THE FLAMING CHALICE AND ITS HISTORY

Recently, there have been discussions at All Souls about the absence of a flaming chalice at our worship services. UUs who have come to us from other churches found it surprising that we do not display that symbol which has been adopted by most other congregations and Fellowships and by the UUA itself.

Part of the answer is the fact that our Congregation is so old. In fact, all of our four church buildings predated the invention of the symbol by the artist Hans Deutsch in 1941. He created the symbol during WWII for use by the USC (Unitarian Service Committee), which was active at that time in Europe to help thousands of refugees persecuted by the Nazis escape persecution and find safe havens overseas. Since the USC in fact created travel documents for those who had fled without any papers, the Flaming Chalice was used on a seal to validate the documents. It was adopted by the UUA in 1967.

All Souls uses the chalice regularly in the chapel for the Church School children's services and it is occasionally brought into the Sanctuary for special services such as those conducted during the week of September 11. Those who attend the UUA General Assemblies as delegates know that the chalice is lighted and prominently displayed at the Plenary Sessions. There, it is also a feature on many of the banners from hundreds of congregations carried at the opening ceremony banner parade.

Hans Deutsch, who did his work in Lisbon, Portugal—the only European port open during WWII—drew his inspiration from the chalices with flames placed by the ancient Greeks and Romans on their altars. According to the Rev. Charles Rhind Joy, Commissioner for Europe for the USC, "the holy oil burning is a symbol of helpfulness and sacrifice." The artist did not conceive the shape of the design as a remote substitute for a cross since the symbol was used to serve refugees of many different faiths.

All Souls has had controversies about symbolism in the past. From the 1940s through the 1970s, a plain cross hung over the altar—a cross salvaged from one of our earlier church buildings. When the cross had to be taken down for repair, a passionate discussion ensued about whether it should eventually be returned or be replaced by a different symbol. The congregation was split 50/50 in a parish poll, but eventually, a special committee approved the current string sculpture above the altar as a compromise.

A questionnaire sent out to members of our congregation about two years ago seemed to receive a similar inconclusive result. The matter was extensively discussed by both the Board and the Deacons, and the interim decision was to return the matter to the Denominational Affairs Committee.

The problem of placing the chalice in our Georgian style church is partly architectural rather than spiritual or emotional. The addition of a chalice would require an additional stand to echo the baptismal font on the left so as not to disturb the current architectural balance of the altar. The liturgical question of how the lighting of the chalice would fit into the pattern of our services is, of course, a matter for the ministers to decide.

So far, the display and use of a chalice is still under consideration by the Denominational Affairs Committee and may be brought again before the congregation in the near future.