Christian Religious Flags

Christian Flags

Today's Christian flag is popular among churches, religious schools, camps and homes throughout the USA, Africa and Latin America. It is a white flag with a blue canton that contains a red cross. The Christian flag is typically used for Protestant denominations.

Christian Flag Symbolism

• Red of the cross symbolizes the blood of Jesus Christ
• Blue symbolizes water used for baptism
• White symbolizes the purity of Jesus Christ

The Christian flag dates back to 1907 when the design was created by Charles C. Overton and Ralph Diffendorfer in New York City. It was adopted by the Federal Council of Churches on January 23rd, 1942.

Vatican / Papal Flags

Vatican flags, surprisingly, don't have a much deeper history than the Christian flags above. It was adopted in 1929 (June 7) when the independent state was created. Vatican flags are also called Papal flags or the flag of the Holy See. This flag is used for Catholic churches, schools and other organizations throughout the world in addition to being the official City flag of the Vatican City. The design of the Vatican flag consists of 2 vertical stripes, gold and white, and the Vatican City coat of arms centered on the white stripe.

Main components of the Vatican City Coat of Arms

• Papal Tiara
• Two Keys (Keys to heaven). The gold key represents spiritual power and the silver key for worldly power.
• A red cord connects the keys

Episcopal Flags

The Episcopal flag was designed by William Baldwin and presented at the Episcopal General Convention in 1923.It wasn't adopted until 1940 though.

Symbolism on Episcopal flags

• The red cross is taken from third century symbolism. Red represents the blood of the martyrs
• The ecclesiastical blue comes from the clothing of the Blessed Virgin Mary and represents the human nature of Jesus Christ.
• The white background represents purity
• The nine Jerusalem crosses represent the nine dioceses from the 1789 Philadelphia Convention, when the Protestant Episcopal Church was adopted. The are arranged to made a St. Andrew's cross in honor of Bishop-elect Seabury who was consecrated in Scotland to avoid swearing allegiance to the British Crown.

United Methodist Flags

The cross and flag emblem of the United Methodist flag was designed in 1968 when the church was created by combining the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. It symbolizes the connection to god through Christ (cross) and through the holy spirit (flame). This emblem is printed onto a white background to create United Methodist Flags.

Presbyterian Flags

The Presbyterian flag is similar to the flag of the United Methodist Church in that it is the symbol used for the denomination printed onto a white flag. The Presbyterian cross symbol has many important elements.

• The dove represents the holy spirit.
• The fish is an early Christian sign for Christ.
• The baptismal font symbolizes the importance of obedience to Jesus Christ by Baptism.
• The Lectern where the bible is read.
• The cup signifying the sacrament of Communion.
• The pulpit from where the Word of God is preached.
• The Bible, the means of knowing God's word.
• The fire has 2 meanings. They represent the burning bush and also the revelation when Christ manifested himself to his apostles.
• The Trinity, an implied triangle at the bottom represents God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

United Church of Christ Flags

The symbolism on the United Church of Christ flags is based on an ancient Christian symbol called the "Cross of Victory". It includes a cross, crown and orb.

Symbols in the United Church of Christ flag

• The cross represents the suffering of Christ
• The crown symbolizes the sovereignty of Christ
• The orb is divided into three parts representing Jesus' command to be his witness in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and the the ends of the earth.