEORGE LIPPARD BAKER, 27 JULY 1862-16 JAN. 1924, SOMETIME VESTRYMAN.
MEMORIAL: THIS WINDOW WAS GIVEN IN MEMORY OF GEORGE LIPPARD BAKER, 27 JULY 1862-6 JANUARY 1924, SOMETIME VESTRYMAN, BY HIS WIFE, MRS. GEORGE L. BAKER.
23.The Last Supper and the Crucifixion (1958):
The right lancet portrays the Last Supper, the meal Jesus shared with the Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion, mentioned in all four Gospels (Matt. 26:17-30; Mark 14:12-26; Luke 22:7-39; and John 13.1-16:26) and I Corinthians 11:23-26. Christ is at the head of the food-laden table surrounded by his disciples. Judas, his back turned to the table, holds a bag of coins in his right hand and shields his face with his cloak. Christians celebrate the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday. The lower part of this lancet shows a chalice, a wafer, and the inscription, “He took the cup and gave thanks” (Luke 22:17). The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist or “Holy Communion.”
The left lancet shows Jesus on the cross with a nail mark on his foot. Standing before him are Mary and the Apostle John. Jesus is looking at Mary saying, “Woman, behold thy son!” And to John, “Behold thy mother!” (John 19:26-27.) At the top of the green cross is a page of papyrus with the letters written by Pontius Pilate and placed on the cross, “INRI”—the initial letters of the Latin words “Iesus Nazarenus Rex Judaeorum—Jesus of Nazareth,
King of the Jews,” though the words were written in Hebrew and Greek as well as Latin (Luke 23:38; John 19:19-20). The inscription beneath the scene reads, “The Son of man is betrayed to be Crucified” (Matthew 20:18). Below the inscription is a snake twined around a cross, symbolizing the necessity of Jesus’s death for the salvation of mankind from John 3:14-15: “And as Moses lifted up the servant in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15)
DEDICATION: “TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF WALTER BEDFORD MOORE, JR. (1886-1953) AND ELIZABETH FINLEY MOORE (1894-1976)”
MEMORIAL: THIS WINDOW WAS GIVEN TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF WALTER BEDFORD MOORE, JR. (1886- 1953) AND ELIZABETH FINLEY MOORE (1894-1976) BY HIS WIFE AND FAMILY.
24.The Resurrection and the Ascension (1958):
In the right lancet of this window, Christ rises on the third day from the tomb which had been provided by Joseph of Arimathea (I Corinthians 15:3-4) Two Roman soldiers had been stationed at the tomb by Pilate who sealed the tomb at the request of Jewish priests, but the soldiers are asleep. Behind Jesus are the three crosses on Golgotha where he was crucified also guarded by soldiers. The inscription reads, “And the third day He shall rise again” (Luke 24:7). Jesus is surrounded by an aureole, an elongated nimbus used only in depictions of Jesus, or the Virgin and Child.
Beneath the inscription is a peacock, a symbol of immortality, particularly of Christ and the Resurrection, since when the peacock loses his feathers he gains back more beautiful ones.
The left lancet shows the feet of Christ ascending forty days after the Resurrection (Luke 24:50-53; Mark 16:19; Acts 1:9-11) as five disciples along with Mary and Mary Magdalene look on. Acts 1:2-9 states that he ascended in the presence of all eleven remaining Apostles. The inscription reads, “He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9).
DEDICATION: “TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN GRATITUDE TO ROBERTA ALDRICH FOR HER YEARS OF LOVING SERVICE TO THE CHILDREN OF TRINITY CHURCH”
MEMORIAL: THIS WINDOW WAS GIVEN TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN GRATITUDE TO ROBERTA ALDRICH FOR HER YEARS OF LOVING SERVICE TO THE CHILDREN OF TRINITY CHURCH BY HER “SUNDAY SCHOOL CHILDREN” AND FRIENDS.
South Wall of Lower Nave: Acts of the Apostles
25.The Coming of the Holy Spirit and the Healing of the Lame Man (1958):
The left lancet shows a descending dove, symbolizing the Holy Spirit descending on the twelve Apostles (Matthias has replaced Judas) gathered together on the day of Pentecost (fifty days after Easter). Pentecost was the Greek name for the Hebrew Festival of Weeks commemorating God’s giving of the law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. God used the same day to deliver the Holy Spirit to the Apostles (and others), making Pentecost “the birthday of the church.” The inscription reads, “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2:1-4)
The right lancet shows the first recorded act of an Apostle, Peter healing a crippled beggar. (Acts 3:1-10). Peter (cloaked in red) and John (in blue) were stopped at the temple gate by a lame man asking for alms. Peter said, “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” (Acts 3:6) With his right hand Peter raises the crippled man to his feet, with his left hand he gestures forward, telling him to walk. John, a generation younger than Peter, has no beard. With his right hand, blesses the beggar.The inscription beneath the scene reads., “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up.”
