Christian flag
The Christian flag was designed to represent the entirety of Christianity , but is mostly only seen in Protestant churches in North America , Africa and Latin America . The flag consists of a white background with a blue rectangle in the upper left corner with a red cross inside.
origin
The Christian flag was first used on September 26, 1897 at Brighton Chapel on Coney Island in Brooklyn , New York City . Charles C. Overton, the head of a Sunday school , was forced to give a lecture for the assembled students off the cuff because the designated speaker had not arrived. Overton saw a flag of the United States in the chapel and took this flag as inspiration for his lecture in which he asked students what a flag should look like to represent Christianity.
In 1907 he designed this flag together with Ralph Diffendorfer ( Methodist Young People's Missionary Movement).
symbolism
The red of the cross symbolizes the blood that Jesus Christ shed on Golgotha , while the blue symbolizes the royal person of Jesus Christ as King of kings. White represents the purity of Christ. The size of the flag is not officially set.
use
The Christian flag was spread outside North America by Protestant missionaries. Today the flag can be seen inside and outside of many Protestant churches in Africa and America. In Europe the flag is rather unknown.
Other Christian flags
Flag of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America
Flag of the Copts
Literature, sources
- Coffman, Elesha: Ask the Editors. Christian History & Biography, July 13, 2001, www.christianitytoday.com .
- Sidwell, Mark: The Christian Flag. Fundamentalism File Research Report, December 18, 1998, bju.edu
Web links
- Flying the Christian Flag : Article discussing the use of the flag in Africa
- Teaching Resource Building Instructions for the Christian Flag for Children (en)
- How Christian flags may be used Explains the use and purpose of Christian flags
- The Kingdom of God Flag An alternative to the Christian flag