Last modified: 2008-05-03 by rob raeside
Keywords: religion | christianity | christian flags | church | world's sunday school association |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
The organization Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) has its own flag. It's
blue and white with an eagle and a Bible on it.
Martin Karner, 20 August 2003
The American Coptic Association is an advocacy group founded by Americans of
Coptic background to promote the rights of Egyptian Christians the United States.
It is associated with the Coptic
Church, one of the most ancient of Christian churches. Existing almost from the
time of Jesus Himself
this church has a remarkable tradition of art and literature unique to that
particular form of Christianity. An example of the Church Symbol (it is much
more than simply a logo) can be found on the website of the American Coptic
Association
http://www.amcoptic.com/index2.htm; I have already inquired whether the
Coptic Church itself, in either or both of its forms, has a tradition of flags
and banners, as well as the American Coptic Association, and if it would be
possible to see some examples of these.
Ron Lahav, 15 February 2005
The church website itself can be found at
http://www.coptic.org/north_am.htm.
Ned Smith, 15 February 2005
Evidence that the church does indeed have a flag can be found in an online
biography of Pope Shenouda III, the head of the Coptic Church. The biography
states "In the United States, the mayor of Jersey City hoisted the Coptic Church
flag side by side with the American flag at City Hall during the Papal visit."
The bio is posted at the websites of several Coptic parishes,
http://st-takla.org/Pope-1.html
for example. I have so far been unable to find an image or description of the
flag.
Ned Smith, 7 March 2005
Outside the Armenian chapel at the Tomb of Mary in the Kidron Valley in Jerusalem, I saw a white flag with a dark blue border and a cross on the center. I couldn't get a good look at the cross but it appeared to be the so-called Cross of St. James, apparently a common emblem in the Armenian church, outlined in red and with the Armenian initials for "Saint James" (which, as I recall it, resemble a U and a 3) in blue on the center. I couldn't see the design well enough to sketch it, and it's probably too complicated for my drawing skills without a scan to work from, so the verbal description will have to do. I didn't see this flag at any of the other Armenian sites I went by, only the Armenian national flag.
Joe McMillan, 14 April 2000
I haven't seen this flag, but I can tell you that the "U" is the letter, "S"
which stands for "soorp," the Armenian word for "Saint" or "Holy." The "3" is
actually the capital letter, "H" which stands for "Hagop," the name for "James."
Taleen Nazarian, 30 September 2007
See also:
The Brethren in Christ Church has not officially adopted a distinctive flag to represent our denomination. At this point in time, our main identity symbol remains the logo that our church adopted as our symbol in 1973. And while it is at use in many applications in our churches and offices, including on many banners, it is not officially incorporated into a flag.
The main elements of the emblem are the cross, the dove, and the towel and
basin, each chosen to represent a key component at the heart of our church's
faith. The cross obviously represents the death of Christ and the salvation that
act represents for those of the Christian faith. The dove for us has a dual
meaning. The dove represents the Holy Spirit, who guides and empowers our daily
walk as Christians, enabling us to live a new life of holiness and obedience to
God. For the Brethren in Christ, a church with roots in the Anabaptist family of
believers, the dove also stands as a reminder of our call to be peacemakers. The
towel and basin stand as testament to the example of Christ in sacrificial
service to others. A part of our symbol, Christ's act of washing his disciples'
feet is still re-enacted in several of our major gatherings to this day.
Ron Ross, 10 January 2005
[Editorial note: The Byzantine Catholic Church Inc. is not part of the Byzantine Catholic Church In America]
An image of the Byzantine Catholic Church, Inc. [Independent
Jurisdiction] church flag is shown at
http://community.webshots.com/photo/959848/2182746FQvaFLlGbX
The BCCI is a small church affiliated with neither the Papacy nor with the
Patriarchate of Constantinople, and should not be confused with any of Byzantine
Rite eastern Catholic churches in communion with Rome.
At the BCCI's homepage is a note that the church seal and flag are copyrighted
property of the jurisdiction, and cannot be used without written permission.
