The Malmesbury Abbey Trinity Frontal
Green is the traditional liturgical colour for the Trinity and is used in many Churches during the weeks of the year when special thanksgiving is offered to God who reveals Himself to us in three persons.
- The equilateral triangle has represented, for centuries, the equality of God the Father, God the Son and Holy Spirit.
- The Cross is the most potent of all Christian symbols.
- The colour gold has been used since medieval times to represent and depict heaven.
Here these four elements have been used as a design core for the frontal.
- The green backcloth was woven locally in pure wool.
- The three central crosses in gold and silver represent three persons in the one God,
- the three elements forming one cross, the centre of which is a triangle within a circle, for eternity.
- The concentricity of the triangles is to reinforce the eternal qualities of the Trinity - Christ - the Cross - supported and surrounded with the power of the Father and the Spirit.
The design has been created to be rich in its symbolism, as the "star burst" effect of the hundreds of triangles surrounding the cross can be interpreted as the power of God the Trinity radiating throughout the world from the Cross - OR the power of God which supported and upheld the Son, Christ crucified, on the Cross, now empty - the same power which raised Christ from the dead when He burst from the tomb on the first Easter, shattering the power of sin and offering us eternal life.
The merging of these symbols on this Trinity frontal enables us to reflect upon the all powerful, all pervading and eternal qualities of the Trinity. The power of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is released into the world to draw us to worship and glorify Him.