Wedding Feast at Cana (Left Panel Detail)
Payne Spiers Studio 1930 or 1940
To The Glory of God And In Loving Memory of Grace Dorgan Porter
DESCRIPTION: In the left panel of Wedding Feast at Cana there are two servants beside a well, one standing and one kneeling. In the background are a cypress tree, clouds and an abundance of flowers.
SYMBOLISM: In this panel, the servants have drawn water from the well, as instructed by Jesus, and are engaged in pouring it from one container to the other. The artist has chosen this moment to depict the miracle of water turning into wine. This act has been accomplished artistically by the gradual change in the color of the liquid as it pours from the jug. The liquid begins as white and gradually deepens to a deep rose as it enters the second jug.
A STORY OF FAITH: Terry Waite, the Anglican who was kidnapped by Shiite fundamentalists in Beirut in 1987 and released in November 1991, believes his faith was the foundation of his survival. He found solace in the story about how Christ changed water into wine. Waite recounted that a conversion of circumstances has to take place deep within yourself: "Like water into wine, the most miserable surroundings can be transformed - if you allow the transformation process to take place inside you. Although that's not easy, it is possible. Slowly, Slowly."
Source: The Golden Cockerel: The Art, Symbolism & History of the Stained Glass Windows, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Key West, Florida by Winifred Shine Fryzel.
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