This window is the third in Christ Church depicting a saint.  It depicts Saint John Chrysostom, the "Golden Orator," and is located just outside the Chancel, near the right entrance from the vestibule adjacent to the rector's robing room.  The window is approximately 17" wide and 44" high. It is in memory of our late rector, The Venerable William John Morgan, M.Div., who died on August 13, 1999, at age 51.  Father Morgan served Christ Church from October 1, 1991 until his untimely death.  He was a faithful pastor, a dynamic preacher, and a loving husband and father.

"In Loving Memory of The Ven. William J. Morgan, 1991-1999"

The designer is J. Wippell & Company, Ltd., of Branchville, New Jersey, and Bristol, England, Great Britain.  The cost was approximately $6,500.00.  The design of the proposed window was prepared by senior artist Roy Walter Coomber of Bishopsworth, Bristol, Great Britain, the same artist who in 1979 designed the beautiful St. Cecelia window behind the organ.  The window was created at the home studios of Wippell in England and installed in early September 2003.

St. John Chrysostom was Bishop of Constantinople in the late fourth century. He was one of the greatest preachers in the history of the church. He is shown with a type of mitre on his head to indicate that he was Patriarch of Constantinople. Given the relatively small size of this window, the artist has not given him detailed Bishop’s vestments of the Eastern Church, which in any case he would not necessarily have worn when preaching in the open.

The background has rocks, mountains, etc. to symbolize the time he spent in desert monasticism (certainly appropriate for our geographical area). He is depicted holding a book in reference to his writings, including the "six books on the priesthood."

Fourteen stained glass windows at Christ Episcopal Church were installed when the present church was built in 1920-1921 after a devastating fire on Christmas day, 1919. The fire destroyed the original wooden church which had been completed on November 23, 1890. The new church was completed and dedicated on October 23, 1921, by Episcopal Bishop W. L. Gravatt, with clergy E. W. Hughes of Graham (now Bluefield, VA) and Rector Jennings Wise Hobson, who served Christ Church for thirty-three years from 1916 until 1949, assisting.

The windows in the nave of Christ Church are of the Munich style, or “Munich School.” These windows were created by Jacoby Art Glass Company of St. Louis, Missouri, in 1920. Jacoby later created the narthex (front hallway) windows and the window in our children’s chapel in 1958.

Click here to learn more about these windows, the "Munich" style, and Jacoby Art Glass Company.

These nave windows are unequalled in our area. They bathe the nave of the church in color and illustrate the life of Christ to those venturing into this hallowed space. The classic Gothic architectural style of Christ Episcopal Church symbolizes the Anglican origins of the Episcopal Church in the USA.