{See
http://members.tripod.com/~Mark1x1/ ).
I know nothing further about this church, nor whether the flag is actually in
use.
Ned Smith, 6 September 2004
The Byzantine Catholic Church (Independent Jurisdiction) is an
American denomination which appears to exist on the
borderland between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.
Ron Lahav, 27 January 2006
The Churches of God General Conference is a small evangelical denomination
based in the Midwestern United States, and whose origins lie in the German
immigration to the US during the first half of the 19th century. Its logo can be
found at http://www.cggc.org/index.html,
but no flag has been identified.
Ron Lahav, 11 February 2005
The web site of The Evangelical Covenant Church, which is located at
http://www.covchurch/org/cov/home/contacts.html contains the church logo on
its 'Contacts' page. This church was founded by Swedish immigrants to the US
during the mid-19th century, but has become a multi-ethnic religious community
with churches throughout the US and elsewhere. They have been strongly committed
to health, and the famous Covenant Hospital in Chicago is still run by the
church. I have written to inquire about a possible church flag. A series
of black and white church logos can be seen at
http://www.covchurch.org/cov/resources/download.html.
Ron Lahav, 17 February 2005
The Evangelical Free Church of America is a small evangelical Protestant
group with an extremely loose infrastructure. Their colorful logo can be found
at
http://www.efca.org/about/index.html. A representative of church states it
does not have a flag.
Ron Lahav, 17 February 2005
The Evangelical Methodist Church, whose URL is http://www.emchurch.org is a
small offshoot from the mainstream Methodist churches in the USA. It was founded
as far back as 1946 by individuals who felt that these mainstream churches had
abandoned the original principles of Methodism as preached by the Wesleys and
others and which had adopted socially and theologically liberal and humanistic
values in their place.
The church seal appears in two forms: in a larger version in the introduction to
their web site, and in a smaller and slightly different format at the top of
each subsequent page thereafter. The version in the introduction is quite
striking, as is the introduction itself, which features music and moving images.
The seal is coloured in different tones of black, white, and gray, and is in the
form of a large circle with an outer ring and a central image. The outer ring
contains the words 'THE EVANGELICAL' in slate gray block letters at the top, and
'METHODIST CHURCH' similarly written at the bottom. To the left of the seal the
letters 'EMC', in a large block format coloured slate gray and fimbriated white,
extend from the outside of the seal, through the outer ring, and well into the
central image itself. The central image consists of a rotating globe impaled by
a large cross in white and shadowed black. To the right of the base of the cross
is a large open Bible, also in white and black.
Ron Lahav, 21 February 2005
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church was founded in 1981 in the US by members
of so-called 'mainstream' American Presbyterian bodies in protest at the
perceived theological, social, and political liberalism of these denominations.
The web site of the EPC is http://www.epc.org.
It features the very striking church seal, which consists of a large circular
format divided into two concentric circles. The outer ring is considerably
narrower than the inner one, and contains at the top the following phrases
written in blue lower case lettering with a space between each phrase: In
Essentials Unity; In Non-Essentials Liberty; In All Things Charity. At the
bottom of this outer ring is what I take to be the church motto, 'Truth Is
Love', set off in quotation marks. All of these phrases appear to be quotations,
but I don't know the sources.
The central image of the seal is in light blue, dark blue, and white. In the
middle of this image is a stylized globe showing lines of latitude and longitude
in white; superimposed upon this is a large cross (sorry, but I don't know the
name for this form of cross!), which actually consists of two slightly bowed
double lines with a thin white space between, the whole upon a light blue and
white field. Beneath the dexter arm of the cross is a white dove volant, the
right wing of the dove obscured by the trunk of the cross itself. At the
foot of the cross, to the left, is an open book, while above the book are the
words Evangelical Presbyterian Church in three lines of text. To the right of
the foot of the cross are the letters EPC, written in dark blue in a very large
block form in dark blue. I have of course contacted the church authorities about
the possible existence of a distinctive church flag.
