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Welcome. I am Dr. David Schmidt and I will be your tour guide of the stained glass windows

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in the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus on the campus of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.

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I was a member of the stained glass windows committee and Rich Buswell of Lynchburg Stained

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Glass was the senior artist and designer. Lynchburg Stained Glass created and installed

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the windows beginning in 2020. The south nave window in the Narthex is the Abraham window.

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Starting at the base, the creation is featured. The Spirit in the form of a dove emerges from

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a swirling of line and color radiating above the waters of creation. Light is a major component

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of this window area representing light out of darkness and light from above. You access

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the rest of the window from the choir loft on the second floor. There you see how the

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window design flows up into an area of dark storm clouds. Noah's Ark emerges from the

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storm area into the light and calm. A dove approaches the Ark with an olive branch to

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symbolize God's reconciliation with humanity. The images flow upward to Abraham. He is depicted

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at the moment that the angel stops him from sacrificing his son Isaac. Isaac is shown

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bound and lying on the altar of sacrifice, yet his hands are folded in prayer. Abraham's

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knife and the torch he would have used for the sacrifice are now cast off. Instead, Abraham

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is looking up and receiving God's promise that his offspring would be as numerous as

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the stars in the sky gestured to by the angel. The window design continues as you look down

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below Isaac. The descendants of Abraham flow from Isaac through Jacob and his twelve sons.

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There is the Star of David surrounded by twelve stars, each star representing one of the twelve

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tribes of Israel. The twelfth star, unlike the other eleven clear jewels, is a symbolic

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emerald, a royal symbol of David. The Lion of Judah also appears here to symbolize the

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tribe of Judah and the Lion of David. In the North Narthex, the story continues for Christians

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at the baptismal font, where they are buried with Christ in baptism and raised to newness

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of life. Mirroring the waters of creation on the South Narthex, the Spirit hovers over

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the baptismal waters of the new creation, centered in Christ, figured by the Chi Rho superimposed

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on a cross. Here, joined to the death and resurrection of Christ, God's people have

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new life. The rest of the window can be seen from the balcony on the second floor of the

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chapel. As Abraham was given a vision of his descendants as numerous as the stars, John

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is given a vision of the seven angels and the seven churches. While their number of

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seven represents wholeness, each church is architecturally distinct. This vision captures

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the unity and diversity among God's people throughout the world as John sees how God's

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promise that Abraham would be a blessing for all nations is fulfilled in Christ.

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The second South Nave window is the King's window. The window begins in the low left

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corner with the call of Moses. You see the burning bush with the figure of Moses emerging

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behind it as he parts the Red Sea. Mount Sinai is depicted featuring the tablets of law,

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a fiery cloud and lightning swirl around the mountain symbolizing God's holy presence and

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God's anger with the Jews for worshiping the Golden Idol. The desert flows out from Moses,

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reminding us of the wilderness wanderings. When the wandering Jews lost their faith,

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God had Moses erect the bronze serpent as a path to redemption. A shofar blows out small

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sparks recalling the 40 years of wandering. This ram's harm that announced the Jewish

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New Year separates that wilderness darkness from the bright greens of the promised land

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flowing with milk and honey. In this promised land appears Ruth. She holds the wheat that

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she had gleaned, bringing her to the attention of Boaz and thus continuing the line of David.

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Ruth's gaze leads us to her grandson, King David. There you see the stump of Jesse and

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a branch that shoots off, intertwining with the figure of David. David is enthroned on

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two tiers, reminding us that he unified the kingdoms of Judah and Israel into one. David's

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robe transitions from blues to purple to remind us of his common beginnings. He was not born

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to royalty. He was a shepherd boy. His shepherd staff transitions into a harp just as his

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life transitioned from a simple shepherd to becoming the king of Israel. You may notice

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that David also has an emerald jewel in the clasp of his royal robe. As David plays his

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harp, reminding us of psalms of praise, he looks upward at the temple of Jerusalem that

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his son Solomon will eventually build. Here, as elsewhere in the windows, you see angels

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playing instruments of praise. The third south nave window is the prophet's window. In this

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window the story begins at the top with the prophet Isaiah. Having his vision of an angel

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cleansing his lips with a burning coal, Isaiah now prophesies riding upon a scroll about

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the coming of the Savior. A second scroll appears. This one features a human heart with

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an iron pen, the prophet Jeremiah. A third scroll appears, the prophet Ezekiel who had

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a vision of the temple rebuilt. From the details of that prophecy arise a turreted gateway

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and river flowing from the temple of God. As a fourth scroll appears, we see the prophet

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Daniel. He is engaging in daily prayer for which he was thrown into the lion's den. Here

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the angel closes the mouth of the lion that was about to devour him. And at the bottom,

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the scroll of Isaiah again appears, forming one of the corner posts of the manger. Words

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of prophecy become reality. Scripture cradles the Christ. An angel looks over the nativity

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scene holding a lily, reminding us of Mary's calm and faithful acceptance of God's plan.

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Joseph holds a flowering staff with a star of David and an emerald jewel. The line of

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promised life from Abraham to David to Christ is now complete. An unexpected witness of

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Elijah figures in the shadows, gesturing toward the future, pointing to the martyr's window

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which will appear on the other side of the chapel. As in the creation window, the river

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of life flows down from Ezekiel's scroll to the promised Christ.

