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| The crossing of the Cathedral is now lit naturally from above through an opening in the ceiling as originally designed (but not constructed) by James Barr, architect of St Paul’s three towers and spires. Light is filtered through amber windows in the lower chamber of the central Moorhouse tower and from the higher chamber through twenty-five dalle de verre glass and steel panels designed and crafted by Janusz and Magdalena Kuzbicki, installed in December 2006. The eight-pointed star is a symbol of divine guidance. In Christian art the number eight is the sacred number symbolising the Resurrection, for it was on the eighth day after his entry into Jerusalem that Jesus Christ was raised from the grave. It was also on the eighth day of his earthly life that Jesus was named and circumcised. The star represents Christ's sacrifice - lighting the darkness of the heavens and illuminating hope. The vesica piscis shapes evoke one of the earliest Christian symbols of the fish and refer to baptism. The colours of the composition are predominantly clear and blue symbolising heavenly love and truth. Red represents the blood of sacrifice and martyrdom, with five pieces of red glass in the central panel for the five wounds of Christ. Flashes of gold signify divinity. The overall composition is a circle set in a square field. The square is the emblem of earthly existence while the circle is the monogram of God and emblem of eternity. |
