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By: Pastor Nathan Berg

Ellsworth Shields

A couple of months ago, we told you about the memorial gift of a processional cross that Eastside received from our dearly departed Ellsworth Shields. The processional cross is called “The Evangelist Cross” and we are eager to appreciate its beauty and the meaning it carries.

Processional crosses clearly remind us of Jesus’ sacrifice. Christ is the center of everything we do, and so it is fitting that a picture of the victorious Lamb of God marks the center of the Evangelist cross. But there are also four other symbols on our processional cross, one on each point. These symbols represent the four evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the four men who tell the story of Jesus in the Bible. It is so fitting for a church which reads from one of the four Gospels in each service and stands up for the words of Jesus to have a cross which illustrates a central focus on Christ and his gospel.

The Evangelist Cross

Symbols of the four evangelists can be traced as far back as the 3rd century and were commonplace by the 5th and 6th centuries. The symbols which represent the four Gospels include a winged man, winged lion, winged ox, and an eagle. These four symbols are based on apocalyptic visions of winged creatures found in Ezekiel chapter 1 and Revelation chapter 4. For the last 1000 years the Christian Church has been consistent in ordering them like this: Matthew, the winged man; Mark, the winged lion; Luke, the winged ox; John, the eagle.

The explanation of these symbols is as follows: Matthew is the winged man because he begins by tracing the human ancestry of Christ. Mark is the winged lion because he opens his Gospel with the lion-like roar of the voice crying in the wilderness, John the Baptist. Luke is the winged ox because he writes especially of the priesthood and sacrifice, of which the ox is symbolic, and of his detailed account of the sacrificial death of our Lord. John is the eagle because takes us up to the highest of heights as he describes the incomprehensible dual nature of Jesus Christ, and from John 1 to the end of Revelation, Jesus carries us on eagle’s wings to the throne of heaven.

These symbols are also symbolic of chief events in Jesus’ life on earth: The winged man signifies his Incarnation; the winged ox, his sacrificial death; the winged lion, his resurrection; and the eagle, his ascension.

For the most part, this cross will stand in the chancel and visually remind us of Christ and his Word.  On special occasions, for example at our Easter Sunrise service, we will use the cross in procession. The cross leading the procession reminds us of how it is that we can enter God’s presence. It’s only because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. In turn, following the cross out of the sanctuary reminds us of Jesus’ promise that he will be with us always in our daily lives. The cross procession helps to communicate in symbol what we believe and what we confess we believe every day of our lives.

May God use this wonderful cross to engage our senses as we are visually reminded to keep our focus ever and only on Christ and his Gospel of good news!