The Christian flag consists of a white background with a blue canton containing a red Christian cross in the center. Since its adoption by the United States Federal Council of Churches in 1942, it has been used by congregations of many Christian traditions, including Anglican, Baptist, Congregationalist, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Moravian, Presbyterian, and Reformed, among others.
Symbolism[]
White represents purity and peace. Red represents the blood sacrifice from the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday, ca. 32, which also appears on the flag. The blue represents the waters of baptism as well as the faithfulness of Jesus. The canton design of the flag does not represent anything, but it was inspired by the flag of the United States at that time (see below).
Design story[]
According to Steve's Christian Flag Page,
| “ | The featured speaker failed to arrive for the Sunday School Rally in a Coney Island Chapel in 1897, and - the Christian flag was born:
Like so many of the great and memorable things of history, a Christian flag was not contemplated or predesigned. A fortuitous happenstance gave it birth. The Sunday School was holding an old-fashioned Rally Day of the kind which was so much the custom in years past. For this occasion, a favored speaker had been engaged, but for some reason undisclosed did not show up. Superintendent Charles C. Overton, in the emergency, called upon his own gifts of innovation to fill in the time. An American flag lay there across the pulpit. Overton addressed his words to the flag and its symbolism. Then like a flash came the thought, why not also a Christian flag? His impromptu but constructive ad-libbing was to produce a verbal picture of what is today, and for the past one hundred years has been, the Christian flag. Today the Christian flag is one of the oldest unchanged flags in the world. It was conceived at Brighton Chapel, Coney Island, New York, Sunday, September 26, 1897, and was presented in its present form the following Sunday by its originator. Call it chance, or providence, serendipity, or the plan of God. On that day, the Christian flag was born. |
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