BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Washington Natl Cathedral -- Stained glass

DC -- Washington Natl Cathedral -- Stained glass:

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. NCATHG_030927_148.JPG: A piece of moon rock is in the middle of this one
2. NCATHG_030927_182.JPG: Time and History (Redoubtable Hebrew Women)
3. NCATHG_030927_208.JPG: Faith of the Hebrews
4. NCATHG_030927_217.JPG: Religion and Righteousness
5. NCATHG_030927_222.JPG: The North Nave Clerestory Windows
6. NCATHG_030927_224.JPG: Religion and Righteousness: This is the third window commemorating the U.S. government, honoring the legislative branch of our government. The window tells of God's righteousness and support for the oppressed. Installed in 1987. (1) From the story of the Good Samaritan, a priest and a Levite pass by a man, beaten and robbed by thieves. (2) The victim lies helpless while the thieves can be seen fleeing into the distance. (3) The heroic Samaritan man is depicted twice. First he stops to help the victim, and then he is seen again placing the man on his own donkey and taking him to an inn where he pays for the victim's food, lodging and continued care. (4) The Hebrew prophet Amos holds a plumb line, which is used to measure the straightness of a structure and which is a symbol of God's demand for righteousness and justice among all people. (5) The dome of the United States Capitol building where Congress is sworn to uphold the law and to protect the rights of the oppressed. (6) The third line from the preamble of the United States Constitution completes the quote begun in the previous two windows: "DO ORDAIN AND ESTABLISH THIS CONSTITUTION."
7. NCATHG_030927_227.JPG: Salvation Foretold: John the Baptist
8. NCATHG_030927_231.JPG: Salvation Foretold: John the Baptist: As the story unfolds in the windows from west to east, this window depicts John the Baptist preaching the need for repentance. He is the prophet who told of the coming of Jesus of Nazareth, whom Christians call the Christ. Installed in 1987. (1) The river Jordan, where Jesus was baptized, as a beautiful blue ribbon, which continues to thread through the other lancets. (2) The towering, gaunt figure of John the Baptist as he calls for repentance, a "voice crying in the wilderness." (3) At the top, a group of John's followers, to whom he is preaching. At the bottom of this lancet is the kneeling figure of Jesus, who is awaiting the baptism of John, seen in the rightmost lancet. Thus, by John's baptism of Jesus, we are brought visually through the stories of the Hebrew Bible to the beginning of Jesus' mission and into the stories of the Christian Bible. (4) John, standing with a scallop shell of baptism in hand, waiting to baptize Jesus. The river continues toward the top of the lancet. (5) The dove, symbol of the Holy Spirit which descended on Jesus at the time of his baptism when the voice of God said, "Thou art my beloved Son, with thee I am well pleased."
9. NCATHG_030927_233.JPG: The Calling of Peter: The clerestory window nearest the Crossing feature saints Peter and Paul, for whom the Cathedral is named. Peter is portrayed in the north window, and Paul in the south. Installed 1980. (1) Peter, the fisherman, as he drops his discarded fishing net, which is depicted in colors of pale blues and purples with fine black lines. He stands on a rock, with the many fish once in his net escaping beneath him. As he drops his own fish net, Peter reaches out for the golden net, symbolizing Jesus' call to Peter to stop fishing for fish and to begin fishing for people in his name. The golden net dominates the window. (2) Caught in the swirl of the golden net is a small figure in green -- Peter's brother Andrew. Andrew was the first disciple to follow Jesus, and brought him to Peter. (3) The towering figure of Jesus, throwing out the golden net to pull his disciples to him. (4) A fishing boat typical of the kind used during Jesus' life. (5) A cross, symbolic of Jesus' sacrifice at his crucifixion.
10. NCATHG_030927_234.JPG: The Calling of Peter
11. NCATHG_030927_241.JPG: Faith of the Hebrews. This is the second of the three windows which commemorate the branches of US government, honoring the executive branch of our government. The window also celebrates the faith of the Hebrew people. Installed in 1991. (1) The figures of the Hebrews are seen at the top and moving downward, as they journeyed through the wilderness in search of the promised land. (2) As they continued their journey, they were led by a pillar of fire by night... (3) ... and a pillar of cloud by day. (4) They travel on an ever upward in the fourth and final lancet, (5) The White House, home of the President of the United States. As Moses led the Hebrews, so the president leads our nation. (6) In bold letter is the second line of the preamble of the United States Constitution: "IN ORDER TO FORM A MORE PERFECT UNION."
12. NCATHG_030927_245.JPG: Reform and Growth of the Hebrew Nation: This is the first of three windows whose sections commemorate the three branches of the United States Government, honoring the courts of our nation. The window also portrays the development of Israel through the building the rebuilding of the sacred temple. Installed in 1989. (1) King Solomon, builder of the original Temple in Jerusalem. He holds a model of the Temple over his head. Eventually, the Torah (the books of Jewish Law) was lost and the Temple fell to ruin. (2) Josiah holds the Torah above his head, having rediscovered it when he began repairs on the Temple. Beneath his feet, the busy masons work on the reconstruction of the Temple. (3) The decay of the Temple with the stones crumbling and overgrown with vegetation. (4) Ezra is seen mounting the walls of the rebuilt Temple holding aloft the sacred Torah. (5) The facade of the United States Supreme Court Building. Just as judges guided the national [sic] of Israel, the rule of judges is no less central in our society. (6) In the predella, or lower portion of each lancet, is seen the beginning of the preamble to the United States Constitution; "WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES"
13. NCATHG_030927_248.JPG: Reform and Growth of the Hebrew Nation
14. NCATHG_030927_252.JPG: Suffering and Redemption (Psalm 137): This window, through its depiction of the 137th psalm, symbolizes the Israelites' despair in captivity in Babylon and their hope for redemption and return to Israel. The figures are weeping by the waters, hanging their harps in the trees or shrubs, refusing to sing the music for which they are known. "By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept when we remembered you, O Zion," reads the psalm. Installed in 2002. (1) An unknown prophet with upraised finger pointing to the rainbow in the multifoil above. (2 and 3) Two center lancets portray Jewish figures weeping by the Euphrates River, which courses through the middle of the window. (4) An unknown prophet, in a downcast mood of doom and despair. (5) [Small center piece at the top] A rainbow, symbolizing hope. A stone from the area of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, a gift from the people of Israel, is incorporated in the window, as a symbol of hope for all who suffer.
