Subject Matter
This window illustrates a biblical passage (John 3:1-21) about an exchange between Jesus and Nicodemus, a senior intellectual and prominent member of the Sanhedrin (the Jewish supreme council or tribunal). Convinced of the young teacher’s message and mission, he seeks to probe deeper. He approaches Jesus at night for secrecy, given the risk of associating with the worrisome Nazarene. The window’s design focuses on how Jesus responds to Nicodemus’ query: what do you mean by ‘born again?’
Jesus explains he means rebirth through water and the Spirit—baptism—as the key to reach the kingdom of God.
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There is no inscription to provide that message. Instead, the image gives us an encounter with extraordinary visual and psychological force. We see an intense dialogue between two worthies of different age and status. Their mutual gaze connects them as much as their poses. The handsome, mature Nicodemus, supported by a cane, listens intently, leaning towards Jesus who touches his shoulder while gesturing and speaking. The glowing lamp, the brightest element of the image, is critical. Narratively, it indicates Nicodemus’ nighttime visit. Symbolically, it suggests his enlightenment with the exchange. Its rays wash over both men from head to toe, uniting them.
The setting at the entrance of a simple yet dignified building amidst lush plants, backed by soaring peaks, lends a grandeur that emphasizes the meeting’s importance.
Vivid and flickering, color and light suggest falling dusk more than settled night. Without upstaging the expressive heads and hands in opaque paint, Tiffany Studio’s hallmark translucent opalescent glass provides both dazzling visual effects and naturalism (veined stone, stripes, spots, light, and shadows).
Set on the lower register of the nave’s south wall, this window with life-size figures capitalizes on changing natural daylight to bring an image of searching dialogue, of growing inner illumination, to radiant life in our space.
About Robert E. Atmore
In the early twentieth century, the Atmore family owned and operated the first US mincemeat factory. A famously private man, Robert E. Atmore counts among the white founders in 1847 of the Church of the Crucifixion, a black Episcopal church of South Philadelphia. He served on its vestry and anonymously supported the church until his death in 1909. The two churches together built programs for the urban needy. Robert Atmore’s funeral at St. Stephen’s was jointly celebrated by St. Stephen’s rector, The Rev. Carl E. Grammer, and the admirable reformist rector of the Church of the Crucifixion, The Rev. Henry L. Phillips.