Tyndale Chapel – Chapel Windows

Chapel Windows - Tyndale Chapel

Overview

Beginning at the doors leading into the Chapel, a stylized fish symbol associated with the early Christian church appears. This shape is repeated throughout the Chapel in the slate design of the aisles, on the ceiling and in the glass of the side doors to the left and right when you first enter.

  • The height of the chapel is an impressive 56 feet from floor to ceiling
  • Lower walls of the Chapel leading up to the chancel (raised area at the front) are made of Italian Casino Rose marble
  • Upper walls are paneled in bleached mahogany framing the 30-foot-high coloured glass windows designed and installed by artist Jean Barillet of Paris, France
  • Window designs are modelled on those of the Cathedral of Beauvais, near Rheims, France

Stained Coloured Glass

Stained and coloured glass artwork became popular in the Middle Ages when pieces were used to illustrate stories from the Bible to a largely illiterate population. This art form has remained popular in churches all over the world. Colour plays an integral part in the design of the stained glass windows lining the walls in the Chapel. The background colours (green, blue and red) symbolize the theological virtues of hope, love and charity.

  • First three windows closest to the chancel, highlighted with the colour green, represent hope
  • Middle windows feature the colour blue represent heavenly love
  • Last three windows, feature a predominant colour red that represent the virtue of charity

Cross

A series of crosses are featured in the chancel floor design while Monte Verde marble frames the mosaic backdrop. A band of varied symbols stretch across the mosaic as the gradation in colour draws your eye upwards to the gold leaf canopy suspended high above the altar. Centred on this mosaic is an oak-carved cross reaching 27 feet high.