CONFESSIONAL BANNERS
When the Book of Confessions was adopted, Richard K. Avery, pastor, and Donald S. Marsh, choir director, of the Port Jervis, New
York, Presbyterian Church devised eight banners symbolic of the confessions. They also wrote a service of worship explaining
the symbolism and history of the eight confessions through words and music. The banners were made by members of the Port
Jervis Church. The banner designs are copyrighted by Avery and Marshall, who should be contacted for permission to duplicate
the banners. The banners are included here by permission of the copyright owners.
A Brief Statement of Faith became part of the Book of Confessions in 1991, following its approval by the 203rd General Assembly
(1991). Gay M. Sorenson, member of the First Presbyterian Church, Port Charlotte, Florida, has devised a banner appropriate
for use with A Brief Statement of Faith. It is included here by permission of the copyright holder. Sorenson has chosen “He’s
Got the Whole World in His Hands” as the song that best depicts A Brief Statement of Faith.
The banner for A Brief Statement of Faith is copyrighted by the First Presbyterian Church of Port Charlotte, Florida. You may
contact the church for permission to duplicate this banner.
I. THE
E NICENE
E CREED (44th Centurry)
T HE C ROSS W HICH I S A LSO A S WOR
RD . A symb
bol for the
Em
mperor Con
nstantine, aand his succcessors, beecause he
callled the ecu menical cou
uncil which
h began the process of
thiinking whicch resulted iin this creed
d, because h
he was the
firsst Christian
n emperor aand becausee he began the traditio n of imperrial Christiaanity. The cross is cen
ntral here
beccause the do
octrine of C
Christ is cen
ntral in the C
Creed.
THE GREEN TRIANGLE A
AND THE TH
HREE SYMBOL
LS WITH IT.
The doctrine of
o the Trinity
y formalized
d in the Niceene Creed.
T HE H AND R EACHING D OWN . God , the Fatherr.
T HE C HI R HO
H M ONOGR
RAM . Christ—
—the first ttwo letters
of the Greek word for C
Christ, used
d by Consttantine on
shiields and heelmets of hiis army.
T HE D OVE . The Holy SSpirit.
T HE C ROWN
NS . The rule
e and glory of God.
III. THE AP
POSTLES’ CREED
I. TH
HE NICEN
NE CREED
D (4th Centu
ury)
T HE S OMBEER B ROWN C OLOR . The d
difficulty an
nd rigor of
ea
arly Christia
anity underr persecutio
on; also, thee monastic
T
HE CROSS
S WHICH IS A LSO A SWORD. A symboll for the
tra
adition.
Emperor
E
Con
nstantine, an
nd his successsors, becausse he called
of thinking
the
t T HE
ecumenic
calA
council
which
begannces
the process
P URPLLE
RCHES .w
The entran
to cavees
or cataChriswhich
w
resulte
in thisCh
cre
eed, because
eetheinwas
thet;first
e early
co
ombs,
whered
hristians
me
secret
also,
the
tian
t
emperor
rhic
and
becausse
he began tthe tradition of imperial
sh
hape
of Goth
church
w
windows.
Christianity.
C
The cross iss central heree because thee doctrine off
T
HE
A
NCHO
OR
SSecurity
in C
Christ, as fo und by the
Christ
C
is centtralCinROSS
the .Cr
reed.
ap
postles, som
me of whom were fisherrmen.
THE GREEN
N TRIANGLE A
AND THE THR
REE SYMBOLS WITH IT. The
e
T HE F ISH . An ancientt symbol fo
or the Chrisstian faith,
doctrine
d
of th
he Trinity fo
ormalized in the Nicene C
Creed.
peerhaps a seccret code maark. Letters of the Greeek word for
fissh Tcan
beAND
ussed
as first lletters
the
phrase
“Jeesus Christ
HE H
D REACHING
D OWN.in
God,
,ethe
Father.
Go
od’s Son Sa vior.”
