08 East – The Vine
Loyd & Leila Detlefs – Donors
The vine symbolizes the interconnectedness of the Apostles to Christ; of the believers to the Church. In this small panel, the head of the tree is symbolized with the Chi Rho and crown. The letters X and P are often used as another symbol for Christ. The first two letters of Christ’s name in Greek are X and P. In the Greek alphabet, X equals ‘CH’ (pronounced ‘Kye’ and P equals ‘R’ pronounced ‘Roe’). To either side, we can find the most common symbols for the 12 Apostles, starting with those on the left
- Keys – Peter’s Keys of Heaven
- James (the Lesser/son of Alphaeus) – Halberd and square
- James (the Greater/son of Zebedee) – Scallop shells
- Jude – Ship
- Matthew – Tax collection bags
- Simon – fish and saw
Those on the right include:
- John – Serpent in a chalice
- Andrew – St. Andrew’s cross
- Philip – Cross and two loaves of bread
- Bartholomew – Three knives
- Simon – Saw
- Matthias – Hatchet over Bible (Matthias replaced Judas after drawing lots)
See also: 18 West – Grapes; 19 West – Doves and Grapes; 33 West – Grapes.
I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. —John 15:5