Saint Paul on the Damascus Road
Phipps, Ball & Burnham - 1920
George Dean Warren Born Oct. 21, 1837 Died Sept. 16, 1914
Susan Mary Warren Aug. 21, 1842
DESCRIPTION: The second narrative window featuring Saint Paul, the patron saint of the church, depicts a group of people on their journey to Damascus. Among them is Paul before his conversion to Christianity. Paul, then called Saul, is pictured lying on the ground, appearing to be looking towards the rays of light coming from the top center of the window.
THE STORY: The window tells the story of the incident that led to Paul's conversion. Prior to his conversion, Paul was bent on vicious persecution against Christ's followers, for whom he had written permission from the high priests to bring in bonds to Jerusalem. As told in Acts 9, while traveling ot Damascus on this mission, a bright light came down from heaven and Paul fell. As he fell, he heard a voice. Paul "trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt though thou have me do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do." (Acts 9:6) Paul, blinded for three days from this experience, was led into Damascus, where he regained his sight, was baptized, and began his journey of preaching that Christ was the Son of God.
Both patron saint windows were designed by the architect to ventilate the sanctuary by a pulley system of ropes or chains operated from the floor. In this manner the bottom section of the windows opened out to let in the breeze. With the advent of air-conditioning the windows were stabilized. During that process, which involved removing the windows, sections were reversed, resulting in one of Paul's shoes from the Road to Damascus appearing in Mars Hill window. This gave rise to a subtle joke: "Did you know that Paul lost his shoe on the road to Damascus and it was found on Mars Hill?" The sections were repositioned, and today Paul's shoe is on the "right" foot!
MEMORIAL: The window is in memory of George Dean Warren and his wife, Susan Mary. George was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and reared in Providence. He came to Key West during the Civil War as a carpenter, applying his skills to the construction of Fort Taylor. He remained in Key West and entered the hardware business where he stayed until his retirement. Susan Mary, daughter of William and Sarah Johnson, was born in the Bahamas and came to Key West with her parents. She and George were married on May 5, 1862, with The Reverend Robert J. McCook performing the ceremony. By 1880 they were the parents of a number of children ranging in age from 17 to five months: John, George, Charlotte, Thomas, Mary, William and Susan. William practiced medicine in Key West for many years. He and his wife, Genevieve, are remembered in Wedding Feast at Cana (Window #109).
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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