Ron Lahav, 20 February 2005
The Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches is a small evangelical denomination
centered around Grace College and Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana USA. They are
extremely active not only in international missions but also in youth missionary
work in urban areas around the US. They have a church logo, as depicted at
http://www.fogbc.org/welcome. The
logo consists of a white rectangle bordered black. In the center of this
rectangle is a smaller rectangle in bright yellow containing a representation in
white of 'The Old Rugged Cross'. Superimposed on the cross in very large black
block lettering are the letters 'FGBC' in two rows, one above the other. Beneath
this smaller rectangle is the church motto, written in smaller black block
lettering: 'KNOWING JESUS . . . MAKING HIM KNOWN'.
Ron Lahav, 24 February 2005
The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, whose home
page can be found at http://www.naccc.org is
the rump organization which remained when most of the old Congregationalist
Churches joined with several other denominations to form the United Church of Christ.
The Congregationalists are the direct descendants of the English Puritans of the
16th and 17th Centuries, and the first of these came to New England originally
aboard the Mayflower in 1620. They have often been called 'The Conscience of New
England', and they were one of the first American churches to espouse radical
social reform. This included such things as communal organization, a dedication
to education (the Massachusetts General Court passed an ordinance in the mid
17th Century requiring every township to set aside a plot of land for the
construction of a school '. . . in order that That Old Deluder Satan might gain
no footing in this New World and be thus defeated.'. The Congregationalists also
founded the first institution of higher education in the English speaking
colonies, Harvard College). At a later period they were the backbone of the
Abolitionist movement, and after the American Civil War they set up a large
number of universities and colleges for the newly emancipated slaves. Set
against this is of course the hothouse atmosphere which created the mass
hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials.
The NACCC refused to join the church merger because they felt that their grand
old traditions would be seriously diluted if not destroyed. Reflecting their
arrival on board the Mayflower, the logo of the church consists of a
reproduction of that ship. I have contacted the church administration to inquire
about a possible church flag.
Ron Lahav, 14 February 2005
The Vineyard Churches Association of South Africa report that there is no
flag for the local Association nor internationally. They do make use of banners
hung inside churches with biblical verses on them but this is not a universal
nor a standardized usage.
Andries Burgers, 24 January 2005
![[World's Sunday School Association]](../images/r/rel-wssa.gif)
image by Dave Pawson, 22 November 2007
The Conquest Flag of the World's Sunday School Association
In July 1901 in Chicago a flag was designed by the Reverend SM Johnson: "Its
colors were red, white and blue. On the smaller field of white was placed a
blood red cross to stand for the central fact, doctrine and power of our
religion, the center and rallying point of all Christians. On the larger field
of blue were the words "BY THIS SIGN CONQUER". ¹ The use of this flag as a
Christian symbol was promoted by the World Sunday School Association.
The World Sunday School Association held its first convention in London in 1889.
Renamed the World's Sunday School Association in 1907, it became the World
Council of Christian Education in 1947. The association was merged into the
World Council of Churches in 1971. The mission of the association was to promote
Christian education amongst youth around the world.
A flag of this design was reported flown aboard the Grosser Kurfürst when it
sailed from New York to Jerusalem carrying delegates to the fourth World Sunday
School Convention. It was also featured on Rally Day postcards and buttons at
least as early as 1909 and at least as late as 1916. It is not known when the
flag fell into disuse.
It should be noted that this flag has been misidentified as a
Ku Klux Klan symbol. The body of evidence clearly
disproves this assertion: the Conquest Flag was designed for use by Christian
churches everywhere. This picture of
lapel pins shows the Conquest flag crossed with the Canadian flag, while the
other has the USA.
¹ Rev. F.N. Peloubet, D.D. and Prof. Amos R. Wells, A.M., Peloubet's Select
Notes on the International Lessons for 1911. (W.A. Wilde Company, New York,
N.Y. The Baker & Taylor Co., 33-37 East Seventeenth St.), p. 52-3
Dave Pawson, 22 November 2007
