Flaming chalice
Aflaming chaliceis the most widely used symbol ofUnitarianismandUnitarian Universalism(UUism) and the official logo of theUnitarian Universalist Association(UUA) and other Unitarian and UU churches and societies.
Origins
[edit]The symbol had its origins in alogodesigned byAustrianrefugeeHans Deutschfor the Unitarian Service Committee (USC) (now theUnitarian Universalist Service Committee) duringWorld War II.According to USC director Charles Joy, Deutsch took his inspiration from the chalices of oil burned on ancientGreekandRomanaltars. It became an underground symbol in occupied Europe duringWorld War IIfor those assisting Unitarians, Jews, and other people to escapeNazipersecution.[1]
Living in Paris during the 1930s Deutsch drew critical cartoons of Adolf Hitler. When the Nazis invaded Paris in 1940, he abandoned all he had and fled to the South of France, then to Spain, and finally, with an altered passport, into Portugal. There, he met the Reverend Charles Joy, executive director of the Unitarian Service Committee (USC). The Service Committee was new, founded in Boston to assist Eastern Europeans, among them Unitarians as well as Jews, who needed to escape Nazi persecution. From his Lisbon headquarters, Joy oversaw a secret network of couriers and agents.[2]
After 1941, the flamingchalicesymbol spread throughout Unitarianism in America and the rest of the world. This spread continued after Unitarians in North America merged withUniversaliststo form the Unitarian Universalist Association. The symbol gradually became more than a printed logo. By the 1960s, people like Fred Weideman of Dearborn, Michigan, were making flaming chalice jewelry. Some congregations began displaying the symbol in their worship spaces. At some point, three-dimensional chalices were made to be lit during worship services, but the origin(s) of this usage remains obscure.
Interpretation
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The chalice is off center. This was taken from the Universalist symbol, the Off-Center Cross. The interpretation of the Off-Center Cross is that, while Universalism is based in Christianity, there is room for the Love and Wisdom of other religions.
The chalice symbol is often shown surrounded by two linked rings (seeillustration). The two linked rings were based on the quote from the poet and life long UniversalistEdwin Markham,"He drew a circle that shut me out—Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But Love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle and took him in!" It also served as a symbol signifying the joining ofUnitarianismandUniversalismin 1961. In August 1962, the newsletter of the Midwestern Unitarian Universalist Association began using a chalice symbol drawn inside the two interlocking rings, as drawn by Betty King.
There is no orthodox interpretation of the flaming chalice symbol. In one interpretation, the chalice is a symbol of religious freedom from the impositions ofdoctrineby ahierarchyand open to participation by all; the flame is interpreted as amemorialto those throughout history who sacrificed their lives for the cause of religious liberty. In another interpretation, the flaming chalice resembles a cross, symbolic of theChristianroots of Unitarian and Universalism.[3]
Later, associations were made between this symbol and theHussitesreligious sect.CzechreformerJan Hus(1369–1415) began reading theBibleto his congregations in their native language, while theCatholic Churchdemanded that the Bible only be read inLatin.Also, duringcommunion,the chalice was reserved for the clergy; the laity only received bread. When a church council condemned the practice of priests who were giving the chalice to their congregants, Hus refused to support the condemnation. After hisexecution by burningin 1415, followers of Hus adopted the "lay chalice" as an important symbol of their movement.[4]
Usage
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Ceremonial lighting
[edit]Many Unitarian Universalist and Unitarian congregations and organizations feature flaming chalice symbolism on their signs, logos, and in their meeting places. Some congregations light a chalice displayed prominently in their worship space while saying opening words at the beginning of weekly worship services. The texts used during these "chalice lightings" vary; some congregations use a ritual formula while at others these words are spoken extemporaneously.[5]
Outside of weeklyworshipservices, many small gatherings of Unitarian Universalists incorporate a lit chalice, often accompanied by readings, as a reminder of the religious nature of the gathering. Unitarian Universalists, Unitarians and Universalists might also display a flaming chalice on clothing, jewelry, their cars, or in their homes as a symbol of their faith, much asChristiansdisplay acrossor asJewsdisplay aStar of David.
In keeping with the traditions ofreligious pluralismandindividualism,there is no requirement, doctrinal or otherwise, that congregations or adherents use or acknowledge the flaming chalice as areligious symbol.
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
[edit]The flaming chalice has been approved by theUnited States Department of Veterans Affairsfor use as thecemetery emblemfor fallen veterans who identify themselves with theUnitarianorUnitarian Universalistfaith tradition.[6]
See also
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References
[edit]- ^"The Flaming Chalice",by Susan J. Ritchie, Pamphlets, Unitarian Universalist Association (2007).
- ^The History of the Flaming Chalice,About Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist Association (2007).
- ^The History of the Flaming Chalice,supra.
- ^Arnason, Wayne B. and Rebecca Scott.We Would Be One: A History of Unitarian Universalist Youth Movements.Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, 2005, p. 58.ISBN1-55896-488-6Accessed June 7, 2009.
- ^"ICUU - Chalice Lighting Archive".Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-09.Retrieved2010-04-03.
- ^Available Emblems of Belief for Placement on Government Headstones and Markers,United States Department of Veterans Affairs.