Agnus Dei Roundel
Phipps, Ball & Burnham 1920
72" x 29 1/2”
Gift of St. Paul's Flower Guild
DESCRIPTION: The ruby roundel encircled with shades of blue contains a lamb reclining on a book of seven seals. The lamb carries a white banner with the words "Agnus Dei," Latin for the Lamb of God.
SYMBOLISM: The reclining lamb represents Christ, as the "Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world." As described in Revelation 5, the book represents a scroll, interpreted here as the Bible; the seven seals symbolize the difficulty in opening the book as only Christ can open the seals. In Anglican worship, the "Agnus Dei" or Lamb of God is sung during Communion.
MEMORIAL: As was Holy Spirit Roundel (Window #12), the Agnus Dei Roundel was given to St. Paul's by the Flower Guild, at a time when the Flower Guild and Altar Guild were two separate and distinct organizations.
In the early 1900s, flowers could not be procured from a distant city or florist shop. They came from what was individually grown in private gardens on the island. While The Reverend Gilbert Higgs was rector, he laid out an ornamental garden on the church grounds. One of the showplaces of the city, it featured a lovely pond by the Guild Hall and water tower where he and Mrs. Higgs would serve tea to their friends in the afternoon.
As young man, Eugene Lowe, son of John Lowe, Jr., who later was to become Dr. Lowe, would gather roses from this garden and go door to door selling them. A lovely brass processional cross was purchased for the church from these sales, and is still in use today. It is presumed that Eugene Lowe's entrepreneurship was promoted by the Flower Guild.
The Guild Hall and water tower have long since disappeared, replaced by a well-kept and serene Memorial Garden.
Many ladies have been responsible for the decoration of the church and altar. Among them was Miss Leila Pitcher, a devout communicant, who taught members a reverence for their work that is rare in today's busy world. Well-remembered are the matchless altar arrangements made by Betty Henriquez Collins and Louise Lee.
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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