Douglas Strachan, The Resurrection and the Emmaus Account
1950
Stained glass window
South chapel ("the Lady chapel")
Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Eastbourne, England
The imagery on this window reflects the functions of the south chapel, which according to the church's guide booklet is used for daily prayer and the Eucharist. The right and central panels picture the gospel's account of the travelers to Emmaus inviting a stranger to stay with them and coming to recognize him as Christ "in the breaking of the bread" (Luke 24:13-35). Above the central panel is the inscription ecce agnus dei, "Behold the Lamb of God," the phrase the priest addresses to the congregation when he raises up the consecrated host. In effect, the people are being invited to see in the host the awesome Christ that the Emmaus disciples saw, and that Mary Magdalene sees in the left panel when he appears to her in dazzling white and she exclaims "Rabboni" (John 20:11-18).
Other symbols broaden the Eucharistic message. The ecce agnus dei encircles an image of the Lamb of God standing on a hillock where four streams flow out. Dating back to at least the 5th century, this symbol represents Christ as the humble sacrificial lamb and at the same time as the eternal Son through whom were created the four primeval rivers of Genesis 2:10-14. In addition the upper areas of the two side panels present two parallel symbols representing Christ's death and resurrection. On the left the sacrificial death is symbolized by a pelican nursing her nestlings with blood from her own breast, a medieval commonplace. On the right the Resurrection is symbolized by an eagle flying to the upper regions.
According to the church's guide booklet there is a vigil light in the chapel "above the aumbry where the sacrament is kept." There is no actual lamp in the photograph I took, but in the central panel of the window a picture of a lamp hangs directly above the bread that Jesus is breaking.
The church's guide booklet provided the name of the artist and the date of the work.
View this image in full resolution.
Read more about the pelican symbol.
Read more about the Lamb of God and the four rivers.
Read more about images of the Emmaus account.
Read more about images of Mary Magdalene and the Resurrected Christ.
Photographed at the cathedral by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.