Stained Glass Windows in Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church

Each of our sanctuary’s four windows display the Chi-Rho symbol, the two Greek letters in the word Christ: Christ Alone, Christ in Scripture, Christ and the Sacraments, and Christ Victorious. The chi is an X-shape (one reason why Christmas was abbreviated Xmas), and the Rho (looks like a P) is superimposed, perhaps to look like a crucified Jesus, but most likely introduced into Christian tradition via our thousands of manuscript copies of the New Testament still in existence. In some of them, when they included commonly used words, you can see the letters superimposed on each other as a way to save space with very expensive materials for that time.

    The Chi-Rho has remained a long-standing symbol for Jesus as the perfect fulfillment of Biblical prophecy that led to the salvation of all mankind of all times, places and nationalities. The symbol is also found on the decorative cloths or paraments, on our altar in the front of the church, and in other places.

    Each window image also radiates eight golden rays of light, reminding us that the Christ given us through the Holy Scriptures is the “light of the world” (John 8:12) and He came to inaugurate a new creation that has begun in us through our Baptism into Christ, our own “eighth day” of creation.

The window closest to the front of the sanctuary is the Chi-Rho by itself, emphasizing the Reformation theme of “Christ Alone.” Nothing else is necessary for our salvation except for Jesus Christ our Savior and His sacrifice for all the people of the world. In Antioch of Pisidia in modern day Turkey, the followers of Jesus were first called “Christians” (Acts 11:26), thereby placing this title of Jesus’ completed mission upon everyone who calls upon His name in faith.

In this window the Chi-Rho is fashioned more like a cross and is situated between the two Sacraments of the Church: Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. In Baptism the believer is washed with the Blood of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and added to the faithful to become part of the One, Holy, Christian (also described in our creeds as the “catholic”) Church.

The Chalice stands for both the Bread and the Wine in Holy Communion that Jesus instituted for Christians to eat His Body and drink His Blood in, with and under this Bread and Wine. By partaking of this Sacrament together, those who commune publicly affirm their total agreement with one another in all the details of the Christian faith. This common confession of faith is nurtured by the preaching and teaching care of the pastor the congregation has called to serve them in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior.

These four windows were lovingly designed, crafted and installed in 2002-03 by Millard and Pat Surratt, members of Christ Our Savior Ev. Lutheran Church. Each window depicts the Chi and Rho Greek letters. In each the cross is different as is the Rho symbol for Christ. Each pane of glass equals a tile, like a mosaic, and each window is 15 sq ft. The Surratts hunted at yard sales for the colors of glass they wanted and also bought larger pieces from a local store. The windows display two techniques of leading: “foil” and “came.” The first is for smaller runs; the second is H-shaped for bigger pieces. After inserting the cut glass pieces and soldering the melted leading (heated to 600 degrees), Millard and Patsy glazed the windows several times to prevent moisture. The work of the Surratts helped turn a simple meeting room into an intimate sanctuary for worship.