September 16^th  is St Ninian’s Day. But who was St Ninian? Nothing can be said with any certainty. He is reputedly a 4^th or 5^th century saint. Nothing was written about him until the 8^th century when the Venerable Bede included ‘traditional’ information about him in his ‘Ecclesiastical History of the English People’ in about 731. Reference was made to Ninian being British, being instructed in Rome and sent to the UK (in around 397 according to the Catholic Church) to found a Christian community in south-west Scotland.

There is little doubt that there was an early Christian witness, at around that time in the region of modern Galloway, whether or not he was called Ninian. The missionary built a monastery of stone (unusual at that time) called the ‘Candida Casa’ – the White House. The name of Whithorn, where it was situated, derives from the name of the building. So long after the events it is not certain whether it was white because of the stone used or whether it was whitewashed. The complex of buildings which developed around the original chapel still remain.

These early saints were often credited with miracles and St Ninian was no exception. In about 1160 Abbot Aelred of Rievaulx Abbey in Yorkshire wrote a book ‘The life of St Ninian’ in which he records 10 miracles, 6 in his lifetime and 4 after his death. Whilst there is considerable uncertainty about the historical St Ninian, there certainly was an early missionary, often referred to as ‘the Apostle to the Southern Picts’, some 150 years before St Columba came to Iona.

In the former East Kirk of St Nicholas there are three large stained glass windows in the apse. The right hand of these windows was installed in memory of Charles A Wilson who had been an elder for many years and had died in 1958. The bottom of each light of this window shows an aspect of St Ninian. This section of the window is shown in the photograph. On the left, St Ninian is seen with two of his followers setting out to preach the gospel to southern Picts. In the centre there is a representation of St Ninian robed as a Bishop, whilst to the right hand side, St Ninian stands in blessing, with the Candida Casa behind him. The window was designed by Gordon Webster.

As recounted in the New Testament the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to tell her that she was to give birth to a son. The church calls this ‘the annunciation’ and, not surprisingly, celebrates it 9 months before Christmas. Traditionally the Feast of the Annunciation is celebrated on 25th March although the date may be changed depending on when Easter occurs. The first chapter of St Luke’s Gospel gives the fullest account of the annunciation. In it, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she was greatly blessed and would have a son – who would be called Jesus. Mary, who was engaged to be married to Joseph, found it difficult to comprehend, but in faith she was able to respond ‘I am the Lord’s servant, may it happen to me as you have said’. The story not only appears in the Bible, but a shorter version also appears in the Qur’an.

In the Christian church, the annunciation is important because it shows the human and the divine nature of Jesus. Many famous artists have attempted to depict the scene through the medium of paint. But it also features in many stained glass windows in churches – these windows were used to help teach Bible stories to those who could not read well. The picture with this article is part of a window in the West Kirk of St Nicholas which shows the annunciation. The window was made by the London firm of Burlison and Grylls and depicts five scenes from the life of Christ (including the nativity scene shown in the blog for Christmas 2014). In some depictions of the annunciation the Angel Gabriel is seen holding a white lily of purity. In this window, however, he is holding a sceptre – but the lilies are there, on the ground between Gabriel and Mary.

The photograph, which is copyright Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums Collections, is used with permission.

The crucifixion of Jesus took place on a Friday. When he died it was too late to prepare the body of Jesus for burial, so it was placed temporarily in a new burial cave. Only on the Sunday morning, after the Jewish Sabbath, did the first opportunity arise for the women to visit and prepare the body for proper burial. The right hand light of the central window in the former East Kirk depicts one of the events of that morning. We see Mary Magdalene, an early arrival, met by a man and ‘supposing him to be the gardener’   It is Jesus!  He is not dead: he is victor  over death.   This is central to Christian faith and means that we can all say ‘Happy Easter’.

The events of the day called Good Friday, and of the following Sunday, Easter Day, are central to the Christian message, so it is no surprise that many stained glass windows (and other objects) at a focal point in churches seek to portray them.  In the apse at the east end of St Nicholas’ there are three windows – the nativity scene which was shared at Christmas is in one of these.  The central window was created by Marjorie Kemp of Edinburgh in 1936 in memory of Dr James Cooper, a former minister.  At the centre is a depiction of Christ crucified.  This part of the window is shown in today’s image. The picture also shows Mary, the mother of Jesus, and John, one of his disciples, who followed Jesus to the cross, standing on each side with eyes cast down and sorrow on their faces. In three days we will share another part of the same window.