Christian Flag
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The Christian FlagThe Christian Flag is a flag designed to represent all of Christianity, but flown mainly by Protestant churches in North America, Africa, and Latin America. The flag has a white field, with a red Latin cross inside a blue canton. The shades of red and blue, and the dimensions of the flag and canton, have no official specifications.
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[edit] Origins
The Christian Flag was first conceived on September 26, 1897, in Brighton Chapel on Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York in the United States. The superintendent of a Sunday school, Charles C. Overton, was forced to give an impromptu lecture to the gathered students, because the scheduled speaker had failed to arrive for the event. Overton saw a flag of the United States in the front of the chapel (a common custom in many American churches). Drawing on the flag for inspiration, he gave a speech asking the students what a flag representing Christianity would look like.
Overton thought about his improvised speech for many years afterward. In 1907, he and Ralph Diffendorfer, secretary of the Methodist Young People's Missionary Movement, designed and began promoting the flag.
[edit] Symbolism
Since the Christian Flag was inspired by the flag of the United States, it takes its colors and overall design from the American flag. However, elements of the flag represent Christian concepts.
The flag's most conspicuous symbol is the Christian cross, the most universal symbol for Christianity. The red color represents the blood of Jesus and brings to mind his crucifixion. Christians believe that Jesus' death and resurrection is the means God uses to save believers from their sins. The cross and blood have been used since earliest Christianity to symbolize salvation through Jesus; in the words of the Apostle Paul, "Through [Jesus] God reconciles himself to all things... making peace by the blood of the cross" (Colossians 1:20).
The white field draws on symbolism throughout the Bible equating white clothes with purity and forgiveness. People who have been "washed white as snow" in the Bible have been cleansed from their sins (Isaiah 1:18). In conventional vexillology a white flag is linked to surrender, a reference to the Biblical description Jesus' non-violence and surrender to God's will.
The symbolism behind the blue canton is uncertain. It has been interpreted to represent Heaven, truth, or the Christian ritual of Baptism in water. Most likely it is simply a carry-over from the American flag.
Since the flag is not tied to any specific denomination or church institution, it represents Christian ecumenism, the unity of all Christians despite historical, cultural, and dogmatic differences. Its simplicity makes it easily copied by any community of Christians.
The canton of this flag transgresses one of the traditional rules of flag design, which states that two colors (other than white or yellow) have to be separated by a metal (silver = white, or gold = yellow). The white field would also be advised against in conventional vexillology as it is easily mistaken for the white flag of surrender.
[edit] Usage
The flag was first accepted by the Mainline Protestant denominations in the United States, and by the 1940s many institutions had described policies for displaying it inside churches. During World War II the flag was flown along with the U.S. flag in a number of Lutheran churches, many of them with German backgrounds, who wanted to show their solidarity with the United States during the war with Germany.
The Christian Flag spread outside North America with Protestant missionaries. It can be seen today in or outside many Protestant churches throughout the world, particularly in Latin America and Africa. It has so far been adopted by very few churches in Europe. Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and other non-Protestant branches of Christianity do not generally use the flag.
In the United States, many Catholic Churches in communion with the Holy See display the Vatican flag along with the American flag on opposite sides of the sanctuary.
Some American churches practice the recitation of a "pledge of allegiance" or "affirmation of loyalty" to the Christian Flag, based on the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag. One version of this pledge of allegiance runs, "I pledge allegiance to the Christian Flag, and to the Savior, for whose kingdom it stands. One Savior, crucified, risen and coming again, with life and liberty for all who believe." The earliest version of this pledge was, "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Savior for whose kingdom it stands; one brotherhood uniting all mankind in service and love." [1]
There is some disagreement among American Christians over whether the U.S. flag or the Christian Flag should be given prominence when both are displayed in a church or elsewhere.
In 2003, a new "U.S. Christian Flag", depicting a bald eagle clutching a blood-stained cross and quoting verses 4 and 14 from Matthew 24 ("And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world...and then shall the end come"), was designed by a Maryland artist who regarded Overton's flag as "crisp and dignified, but politely cold." It has gained favor among some conservative American evangelicals.
[edit] References
- Coffman, Elesha. "Ask the Editors." Christian History & Biography. 13 July, 2001. [2].
- Sidwell, Mark. "The Christian Flag", Fundamentalism File Research Report, 18 December 1998 [3]
[edit] See also
- Discussion on Flags of the World website dealing with the Christian Flag.
- Flying the Christian Flag: Article discussing the flag's use in Africa
- U.S. Christian flag - Marcia Eldreth's alternative flag design
- "Life and Liberty for All Who Believe" - Video featuring the flying of, and a pledge to, the Christian Flag.
- "Teaching Resource" Christian Flag Craft for Kids