THE CHI RHO MONOGRRAM. Christ—
—the first tw
wo letters of
T HE C HALI CE . The Lorrd’s Supperr, and thus tthe earnest
the
t Greek wo
ord for Chrisst, used by C
Constantine o
on shields
an
nd simple feellowship off the early cchurch.
and
a helmets of his army..
T HE U PSIDEE - DOWN C RROSS . Peter, chief of th e apostles,
OVE
E. The Holy S
wh
ho,THE
in Dlege
nd, is said
dSpirit.
to have b
been crucifiied upside
do
own becausse he thoug
ght himself unworthy of a death
THE CROW
WNS. The rule
e and glory o
of God.
lik
ke his Masteer’s.
III. THE SCOTS
S
CO
ONFESSION
N (Scotlan
nd, 1560)
T HE B LUE OF
O THE S HIEL
LD . The bac
ckground c olor of the
Ch
hurch of Sco
otland.
T HE T ARTA
AN , X- SHAPE
ED C ROSS . A form call ed St. Andrrew’s Crosss, he being
g the aposttle who brrought the
go
ospel to Sco
otland. Thee tartan, or plaid, is tthat of the
of the first martyr of th
Ha
amilton clan
n in honor o
he Scottish
Reeformation, Patrick Haamilton.
T HE C ELTIC
C C ROSS . A
Another anccient form associated
wiith Christia ns of the Brritish Isles.
hurch; the C
Confession
T HE S HIP . A symbol for the Ch
co
ontains a rem
markable, sttrong doctrrine of the C
Church.
T HE B IBLE AND
A
THE S W ORD . Paul c alled the wo
ord of God
“T
The sword of the Spirrit,” and th
he sharpnesss of John
Kn
nox’s preacching of thee Word waas a major power for
refformation i n Scotland.
UMED . ReT HE B URN ING B USH W HICH I S N OT C ONSU
miinding us of
o Moses’ Siinai experieence, thus a symbol of
Go
od’s presen
nce and call : the chief ssymbol of tthe Church
of Scotland.
IV. THE HEIDE
ELBERG C
CATECHIS
SM
(Gerrmany, 1563)
T HE R EGALL R ED AND G OLD . A trribute to th
he rule of
Freederick III, who orderred the writting of the Catechism
forr followers of John Callvin in Germ
many.
N OF T HORN
NS , THE “G ER
RMAN ” C ROS
SS AND THE
T HE C ROWN
T ABLETS
A
. Sym
mbols of M
Misery, Redeemption an
nd Thankfullness—the three basic themes of the Catech
hism. (The
tab
blets stand for the Ten
n Command
dments, whiich appear
in the Catech
hism where it teaches that obedieence is the
pr oper form of
o thankfuln
ness.)
T HE T WO L IGHTS AND THE F IRE . T
The Trinity—
—with the
Heebrew namee of God on
n the left o
orb, the Greeek monogra
am for Jesu
us on the ri ght orb, an
nd the flamee standing
forr the Holy Spirit. Theere is a lon
ng discussiion of the
Trinity in the Catechism..
V. THE
E SECOND
D HELVETIC CONFE
ESSION
(Swiitzerland, 11566)
T HE B LU
UE
Switzerland
S
d.
AND
WH
HITE . Heralldic colors of ancien
nt
T HE C ROSSS . Again do
ominant on
n this banneer because of
o
the
t extensiv
ve discussio
on of salvatiion in the C
Confession.
T HE H AN
ND AND TH
HE B URNING H EART . A traditiona
al
symbol
s
for John Calvin
n, father off Presbyteriianism in itts
Swiss
S
homeeland.
T HE L AM
MP . Knowle
edge and d
discipline, two of the
themes
t
of th
he Helvetic which mak
ke it unique .
al
T HE S HEPPHERD ’ S C RO
OOK AND THE
E P ASTURE . T
The pastora
ministry
m
an d the flock’ s care for itts own mem
mbers.
T HE C HA LICE
Baptism.
B
AND TH
HE
d
W AVES . Holy Comm
munion and
VI. TH
HE WESTM
MINSTER CONFESS
SION
AN
ND THE SH
HORTER C
CATECHIS
SM
(En
ngland, 16446)
T HE T HREEE L ONG P AN
NELS
The
T Trinity.
