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 WORRD . A symb bol for the

Emmperor Con nstantine, aand his succcessors, beecause he
callled the ecu menical couuncil which h began the process of
thiinking whicch resulted iin this creedd, because hhe was the
firsst Christian
n emperor aand becausee he began the tradi-
tio 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 THHREE 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
eaarly Christia anity underr persecutio on; also, thee monastic
tra T HE CROSS
adition. S WHICH IS A LSO A SWORD. A symboll for the
Emperor
E Con nstantine, an nd his successsors, becausse he called
the
t T HE
ecumenic
P URPLLEcalAcouncil
RCHES .w which begannces
The entran the process of thinking
to cavees or cata-
cowhich
w
ombs, resulte
whered in thisCh
e early cre eed, because
hristians meeetheinwas thet;first
secret Chris-
also, the
shtian
t
hape emperor
of Goth rhic
and becausse
church w he began tthe tradition of imperial
windows.
Christianity.
C The cross iss central heree because thee doctrine off
T HE
Christ
C A
is centtralCinROSS
NCHO OR the .Cr
SSecurity
reed. in C
Christ, as fo und by the
appostles, 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 thhe Trinity fo ormalized in the Nicene C Creed.
peerhaps a seccret code maark. Letters of the Greeek word for
fissh Tcan
HE HbeAND
ussed as first lletters
D REACHING D OWN.in the
God,,ethe
phrase “Jeesus Christ
Father.
Go od’s Son Sa vior.”
THE CHI RHO MONOGRRAM. Christ— —the first twwo 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
annd 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,
wh ho,THEin Dlege
OVEE. The Holy S
nd, is said dSpirit.
to have b been crucifiied upside
doown 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 Scootland.

T HE T ARTA ED C ROSS . A form call ed St. An-

AN , X- SHAPE
drrew’s Crosss, he being g the aposttle who brrought the
go
ospel to Sco otland. Thee tartan, or plaid, is tthat of the
Ha amilton clan
n in honor o of the first martyr of th
he Scottish
Reeformation, Patrick Haamilton.

T HE C ELTIC Another anccient form associated

C C ROSS . A
wiith Christia ns of the Brritish Isles.

T HE S HIP . A symbol for the Ch hurch; the C Confession

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
Knnox’s preacching of thee Word waas a major power for
refformation i n Scotland.

T HE B URN ING B USH W HICH I S N OT C ONSU UMED . Re-

o Moses’ Siinai experieence, thus a symbol of
miinding us of
Good’s presennce and call : the chief ssymbol of tthe Church
of Scotland.
 IV. THE HEIDEELBERG 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.

T HE C ROWN
N OF T HORN
NS , THE “G ER
RMAN ” C ROS
SS AND THE
T ABLETS
A . Sym
mbols of MMisery, Redeemption an nd Thank-
fullness—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 thankfulnness.)

T HE T WO L IGHTS AND THE F IRE . T

The Trinity—
—with the
Heebrew namee of God on n the left oorb, the Greeek mono-
graam for Jesuus on the ri ght orb, annd 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 AND WH
HITE . Heralldic colors of ancien
nt
Switzerland
S d.

T HE C ROSSS . Again doominant onn 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 discipline, two of the
edge and d
themes
t of th ke it unique .
he Helvetic which mak

T HE S HEPPHERD ’ S C RO
OOK AND THE E P ASTURE . T al
The pastora
ministry
m an d the flock’ s care for itts own mem mbers.

T HE C HA LICE AND TH
HE W AVES . Holy Comm d
munion and
Baptism.
B
 VI. TH
HE WESTM
MINSTER CONFESS SION
ANND THE SH
HORTER C CATECHIS
SM
(En
ngland, 16446)

T HE T HREEE L ONG P AN
NELS AND T HE M AROON
N T RIANGLE.
The
T Trinity.

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 PENN B IBLE . The y of the wriitten Word,

e authority
basic
b to this Confession n’s teaching
gs.

T HE A LPH
HA AND THE O MEGA . The e A and Z o k
of the Greek
a lphabet, thhe first and last—referrring to Chrrist and hiss
death
d for us as central tto our faith..
 VII. THE
E THEOLO
OGICAL DDECLARAT TION
O BARME
OF EN (Germaany, 1934)

T HE S WASTTIKA C ROSSEED O UT ANDD THE C ROSSS R ISING . A

pr otest and witness
w agaiinst Nazi ty
yranny and any effort
to take the rolle of God annd 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 tyrannny, as for so
ome of the
armen signeers. But the cross surviives such p ersecution
Ba
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 Ammerica.

T HE G OLD
DEN , D OWN --R EACHING H AND (R EPPEATED FROM
M
THE
T N ICENE B ANNER ). G
God, relating
g to his worrld.

T HE C ROW
WN (R EPEAT TED FROM TTHE W ESTMIINSTER B AN N-
N ) AND TH
NER HE N AIL -S CA RRED H AND
D . The death
h and victory
y
o Christ as he reconcil es the worl d.
of

T HE F OURR H ANDS OFF D IFFERENTT C OLORS , T

THE C LASPEDD
H ANDS AND THE G REEN he reconcileed world at
N C IRCLE . Th
the foot of th
he cross—GGod’s act of rreconciliatio e
on being the
starting
s poinnt and them
me of the Co onfession off 1967.

T HE S TARSS AND P LAN ETS ON THE B LUE B ACKG e

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 representinng the cel-
ebrration of un he diversity of cultures and races
nity with th
liv
ving in Chri st.
T HE B LUE B ACKGROUND zes the univ erse as the
D . Symboliz
lig
ght of the Word
W of God
d bringing uus together.
T HE E ARTH . Cracks sy
ymbolizing our divisivveness and
div
versity, yet the faith w
we confess u
unites us wiith the one
un
niversal Chuurch.
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 lovve and our living to-
getther in the Holy
H Spirit..
T HE P RESBY
YTERIAN C HUURCH (U.S.A A.). Symbol of A Brief
Staatement of Faith has a promineent positio n on this
bannner. 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 Foont recalls t he Sacrameent of Bap-
tis m, while thhe table imagge recalls th
he other Saccrament of
Coommunion, the Last SSupper, an nd the pulp pit as the
preeaching of the
t Word. T The flames rrepresent thhe burning
bu sh and Pen ntecost. Thee overall im
mage suggessts the hu-
ma an figure wiith stretche d out arms..