15. NCATHG_030927_256.JPG: Suffering and Redemption
16. NCATHG_030927_258.JPG: Time and History (Redoubtable Hebrew Women). In this window, which depicts four heroic women from the Hebrew Bible, the theme "redoubtable" was described by the window's artist as "smart, vigorous, a force to be reckoned with." Installed in 2000. (1) The first lancet depicts Esther, Queen of Persia, a Jewish woman, who rescued the Jews in Persia when threatened with extermination. She foiled an attempt by the prime minister to hang the Jews. The noose, seen below, was used instead on the prime minister himself. (2) Judith decided to save her town in Judea from an attack by the Assyrians. She dressed in finery and she and her maid tricked their way into the tend of the Assyrian General Holofernes, who intended to seduce them. Instead, Judith cut off the general's head and placed it in her maid's bag. The two women warned the townspeople who attacked the Assyrians at dawn. (3) Miriam, Moses' sister, is shown dancing and playing the tambourine with joy after the Pharoah's men were drowned in the Red Sea. The Israelites successfully crossed over the water ahead of the army. (4) Deborah was an honored and wise judge who sat beneath a palm tree to settle problems. She stood in battle garb to encourage the Israelites [and?] fought in successive battles against the Canaanites. (5) [The small center top piece] Moses' basket which Miriam and her mother sent into the Nile to protect the baby from being killed.
17. NCATHG_030927_267.JPG: Joshua
18. NCATHG_030927_271.JPG: Joshua: This window tells of those who decide for God or against God, with imagery of God's covenant with his chosen people, the Hebrews. Joshua succeeded Moses as the leader of the Hebrews and was the one who told his people they must choose whom to follow. Installed in 1993. (1) Judas, having decided to betray Jesus, drops his thirty pieces of silver and in despair reaches for the tree by which he will hang himself. (2) The two center lancets tell of Joshua, who called his people and blessed [sic] those who choose to serve God. With his left hand he sweeps away those who deny God. (3) A great oak tree beneath which Joshua places a rock to remind the people of their pledge to worship the Lord and to forsake foreign gods. (4) The suffering Jesus, carrying his cross, above him his weeping mother, beneath him his followers. (5) The top multifoil shows the most cherished symbol of the Hebrews, the golden Ark of the Covenant.
19. NCATHG_030927_273.JPG: Noah: This window tells the story of Noah and the Ark, from the book of Exodus. God saw that the world was evil, and sent a flood to wash cruelty, sin, and violence from the world. Noah, found to be a righteous man, received a message from God to build an ark and take his family and two of every creature to save them from destruction. Installed in 1983. (1) The evil of the world is shown by two men fighting above a pile of human skulls. (2) An enormous wave approaches to cleanse the Earth. (3) Noah stands on the ark with his arms raised. Animals peer out of the windows. A rainbow, symbolizing God's promise to never destroy the world again by flood, arches above. (4) Noah's son, Shem, tills the soil and plants the vineyards. Beneath him is his family, showing the continuance of humankind. (5) A dove carrying an olive branch. Noah sent the dove out from the ark to see if the waters were receding. The dove returned with the branch, demonstrating that dry land had returned.
20. NCATHG_030927_286.JPG: Noah
21. NCATHG_030927_287.JPG: The North Nave Clerestory Windows: At Washington National Cathedral, the nave clerestory, or uppermost level, windows are the largest windows with the exception of the three rose windows. The art and artisanship of the Cathedral is tied together by a system of images and symbols called iconography. The creation west rose window stands as a prologue to the march of the clerestory windows--bay by bay--from the west balcony to the great crossing. Each pair of windows, north and south, of the clerestory continues the story of events and history of the Hebrew people set forth in the Old Testament as a prelude to the coming of Jesus. As the west rose window attests to the Divine origin of all life, the Cathedral interior thereafter offers a perception of God's covenant with Humanity. The clerestory windows suggest clues to God's presence in aiding the human spirit as it moves from mortality in the west to eternity as depicted in the east. In no other Christian structure built in the twentieth century has there been an opportunity for so much stained glass iconography as in this Cathedral. These eighteen nave clerestory windows (nine on each side) contain one of the largest assemblies of Old Testament figures ever to be placed in one church's stained glass windows. The eminent artist Rowan LeCompte designed all of the nave clerestory windows as well as the west rose window. It was decided that one artist should design all the windows to create a harmony of design in all the windows. The first window was completed in 1977 and the eighteenth and final window was installed in 2002. LeCompte has spoken of the importance of the elements of richness of color, clarity and sparkle in stained glass and those elements are brilliantly displayed in these masterpieces. The windows are approximately 27 feet tall and each of comprised of four lancets, or thin, pointed windows. The descriptions use the terms lancet, meaning one of four sections making up the entire window; multifoil, meaning the six lobed section above the lancets; predella, meaning the lower part of the window.
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