A Tour of St. John's Church

by Hans-Jürgen Wolters

The "ecclesia extra muros" (church outside the walls) in Lüchow is named in honor of St. John the Baptist.  Extensive renovation of the church building has altered many things, but the bronze baptismal font from the year 1417 has survived all the renovations.

The baptistery

The bronze font is the oldest liturgical appointment in the church.  A round pedestal base  is connected to the large basin with three legs in the form of human figures.  In 1959, the font was given a new cover which is not uniformly regarded a welcome addition.

The following are details about the font, the oldest of inventory items:  the ancient inscription is: "helf got ut aller not" ("God's help for every need!").  Beneath this inscription is the date: anno domini 1417. Other human figures are depicted around the bronze basin.  Some depictions are barely visible. Some of the figures seem to be mothers with a child in arm. Three particular scenes from the story of Jesus interrupt these figures: the Crucifixion (Christ crucified) is a reminder of the foundation of faith - "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son" (John 3:16); the Nativity - the child Jesus, Mary and Joseph - a scene portraying the Incarnation of God;  lastly,  Jesus as Judge of the world - a reminder to the baptized to let Jesus and none other be Master of their life.

The altar

Altar, pulpit, sounding board, and stalls all date from 1866.  The altar emphasizes and illustrates the Evangelical understanding of the Lord's Supper.  Four figures from the Old Testament are depicted around the figure of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (cf. John 1: 29).  These figures are: Abel on the upper left, Melchizedek on the lower left, Isaac on the top right, and Aaron on the lower right.  All of them point to the sacrifice of Christ as the unifying link.

Abel's sacrificial offering prefigures the sacrifice of Christ in a manner similar to Abraham's sacrifice, and thus it is represented in the Christian artwork of the new altar piece.

Aaron, brother of Moses, is the first high priest appointed by God in the Old Testament (Exodus 4 - 40; Leviticus 8 - 10, Numbers 3 - 20).   As priest of the Old Testament he is portrayed with a censer as well as with manna. Manna is the miraculous gift of food that God provided the Israelites during their forty years of wandering until they reached the land of Canaan.
Jesus himself, in his sermon following the miraculous multiplication of loaves and fish (John 6:1 -15. 48 ff)  likens the manna of the Old Testament to the Bread of Life.  Thus manna appears sometimes in connection with the Lord's Supper.

Isaac, Abraham's son, is one of the patriarchs of Israel. He was to be sacrificed by Abraham at God's command (Genesis 22). This test of obedience ended with the intervention of God which spared the life of Isaac.  Isaac carried the wood for the burnt offering himself.  Christians see this as prefiguring Jesus bearing his own cross: Just as Isaac carried wood for his own sacrifice, so Christ carried his own cross to Golgotha.

Melchizedek in the Old Testament is both king and priest at the same time. As an Old Testament patriarch, he is portrayed with a wine chalice and bread, which he raises up. The figure of Melchizedek meets us in the story of the patriarch Abraham (Genesis 14).  Abraham was received by Melchizedek.  He brought him bread and wine and blessed him.

The lamb is portrayed at the center of the Altar.  The image of the Lamb represents the unique sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and it explains the story of the Jewish Passover. Shortly before the Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 12) Moses is commanded by God to prepare for the sacrifice of a lamb for each family of the assembly of Israel. The blood was to be painted on the door posts of the houses to be a sign of protection from God's
slaughter during the night of all the firstborn in Egypt.  This day would now become a memorial day, a festival to honor God (Passover with the sacrifice of the lamb). The initial depiction of Christ as the sacrificial lamb of God (Latin: agnus dei) comes from John the Baptist, who sees Christ coming to him and says: "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."(John 1: 29).  This ensured that the lamb as a symbol for Christ became a favorite subject of Christian art.   In the Revelation of St. John, the seer sees at God's throne "a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth." (Rev. 5: 6).  Shortly before, in the same fifth chapter, is the reading about the Lamb seated on a throne, having a scroll with seven seals (Rev. 5:1).  Frequently, the triumphant Lamb of God is depicted bearing a cross-staff with a cross-emblazoned flag.

The representation of the Crucifixion appears inside an almond-shaped halo, the Mandorla. A disc-shaped halo (Nimbus) can be seen behind the head of the crucified One. The background is decorated in gold. Moon and stars and also angelic figures can be seen. Gold serves as a symbol of the heavenly sphere, as a symbol of divine light. The viewers are struck: the Crucified One is not a failure, but the son of God who has accomplished the saving work of redemption and reconciliation and is on the side of God.  Left and right at the feet of the crucified Christ we find the biblical reference: "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (Jn 1:29).

At the four ends of the cross there are symbols of the four evangelists (angel, bull, eagle, lion).  The special symbols of the Christian Lord's Supper appear to the left and right on the lower half of the altar: a chalice and a communion host mark with a cross. In addition, there are a number of trinitarian symbols: three interlocking rings appearing twice,  and the circles of the Trinity appearing four times.  The right hand of the crucified shows the index and middle fingers extended.  This refers to the so-called two natures of Christ. He is God and man at the same time.

The pulpit

The pulpit has depictions of the four Evangelists.  In the center the figure of Christ may be seen.  The Evangelists are shown in the form of their usual symbols.  Matthew is pictured by an Angel, Mark by a Lion, Luke by a bull, and John by an eagle.  Christ is depicted holding a globe, an image of the cosmos. The globe does not symbolize only the earth, but rather is a symbol of Christ's dominion over the world and the universe. The pulpit stands on four pillars.  They remind us of the four Gospels.

The sounding board

The sounding board over the pulpit is not adorned with biblical depictions. Only the Holy Spirit is represented in the form of a dove, having the form of a cross with the halo of the  Crucified One.  For sermons preached from this pulpit this would apply specifically: The Holy Spirit is the spirit of the Crucified and Risen One.

Stained glass windows

The glass windows in the chancel of the church, except the middle one (1967), were completed between the years 1898 and 1938.  The four windows  with pictorial scenes come from the workshop of the Kuball company, which originally was based in Lüchow, but which later moved to Hamburg in the 1960s.  The glass windows illustrate Biblical stories and symbols.  To the left is the Stilling of the Storm (Luke 8:22 -25) made in 1938 - which is the most recent window, having been donated by Mr. and Mrs. Sandhagen.  Next to it is the story of the Emmaus Disciples (Luke 24:13-35), donated by the Pottschen Foundation in 1912. To the right of the altar is the Raising of the Young Man of Nain (Luke 7: 11-17) dating from 1898, which was given by Friedrich Wilhelm Christoph Kuball and his wife, nee Holle.  Next to that is a window from the year 1928 given by the Provost Busch Foundation: Christ bestowing the Crown of Life (Revelation 2:10) to a soldier.  Wilhelm Eggers, who was born in 1900, and served as the Lüchow old church Chairman from Künsche, remembered: "Provost Busch had a son who planned to study Theology, but who died first in World War I.  That his son was sacrificed caused Provost Busch to suffer bitterly.   When he was about to celebrate an anniversary of service, the congregation presented him the gift of the stained glass window: "Be faithful to death."  In this window is depicted a view of the town of Lüchow with its bell tower and office tower, with the old provost's house to the right. One portion of an ancient stained glass window survives and is located on the south side of the church in another window.  Pictured in it are three apostles. Plainly visible is St. Peter with a key.

Chandeliers and altar candlesticks

The chandeliers and altar candlesticks are brass. The chandeliers are all without inscription. They differ mainly by the shape of the candle socket and bobeche and the upper finial with either a double eagle head or an equestrian figure.  In one case, the bobeche is in the form of a sea shell.