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In the middle north nave window, we have the apostles and martyrs whose lives give praise

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to God. At the bottom of the window, we see the martyrdom of John the Baptist. And then

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Saint Peter, who made confession of the faith upon which Jesus gave the keys of the kingdom

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to the church. The waters of new creation are prominent as we see the Ethiopian eunuch

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asking to be baptized by Philip. Here, the scroll of Isaiah mirrors the prophecy window

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and links the Ethiopians baptism to God's suffering servant, Jesus Christ. The apostle

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Paul falls back as he is blinded on the road while Timothy and Titus look forward to the

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return of Christ. The figures of Timothy and Titus mirror the original stained glass window

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in the chancel and remind us both of the namesake of the chapel and of the mission and ministry

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of Concordia Seminary. In the top of the window, the fires of martyrdom burn brightly. An angel

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provides a palm branch to an unnamed martyr assuring us of the victory of God over death

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even as we continue to pray for those who are persecuted for the faith today.

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The third north nave window is called the Feast of All Nations window and foretells

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of the communion of Christ and his church now and in the life to come. In this window,

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the artist was capturing the words of the Te Deum, the holy church throughout all the

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world does acknowledge you. How do you see the church throughout the world acknowledging

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God in this window? At the bottom of the window is a Eucharistic table where disciples from

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all nations gather. The tree of life emerges from the baptismal waters to form the base

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of this table. The tree harkening back to the stump of Jesse brings forth wheat and

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grapes. Around this table gather disciples from all nations. Looking at the disciples,

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one sees that no barrier of language, age, status or physical ability prevents the faithful

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from communing with Jesus in this world or the world to come. Above the table, the four

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evangelists, Matthew the angel, Mark the lion, Luke the ox and John the eagle bring the proclamation

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of the gospel to the ends of the earth. In the center of the earth stands a transparent

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cross. Tree like in look, the cross reveals the living grace of God through which we see

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the world and reminds us of the presence of Christ in the world yesterday, today and tomorrow.

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The river of life continues to flow through this window, calling God's people to celebrate

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now in hope of the new creation. Such anticipation is seen in the eagle who looks toward the

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return of Christ and the figures whose robes begin to change to jewel like tones. Indeed,

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all who gather around the Eucharistic table participate in a foretaste of the feast to

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come. The south nave transept features the humiliation

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crucifixion window. Central to this window is the crucified figure of Christ who is gazing

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over at the resurrection illustrated in the chancel window. Angels emerge from the background,

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some holding the victorious palms of martyrdom while others hold the withered grapes of wrath.

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Unlike the other windows, the angels do not play their instruments. One angel points to

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Christ and we see the reason why. Christ drinks the cup of wrath. Shards of darkness pierce

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the window with the sharpness of death just as the instruments of death have pierced the

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body of Christ. The sun is eclipsed at his moment of death. At the base of the cross

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is the ancient symbol of the pelican. Her wings swoops up and integrates with the wings

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of the angels surrounding the Savior. The mother pelican has willingly pierced her breast

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to feed her young. If you look carefully you will notice that her brood is also fed by

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the blood of Christ. This pelican's nest of woven branches become thorns and ultimately

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an olive branch to reveal how Christ's torture, humiliation, and sacrifice reconciles us with

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his Father. The central chancel window is the resurrection.

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Central to this window is the resurrected figure of the Savior rising above the altar.

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The figure of Christ, as in all the windows, is of clear, colorless glass, letting the

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light of the world shine from above. Below him is the darkness of the tomb where the

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dark power of death has been broken. Here is another ancient symbol of the resurrection,

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the pomegranate. You see the pomegranate bursting in the tomb's darkness, the blood-red seeds

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radiating outward, winding around this image of the thorns of his crucifixion crown, now

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turning from dormant brown to a renewed spring-like green. Above the left shoulder of Christ is

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the hand of God the Father reaching down and raising his son from the dead. As God the

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Father now offers the world his risen Son, Christ has his hands open and arms outstretched,

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inviting all to come to him. Silhouetted by the sunrise, two other ancient

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symbols now intertwine as the phoenix rises from the ashes and flames to greet the dove

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of the Holy Spirit which descends in anticipation of Pentecost. Their flames become one.

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In the center of the window the word is represented by the sword of the Spirit that is held by

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the Son. The hilt of the sword is of a cruciform shape like the gilded crosses of the Church.

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But the true beauty of this cross is not its five jewels but the wounds of the Son. The

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wound of the Savior's outstretched hand becomes the center jewel in the hilt of the

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sword that leads to the Spirit, proclaiming the saving work of Jesus Christ to the world.

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To the sides of this window are the sacraments of the Lord's Supper and baptism. On the

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left is the Eucharistic wheat found among the lilies of the new creation. On the right

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the chalice and grapes. The water flows down into a baptismal stream that continues on

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into other windows, reminding worshippers that they have been baptized into the death

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and resurrection of Christ. Angels, as in other windows, play different golden instruments

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in exaltation of God the Son. The north transept window is the exaltation judgment and the

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new creation window. Christ returns, his hair flowing back toward the new Jerusalem as he

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sits in judgment on his throne. He reaches out to the righteous with his wounded hand

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as he gestures upward to the eternal city from which he has come. The figures of many

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nations are drawn to his presence, some more recognizable than others as they represent

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past, present, and future believers in him. In the upper right of this window are figures

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and attitudes of distress and despair. They have been judged unworthy and are caught in

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the place of darkness, unable to continue into the heavenly city. Shards of darkness,

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the sharpness of death reminiscent of the crucifixion block their way. Over Christ is

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a dove whose wings connect the heavenly city to the presence of Christ. Angels trumpet

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their golden instruments, heralding the new creation and announcing Christ's return. The

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river of life flows from the new Jerusalem, fulfilling the prophecy of Ezekiel seen in

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the prophet's window, and comes down through the window to merge with the waters from the

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chancel window and connect with the river that flows throughout all the windows of the

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nave. At the very bottom, one sees a glimpse of the new creation.