Gospels Window
This traditional Rose Window at the rear of the chapel at the Mount Royal Hospital is quite beautiful. You can actually see the two rose crosses at the top and the bottom. It might also be called a "Gospels Window".
In the centre is Christ the King, flanked on each side with the Greek letters "alpha" and "omega". This comes from the verse in the Book of Revelation 22:13, the great chapter where Christ is finally revealed in his full glory at the End of Time, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." This reflects orthodox Christian theology which sees Christ (in John's Gospel also known as The Logos or Word) as eternally pre-existing time.
The four canonical Gospels which tell his story are Matthew, Mark (the earliest version), Luke and John. These four canonical Gospels (accepted by AD381 at the Council of Constantinople) are not the only ones; "The Gospel of Thomas" is probably the most famous reject owing to its considered "Gnostic" elements. But the primary reason for only allowing four Gospels in the official text of the New Testament had to do with completeness. For example the "four winds of the earth", "north, south, east and west", the four sides of a square. This was a concept long considered a mark of perfection in Greek mythology.
Gospels Window
This traditional Rose Window at the rear of the chapel at the Mount Royal Hospital is quite beautiful. You can actually see the two rose crosses at the top and the bottom. It might also be called a "Gospels Window".
In the centre is Christ the King, flanked on each side with the Greek letters "alpha" and "omega". This comes from the verse in the Book of Revelation 22:13, the great chapter where Christ is finally revealed in his full glory at the End of Time, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." This reflects orthodox Christian theology which sees Christ (in John's Gospel also known as The Logos or Word) as eternally pre-existing time.
The four canonical Gospels which tell his story are Matthew, Mark (the earliest version), Luke and John. These four canonical Gospels (accepted by AD381 at the Council of Constantinople) are not the only ones; "The Gospel of Thomas" is probably the most famous reject owing to its considered "Gnostic" elements. But the primary reason for only allowing four Gospels in the official text of the New Testament had to do with completeness. For example the "four winds of the earth", "north, south, east and west", the four sides of a square. This was a concept long considered a mark of perfection in Greek mythology.