The lower part of the lancet shows a fountain whose waters pass beneath a bridge that turns the one stream into three, symbolizing the holy trinity.
Beneath the saddle bar in the left lancet is a flame like the ones that settled on the apostles’ heads in Acts 2:3. Beneath the saddle bar on the right lancet is a portrayal of the sacred river of Ezek. 47, in which a river issues from below the temple (the same building before which the healing takes place) which also appears in Rev. 22.
DEDICATION: “IN GRATEFUL APPRECIATION OF BISHOP JOHN J. GRAVATT, D.D., AND HELEN STEVENS GRAVATT”
MEMORIAL: THIS WINDOW WAS GIVEN IN GRATEFUL APPRECIATION OF BISHOP JOHN J. GRAVATT AND MRS. JOHN J. GRAVATT (HELEN STEVENS) BY THE REVEREND AND MRS. B. DUVAL CHAMBERS.
26.Baptism and Laying on of Hands (1958):
Baptism is the full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ’s body. (Book of Common Prayer, 298, 858) (Christening is the baptizing of infants.) Confirmation marks a mature commitment to Christ and the reception of strength through the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands by a Bishop (Book of Common Prayer, 860).
Following Peter’s sermon at Acts 2:14-36, 3000 people were baptized. (Acts 2:37-6:7) The left lancet of this window shows Peter (in blue) holding a shell, the symbol of baptism (see #21) next to a baptismal font on the left. The man being baptized and the two awaiting baptism appear to be Roman soldiers, not Jews. The inscription reads, “He commanded them to be baptised in the name of the Lord” by saying “Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). Below the inscription is a crown with palm branches signifying rejoicing in the rule of the Lord, as the people spread palm leaves for Jesus crying “Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (John 12:13).
The right lancet shows the older Peter (bearded in blue) and the younger John laying their hands on a male and a female Samaritan kneeling before them. This was the first time Christianity reached beyond Jewish regions. The Jews considered Samaritans a mongrel tribe forbidden to Jews (Matt. 10:5) but Jesus was friendly to them. (Luke 10:30-7; 17:11-19; John 4:4-42) The inscription reads, “And they laid their hands on them” (Acts 8:17). Below the inscription is an eternal flame, symbolic of Jesus baptizing his followers with the Holy Spirit and with fire. (Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16)
DEDICATION: IN MEMORY OF GEDDINGS HARDY CRAWFORD, 1893-1956”
MEMORIAL: THIS WINDOW WAS GIVEN IN MEMORY OF GEDDINGS HARDY CRAWFORD, 1893-1956, BY HIS WIFE, JESSE THOMSON CRAWFORD.
27.St. Paul on the Road to Damascus and St. Paul Preaching in Athens (1934):
Though Paul was not one of the original Apostles, approximately half of Acts treats Paul’s life and works in founding churches in Asia Minor and Europe from approximately 30-60 AD. Therefore two of Trinity’s five windows treating the acts of the Apostles feature Paul. He is credited with writing 14 of the 27 books of the New Testament. Originally a persecutor of Christians named Saul of Tarsus, who witnessed and supported the stoning of St. Stephen (#8), he was journeying from Jerusalem to Damascus on business when the resurrected Jesus appeared in a light that blinded Saul for three days. (Acts 9:1-29) At the top of the left lancet a beacon is inscribed with the words Jesus spoke to Saul: “Saul, why persecutest thou me?” (Acts 9:4) Blinding light from the beacon shines down on the group. The inscription reads “Suddenly there shone from Heaven a great light.” (Acts 9:3: “Suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven.”). Below the inscription are the emblems of Paul, as seen in #10, a book, indicating the scriptures surmounting a sword, the symbol of his martyrdom.
The right lancet shows St. Paul preaching to the Athenians outside the court that tried murder and corruption charges in Athens, the Areopagus (in the background is the triangular pediment of a Greek temple with columns). Paul tells the Athenians that they have an altar to an unknown god, to whom they pray in their ignorance, but the God who made the world does not live in “temples made with hands.” (Acts 17:22-24). He tells them of the Resurrection; some scoff but some want to hear more later. The inscription reads, “And hath made of one blood all nations of men.” (Acts 17:26) Below the inscription is a cross with flame behind it, recalling Paul’s words, “The Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldst be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. (Acts 13:47)
DEDICATION: “MORRIS LUMPKIN, 5 DEC. 1888-22 May 1933, vestryman, a lover of church music”
MEMORIAL: THIS WINDOW WAS GIVEN IN MEMORY OF MORRIS LUMPKIN, 5 DECEMBER 1888-22 MAY 1933, VESTRYMAN, A LOVER OF CHURCH MUSIC, BY HIS WIFE, FRANCES WHITE LUMPKIN.
