Here in the centre of Cambridge we have Swastikas in a small number of churches and chapels but they have to be searched for. However, should you be strolling through the central area of Cambridge and look up at the front elevation of the Old Schools building next to the Senate House you might spot the Swastika meander that is found there. No, here's nothing sinister about this. It is simply an elaboration of the Greek Fret motif that enables the 'Swastika' shape to appear within the design. This Greek Fret with its attendant elaborations is found almost world-wide as a decorative motif (often in synagogues, churches and mosques from early days). Other examples of this geometric device appear to have more distinctly symbolic significance. In this article we take a look inside the chapel of Westminster College.



There are a number of alternative terms to 'Swastika'. Unfortunately there is no one generic term we can employ as an alternative to 'swastika' that is psychologically neutral and devoid of emotive overtones. In the context of Christian churches and chapels we are naturally happier to speak of the 'Fylfot-Cross' or the 'Gammadion' rather than 'Swastika'. Why do we use these other terms?

'Gammadion' has strong links to Christian antiquity and the Roman catacombs in particular, from the third century onwards. The term 'Gammadion' is thought to have originated from the coming together of 4 capital Greek gammas in classical times, and was in use in both secular and sacred contexts. The term 'Fylfot-Cross' is less well documented and is usually reserved for that form of the Gammadion which has feet shorter than the cross-arms. The symbols found in the baptism window of the Round Church are designated 'fylfot-crosses' for this reason. This form of the symbol is employed more often that the Swastika in heraldic contexts.

When we enter Westminster College Chapel and look carefully we find an example of the Gammadion in a stained glass window located on the south side. This chapel was built in 1921, and the windows were designed by the Scottish artist Dr. Robert Douglas Strachan. Carnegie Simpson writes, "The windows in the chapel form one connected subject-scheme, the theme of which is PRAISE - in nature and in human life, on earth and in heaven. Each window represents some mood or aspect of nature, and, at the same time, introduces some scriptural theme."

The Gammadion is found alongside two other symbols, the Triquetra and the Trefoil. And what is the key significance of the Gammadion in this context? It is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. The Triquetra (Latin, "three corners"), clearly representing the Trinity, is often found in similar contexts; the central window of the apse, representing the risen Christ, depicts Jesus wearing a triquetra.

The trefoil is a similar device, said to be a stylised Shamrock, which St. Patrick used to illustrate the doctrine of the Trinity. Found in the same context, it looks likely that these three symbols have been placed together to provide a threefold symbolic expression of the Holy Trinity.

The window in question represents "Praise in the heavenly spheres". The inscription above the scene reads, "0 ye heavens, ye angels, powers, sun and moon, bless ye the Lord." The trefoil is partly obscured by the sun, carried by an angel, but appears to contain the symbol X, the Roman numeral for 10,000. With the heavenly throne and the angels, it would seem to be a depiction of Revelation 5: "Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne..." (Rev. 5:11.)

This Christian symbolism persisted until relatively recently. A church songbook, 'Wings of Praise', by Catherine Booth-Clibborn, used the device as a decoration beneath the preface in the early part of the 19th century. Such use was not uncommon before the 1930s, and certainly widespread in secular contexts. The Gammadion also appears in the USA in the context of stained glass. A good example of this usage is to be found in the upper stained glass windows of Central Congregational Church, Providence, Rhode Island, where it is thought to signify the 'breaking of the power of death'.

Robert Strachan was also responsible for the design of the stained glass in the War Memorial window in Edinburgh Castle in the 1920s. There we find a reference to Revelation 19:11, signifying that the 'swastika' [strictly a Gammadion] represented the overcoming of evil with good within the divine purposes.