My latest glass commission is to create two crosses for the Lent/Easter festivals at St John’s Scottish Episcopal church in Dumfries, SW Scotland. One for the period leading up to Passion Week, culminating in Good Friday, and a second one to celebrate the Resurrection of Easter Day.

The Lent Cross – to hang in the main nave from the start of Lent (14 February – 28 March)

He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and aquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Isaiah 53:3

Symbolism in the design

The design for the cross is based on three elements of the passion of Christ: nails, thorns and rope. There are three nails running across the cross-beam, one for each part of the Trinity present at the crucifixion. Each nail is hand-painted with a tangle of lines. There are four thorns running down the upright post, representing the crown of thorns thrust mockingly onto Jesus’ head in the events leading up to the crucifixion. There is a representation of ropes that bound Christ to the cross, seen in the lead lines descending the full length of the upright post. The whip or scourge that was used to torture Jesus can also be seen in the rope and jagged shapes.

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. Isaiah 53:4

The choice of glass was designed to require careful positioning of the viewer to see the colours within the darkened transparency of the Wissmach art glass. The depth of colour is not seen unless the cross is illuminated from behind.

A Roman method of corporal punishment

Usually the condemned man, after being whipped, or “scourged,” dragged the crossbeam of his cross to the place of punishment, where the upright shaft was already fixed in the ground. Stripped of his clothing either then or earlier at his scourging, he was bound fast with outstretched arms to the crossbeam or nailed firmly to it through the wrists. The crossbeam was then raised high against the upright shaft and made fast to it about 9 to 12 feet (approximately 3 metres) from the ground. Next, the feet were tightly bound or nailed to the upright shaft. A ledge inserted about halfway up the upright shaft gave some support to the body; evidence for a similar ledge for the feet is rare and late. Over the criminal’s head was placed a notice stating his name and his crime. Death ultimately occurred through a combination of constrained blood circulation, organ failure, and asphyxiation as the body strained under its own weight. It could be hastened by shattering the legs (crurifragium) with an iron club, which prevented them from supporting the body’s weight and made inhalation more difficult, accelerating both asphyxiation and shock. From Britannica website – Crucifixion.

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5