28.St. Paul’s Vision and St. Paul Before Agrippa (1960):
The left lancet portrays St. Paul’s “vision in the night” of a Macedonian man, who begs him, ‘Come over into Macedonia and help us” (Acts 16:9). Paul and Silas were in Troas, on the coast of Asia Minor, uncertain where to preach next. This was a vision (like the burning bush) not just a dream (though it came in the night). To judge by the nimbus surrounding the figure’s body, he is probably an angel adorned with the blond hair that is typical of Macedonians like Alexander the Great. (This is not the “Macedonian angel” of Daniel 10:12.) The large Roman province of Macedonia incorporated ancient Macedonia and other territories, stretching from the Adriatic to the Aegean Seas, from Thrace (now Bulgaria) down to Achaea (southern Greece) and lay opposite Troas, across the Aegean Sea (hence “come over”). The vision calls Paul to extend the preaching of the Gospel from Asia to Europe.
The bottom of the lancet shows a sword with a snake coiled around it, the symbol of St. Paul, beneath the inscription “Come over into Macedonia and help us.”
The right lancet shows Paul standing in chains with balls and chains on his feet before King Herod Agrippa I, the Roman governor of Judea, and his sister Berenice (Acts 25:23-26:32) in the coastal city of Caesarea, the administrative center of the province, where Paul had been imprisoned for two years. Behind Agrippa and Bernice is a tent canopy topped by an eagle, the symbol of Roman rule. In the lower left is Festus with the scroll containing the charges against Paul. The date is probably A.D. 59. After mobs in Jerusalem had tried to kill him for allegedly bringing Gentiles into the temple, Paul was taken to Caesarea for his safety. Having languished in jail there for two years, Paul was asked by the new procurator (governor) Porcius Festus if he wanted to be tried in Jerusalem, but Paul, fearing what the Jews would do to him, demanded a trial as a Roman citizen before the emperor in Rome. Paul was given a hearing before Agrippa was so impressed with Paul’s account of his conversion that he said to Paul, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” (Acts 26:28) Agrippa then told Festus that Paul had done “nothing worthy of death or of bonds” (Acts 26:32) and would have been set free had Paul not demanded a trial in Rome, to which he was then sent.
The ball-and-chain shackles are shown in the lower part of the window beneath the inscription, “So worship I the God of my Fathers” (Acts 24:14).
In the lower right corner of this lancet the white friar, trademark of Powell & Sons/Whitefriars, is clearly visible.
DEDICATION: IN LOVING MEMORY MARY HEYWARD BELSER 1888-1942.
MEMORIAL: THIS WINDOW WAS GIVEN IN LOVING MEMORY OF MARY HEYWARD BELSER, 1888-1942, BY HER HUSBAND AND CHILDREN.
29.Saint John Writing and Glory (1958):
These two lancets (unlike the other pairs of lancets) should be viewed as one scene, linked by the identical backgrounds and the water at the bottom of both windows. St. John the Apostle, at the direction of an angel, receives the revelation of the risen Christ.
The left lancet shows the angel pointing as John turns his head towards the returned Jesus. John holds a quill and an open book in obedience to Jesus’s command: “Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter. What thou seest, write in a book” (Revelation 1:11). Behind John are some of the monasteries dedicated to John and the doorway entrance to the cave on the rocky island of Patmos where he had been exiled toward the end of the reign of the emperor Domitian (A.D. 81-96) and where he received the revelations.
Below the lancet is a baptismal font beneath the words, “What thou seest, write in a book.” (Rev. 1:11)
The right lancet shows John’s vision: Surrounded by seven golden lampstands in the midst of which is Jesus, wearing a long robe down to his feet, with a golden belt. His hair is white “like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire.” (Rev. 1:12-14) His feet are pointed down (as in the Ascension window #24) indicating his movement between earth and heaven. In Rev. 1:16, he holds seven stars in his right hand, while in this window he raises three fingers indicating the blessing of the trinity. In his left hand he holds a book with an Alpha on one page and an Omega on the other. “I am the Alpha and the Omega says the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come, the sovereign Lord of all” (Revelation 1:8, 11). His head wears a crown symbolic of Jesus as Lord and King.
The seven candlesticks represent the seven churches in Asia and the seven stars in his hand (not in this window) represent the angels of those churches. (Rev. 1:20) Beneath Jesus’s feet are the words, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” indicating the Trinity.
The bottom of the right lancet window contains the inscription, “I am he that liveth and was dead” (Rev. 1:18) above crossed keys, reflecting Jesus’s statement that he holds “the keys of hell and death.” (Rev. 1:18)
DEDICATION: TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF KIRKMAN GEORGE FINLAY 1877-1938, RECTOR OF TRINITY CHURCH 1907-1921, FIRST BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE OF UPPER SOUTH CAROLINA 1922-1938
MEMORIAL: THIS WINDOW WAS GIVEN THROUGH AN ENDOWMENT FUND “TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF KIRKMAN GEORGE FINLAY 1877-1938, RECTOR OF TRINITY CHURCH 1907-1921, FIRST BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE OF UPPER SOUTH CAROLINA 1922-1938. BISHOP FINLAY IS INTERRED IN THE TRINITY CHURCHYARD.