The North Transept

A transept is a transverse structure set crosswise to the nave at the front of the chancel in a cruciform church.  The word transept is derived from the Latin words trans (“across”) and septum (“wall”).  The transepts were constructed in 1861 and 1862 and designed by the Cathedral’s original (1846) architect, Edward Brickell White (1806-1882), as strong

projections from the building to make the church cruciform, as in its model, the Church of Saint Peter in York, England, generally known as “York Minster.”

7.The Lamar Window (restored in 1982):

This group of four lancets (the arch of the lower right window is missing) is partially obscured by the east stairwell to the transept balcony. The center of each section is etched glass (two green, one yellow, one purple, the dominant colors of the church calendar) surrounded by a stained glass border. Made in Munich, Germany, these are the last of the original lower nave windows of the 1846 church.

MEMORIAL: TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN THANKSGIVING FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FAITHFULLY SERVED THIS PARISH FOR MORE THAT A CENTURY BY MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM FRANCIS LAMAR JR., WILLIAM FRANCIS LAMAR III, AND WILLIAM FRANCIS LAMAR IV.

8.The Saint Stephen Window (1998):

This is the last window installed in the Cathedral some thirty years after the St. Paul window next to it.  It is appropriate that St. Stephen be next to St. Paul, since as Saul before his conversion, Paul both supported and witnessed the execution of St. Stephen. (Acts 8:1)

Acts 6:1-15 and 7:55-60 say Saint Stephen was the first-century martyr accused before the Sanhedrin. He was one of seven deacons appointed by the apostles to distribute alms.

Many Hebraic Jews objected to his preaching and charged him with blasphemy against Moses and God. While he was being charged, he saw a vision and was dragged out and stoned.

The two angels above St. Stephen represent the heavens and his vision. They are holding the rocks with which Saint Stephen was stoned and a book representing his studies.

Saint Stephen is dressed in a deacon’s dalmatic, a form of dress appropriate today but perhaps not in use in the first century.

This is the last window installed in the Cathedral, 30 years after the installation of the St. Paul window.

This window was executed by Willet Studios of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded by William Willet (1869-1921) in 1899 partly in opposition to the wide use of opalescent glass, such as that in the Narthex partition. Willet thought that transparent stained glass better served the architectural purpose of windows and he emphasized the use of traditional medieval materials and techniques.  By winning the commission over Louis Comfort Tiffany and others for the Cadet Chapel at the US Military Academy at West Point in 1910, he was considered the leading American stained glass artist. (Waggoner) His company today is known as Willet Hauser Architectural Glass.

DEDICATION: TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF WILLIAM VICTOR HARVEY 1819-1892

MEMORIAL: GIVEN BY FRANCES HARVEY MORRIS AND FAMILY.

9.The “I Am” Rose Window (1977):

A rose window is formed like a great rose blossom in full bloom. Each petal of this window graphically presents twelve unique sayings of Jesus, (beginning at position of one o’clock and moving clockwise).

“I that speaketh unto thee am he [the Messiah]” (John 4:26) is depicted by the letters IHΣ at the heart of the sunburst.

“I am the bread of life” (John 6:35) is depicted by wheat and a loaf of bread combined with the crux ansata (Latin: “cross with a handle”), after the Egyptian hieroglyph Ankh, which means “life.”

At Rev. 21:6 Jesus said “I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life.”  The petal shows lambs drinking from a fountain of water pouring from a rock.

“Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58) is depicted by the palm branch of triumph, peace, and eternal life and crown of eternal rule.

“I am the light of the world” (John 8:12) is depicted by a candle lighting the globe.

“I am the door” (John 10:9) is depicted by a door.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) is depicted by a hand. The hand is probably the best-known symbol of God the Father and the only one used for the first eight centuries.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman” (John 15:1) is depicted by a grapevine and grapes.

“I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6) is depicted by the combination of a path, a flaming torch, and the cross of life.

“Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for I am” (John 13:13) is depicted by a crown and scepter.

“I am the resurrection, and the life” (John 11:25) is depicted by the phoenix, a mythological bird believed by the ancients to set its nest and itself on fire when old, only to be subsequently resurrected from the ashes.

“I am alpha (A) and omega (Ω), the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” (Rev. 22:13) Alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, symbolizing the eternity of our Savior.

At the heart of the rose is the lamb of God, Agnus Dei. The lamb was a sacrificial animal in antiquity, which came to symbolize Jesus, who was sacrificed for our sins: St. John the Baptist, just after the baptism of Jesus, twice pointed him out saying, “Behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1,29,36).

This window was created by the Willet Studios of Philadelphia, PA.

MEMORIAL: THIS WINDOW WAS GIVEN BY THE HAMPTON FAMILY AS A MEMORIAL TO ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE HAMPTON FAMILY, WHO HAVE SERVED THIS PLACE SINCE ITS FOUNDING IN 1812.