AND T HE
M AROON
N T RIANGLE.
T HE E YE . God’s prov
vidence and
d control of all life and
d
history—a
h
d
dominant
th
heme of Wesstminster.
T HE C ROW
WN . God’s ru
ule.
T HE O PEN
N B IBLE . The
e authority
y of the wriitten Word,
basic
b
to this Confession
n’s teaching
gs.
k
T HE A LPH
HA AND THE O MEGA . The
e A and Z o
of the Greek
a lphabet, th
he first and last—referrring to Chrrist and hiss
death
d
for us as central tto our faith..
VII. THE
E THEOLO
OGICAL D
DECLARAT
TION
O BARME
OF
EN (Germaany, 1934)
T HE S WASTTIKA C ROSSEED O UT AND
D THE C ROSS
S R ISING . A
pr otest and witness
w
agaiinst Nazi ty
yranny and any effort
to take the rolle of God an
nd control o
of the churcch.
T HE F IRE . The
T sufferin
ng and death
h which folllows from
deefense of th e faith agaiinst tyrann
ny, as for so
ome of the
Ba
armen signeers. But the cross surviives such p ersecution
an
nd the crisis of war, risiing out of th
he flames.
VIIII. THE C
CONFESSIO
ON OF 19667
(United States of A
America)
T HE B LUE , THE R ED AN
ND THE G OL
LD . Colors o f the officia
al
seal
s
of The United Prresbyterian Church in the United
d
States
S
of Am
merica.
T HE G OLD
DEN , D OWN --R EACHING H AND (R EP
PEATED
THE
T
N ICENE B ANNER ). G
God, relating
g to his worrld.
FROM
M
T HE C ROW
WN (R EPEAT
TED FROM T
THE W ESTMIINSTER B AN
NNER
N ) AND TH
HE N AIL -S CA RRED H AND
D . The death
h and victory
y
of
o Christ as he reconcil es the worl d.
D
T HE F OUR
R H ANDS OF
F D IFFERENT
T C OLORS , T
THE C LASPED
H ANDS AND THE G REEN
N C IRCLE . Th
he reconcileed world at
e
the foot of th
he cross—G
God’s act of rreconciliatio
on being the
starting
s
poin
nt and them
me of the Co
onfession off 1967.
e
T HE S TARSS AND P LAN ETS ON THE B LUE B ACKG
GROUND . The
Space-Age
S
s
setting
of th
his Confessi on.
IX. A BRIEF ST
TATEMENT
T OF FAIT
TH
T HE C ROSS . A rainbow
w of colors representin
ng the celebrration of un
nity with th
he diversity of cultures and races
liv
ving in Chri st.
D . Symboliz
zes the univ erse as the
T HE B LUE B ACKGROUND
lig
ght of the Word
W
of God
d bringing u
us together.
T HE E ARTH . Cracks sy
ymbolizing our divisiv
veness and
div
versity, yet the faith w
we confess u
unites us wiith the one
un
niversal Chu
urch.
T HE S ECUREE H ANDS OFF G OD . Rem
mind us thaat he who
holds our wo rld togetheer in turmoiil will unitee us in the
gra
ace of Jesu
us Christ. This is thee foundatio
on of our
kn
nowledge off God’s sov
vereign lov
ve and our living togetther in the Holy
H
Spirit..
T HE P RESBY
YTERIAN C HU
URCH (U.S.A
A.). Symbol of A Brief
Sta
atement of Faith has a promineent positio n on this
ban
nner. This symbol rep
presents thee descendin
ng dove of
pe ace and the baptism of Christ. Thee open Biblee symbol is
thee Word of God.
G
The Fo
ont recalls t he Sacrameent of Bapge recalls th
tis m, while th
he table imag
he other Saccrament of
Co
ommunion, the Last SSupper, an
nd the pulp
pit as the
preeaching of the
t Word. T
The flames rrepresent th
he burning
bu sh and Pen
ntecost. Thee overall im
mage suggessts the huma
an figure wiith stretche d out arms..