Oban - Cathedral Church of St John the
Divine
The Cathedral Building
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2. The west wall contains two windows with modern paintings by Sarah Campbell of
Dunstaffnage.
The left-hand window
depicts the dream of Jacob at
Bethel, linking earth and heaven. His stone pillow is traditionally
supposed to be the Coronation Stone formerly in Westminster Abbey, now in
Edinburgh Castle, and which was once housed at Dunstaffnage Castle. The
The right-hand window
is the vision of St John the Divine (after whom the building
is dedicated), in which the elders cast their crowns on a sea of glass.
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3. The lifebelt comes from H.M.S. Jason which was hit by an enemy mine near Coll, during the First World War, and 25 people were lost. The crew, before their last fateful tour of duty had worshipped at St John's, which was much used by the Forces during both World Wars. It has been said that many War Memorials are finely designed, but 'this War Memorial was the means of actually saving one or two lives'. |
Photo © Colin Cooper 28/03/2001
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4. The tall Choir Stall ends are intended to represent tall round-headed carved stones in a Celtic graveyard. The carvings on the right hand side include the sign of St Mungo, the Diocesan Arms (with a Blessing issuing from God's hand), and Christ in Majesty; and all the designs have formal 'roots' going down the panel.
5. The twelve canon stalls in the back row on either side are dedicated to Celtic Saints. Most of the stalls have tip up seats, such as are found in medieval churches. The Bishop's special stall has a raised canopy, with the Diocesan Arms behind it; while the Provost's stall is surrounded with carved thistles.
6. The blocked transept arch contains a massive metal eagle, the sign of St John the Evangelist, whose theology is supposed to soar over the rest of the Bible. The bronzed metal sculpture is by George Wyllie, Gourock.
7. A
free-standing altar
normally stands in front of the
High Altar
so that the celebrant at the Eucharist can face the congregation. The
reredos
behind the altar is over 40 feet high,
with a canopy including gilded thistles, in a decorative style in contrast to
the plain Norman style of the stonework, and was designed by the architect,
James Chalmers, himself. It is in memory of Bishop Chinnery-Haldane,
who is depicted as St Columba in the right-hand statue. The left-hand
statue is St John, who is supposed to have drunk from a poisoned chalice and
survived, and the statue has the traditional imagery of a chalice with a
little dragon peeping out. The oil paintings, by the Glasgow artist
Norman MacDougall, are a synopsis of the life of Jesus Christ; the
Annunciation to Mary (the outer two paintings); the Pieta; and above it the
Ascension, set in the West Highlands, with the faces of the apostles being the
faces of some of the congregation in 1910.
8. The organ is a new instrument, by J Wood and Sons Ltd, installed in 1994.
9. The main pulpit is of St Bee's stone. (The oak pulpit which previously stood in the south aisle came originally from St Columba's Church, Portree, Isle of Skye, and has now been returned there).