The lower part of the middle panel of the central light shows a priest administering Communion and the people receiving The Bread of Life at the Altar of the new Cathedral. The priest is vested in a violet chasuble. Violet is the colour of the penitential season of Lent, and the use of this colour symbolizes the fact that it is through sacrifice and suffering that we are led into glory and triumph. We notice that the banner of the Crossed Keys is again present, behind the Altar in this scene, indicating that this is the Altar of the Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul. Truth is a central element of the Church through the Sacraments, especially in Communion where we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, who said "I am the Truth". This overlaps with Bishop Strong's reading of these lower panels as representative of Goodness—it is in communion that we enter into the Goodness of God, through the sacraments given for our sustenance and comfort. Ecclesiatical Beauty—seen in the architecture, vestments, ceremonies and sacraments of the Church—is also present in this panel, where so many of the ideas flowing in various patterns through the Centenary Window combine before the Altar. |