10.The Saint Paul Window (1968):

Saint Paul holds a book in his left hand as testimony to his writings and a sword in his right hand. At Ephesians 6:17 Paul advises his followers “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Behind Paul is a sailboat, on which

he traveled around the eastern Mediterranean to meet his congregations (Acts 13.4,13). Acts 276 & 28 tell of his voyage to Rome to face charges. He sails up the coast of Asia Minor in a coasting vessel, probably like the one depicted here, to the island of Malta, where he is shipwrecked.  He then proceeds to Rome in a large boat conveying wheat from Egypt to Rome.

The crossed swords at the top of the window are also representative of this saint—one refers to the good fight he fought, the other to his martyrdom by the sword. The bottom of the window carries another emblem associated with Saint Paul—the serpent and the fire. In Acts 28:2-6 a viper attacks and bites him while shipwrecked on Malta.  Paul threw the viper into the fire. The natives waited for his collapse and certain death, but when he survived, they pronounced him “a god.”

On St. Paul and St. Stephen, see #8.

Acts of Paul are also depicted in windows 27 & 28.

This window was created by Powell and Sons Company/Whitefriars of London, England.  Members of the Roman Catholic religious order the Carmelite Order of the White Friars was founded in the 13^th century. Carmelite friaries across England were known simply as “Whitefriars.”  In 1720 a small glass factory was founded off Fleet St. in London, on the site of a former Carmelite friary, so the company was called “Whitefriars.” The company was purchased in 1834 by James Powell (1774-1840) and developed new technologies for the production of glass, just as the Gothic Revival created the need for such glass. Powell & Sons/Whitefriars became the leading producer of colored glass in England in the Victorian and Edwardian periods.  In 1962 the company’s name was changed back to “Whitefriars Glass Ltd.” The company’s trademark, a friar in a white cassock, appears in the lower right-hand corner of this window.

DEDICATION: “To the Glory of God and in loving memory of the Rt. Rev. Louis Chester Melcher D.D., Rector of this parish 1938-1948. Bishop of Brazil 1948-1960. Born 1898-Died 1965

MEMORIAL: THIS WINDOW WAS GIVEN BY THE CONGREGATION OF TRINITY CHURCH TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF THE RIGHT REVEREND LOUIS CHESTER MELCHER, D.D. (1898-1965). THE MEMORIAL IS FITTING, FOR JUST AS ST. PAUL JOURNEYED TO THE GENTILES AS THE GREAT APOSTLE, SO, TOO, BISHOP MELCHER, IN 1948, JOURNEYED TO BRAZIL AS A MISSIONARY BISHOP. HE SERVEDAS RECTOR AT TRINITY FROM 1939-1948 AND IS BURIED IN THE CHURCHYARD.

11&12.The Prophets Daniel and Ezekiel (1975):

This pair of lancets comprise one of the two windows in the Cathedral that illustrate the four prophets of the Old Testament. This pair of lancets comprise one of the two windows in the Cathedral that illustrate four prophets of the Old Testament. 18 & 19 in the SouthTransept show Isaiah and Jeremiah) who spoke of the Messiah. These portrayals of the Old Testament Prophets provide a wonderful parallel for the four Evangelists who are portrayed in the Narthex windows. Window 16 is the only other window in the church that refers to the Old Testament.

Daniel, who lived during the Babylonian Captivity, is shown in the center of the lancet with his hands together in prayer, as he did three times daily (Daniel 6:10). Daniel was known for his various visions in which he saw the future of Israel and the world.

The ram’s head at the top of the right lancet depicts Daniel’s vision of a two-horned ram, which drives away those in all directions with impunity. The two horns represent the kings of the Medes and Persians (Daniel 8:8-9, 20).

At the bottom of the lancet, a lion reminds us of the story of Daniel in the lion-pit. Daniel 6:16-23 says King Darius issued an edict that said if anyone should present a petition to any god or human other than the king himself, that person would be thrown into the lion-pit. When Daniel disregarded the edict and continued to pray to his god, his enemies quickly told King Darius, who, with reluctance, followed through on his threat. As Daniel was being cast into the pit, the king said, “Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.” When the king returned the next day, he found that God had sent an angel to close the lions’ mouths and Daniel was saved.

Ezekiel, portrayed in the left lancet, is known for his prophecies regarding the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple, the restoration to Israel, and the new temple. Like Daniel, he lived during the Babylonian Captivity in the 6^th century BC. Ezekiel’s right hand is raised in blessing, his left hand holds a model of the new temple. As an exiled priest, he dealt with the everyday problems of worship in a foreign land, dreamed of a new Jerusalem, inspired hope and faith in his fellow exiles, and influenced the development of the synagogue.

The tops of these two windows are obscured by a balcony support, but contain no images.

Willet Studios executed these two lancet windows.

DEDICATION: “To the Glory of God and in loving memory of the right reverend John Adams Pinckney, 1905-1972, bishop of upper south Carolina 1963-1972”

MEMORIAL: THIS WINDOW WAS GIVEN BY FAMILY AND FRIENDS TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF THE RIGHT REVEREND JOHN ADAMS PINCKNEY, 1905—1972, AND HILDA P. PINCKNEY, BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE OF UPPER SOUTH CAROLINA FROM 1963 TO 1972, BISHOP PINCKNEY IS INTERRED IN THE CHURCHYARD.