The Twelve Apostles There is reference made to the twelve Apostles who were specially chosen by Jesus to continue to spread the Good News once he had left them.
The Lamb - at the bottom of the cross there are twelve lambs who are pointing towards a thirteenth lamb at the centre of the picture directly under the Cross. This central lamb has a halo and is representing Christ whom Christians refer to as the ’Lamb of God’.
In the story of the Passover in the Old Testament book of Exodus, a lamb was sacrificed and its blood allowed the Angel of Death to ‘pass over’ these house. Jesus is described the ‘Lamb of God’ because his sacrificial death saved humanity from their sin and death.
The Sheep: The Apostles also lived a sacrificial life, like Jesus the Lamb of God. They gave up their homes and families to follow Jesus and spread the word after his death. Some were martyred eg St Peter was executed in Rome.
The Dove – on the cross, there are twelve doves which again represent the Apostles also reminds us of the Holy Spirit which came to the Apostles at Pentecost and filled them with courage to spread the word. This is often described as the ‘Birthday of the Church’ because without this event Christianity may not have spread.
The Four Evangelists:Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They wrote each of the four gospels, and their writings enabled the gospel to spread. They appear at the top next to the image of a living, risen Jesus. They are sometimes represented by four animals – Luke is the ox, John is the eagle, Mark is the lion, and Matthew is a man.
The Alpha and Omega - these are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet which express the idea of something being complete. In the book of Revelation, God speaks of himself as the Alpha and Omega and from early Christian times it was also used to refer to Jesus. We are therefore being reminded that Jesus is eternal, like God.
Chi-Rho –this symbol is frequently used on baptismal candles and the priest’s vestments. The symbol are the first two letters of the word Christ in Greek – X and P. With the use of both of these symbols the artist is emphasising the importance of Christ.
The hand of God the father can be seen at the top of the Cross reaching down to earth from heaven handing a crown to Christ. This symbolises how the transcendent God becomes an immanent God who is now involved in creation in Jesus.
The Cross The cross is black, but this emphasises the brightness of the figure of Jesus, set against it. Jesus' sacrifice is about life not death, hope not despair.
The Tree of Life The cross is a complete crucifixion scene with Mary and St. John present either side of the cross but it symbolized more than that. The Cross emerges from a tree at the base of it, because the Cross is life-giving – it has saved us. This phrase is a reference to the Book of Revelation 22.2, 'On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, and its leaves are for the healing of the nations'. This river can also be seen in the mosaic, with a deer drinking from it.
References to Genesis: the tree at the base of the Cross is perhaps a reminder of the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. Eating the fruit from this tree was the first sin of humanity; the presence of the serpent wrapped around a fawn who is drinking from the rivers of life seems to confirm the link.
The Vine : this fills up most of the mosaic, circulating the entire scene and emerges from the tree of life. God created the world to be a green paradise for all of humanity. The Vine can also represent Christ himself who in John’s Gospel said 'I am the Vine'. (15.5) In the mosaic, the artist has included an inscriptions, which likens the Church to a vine linked to Jesus, as so fills the whole earth. 'We have likened the Church of Christ to this vine …the Cross made it bloom'.