Sunlight shines through Memorial Chapel stained glass window.

Ukrainian Pysanky symbols at Memorial Chapel: A Short Guide

May 19, 2022

The stained glass windows in Memorial Chapel at Lake Junaluska bear meaningful Ukrainian Pysanky symbols that John Hooper describes in his book “Mystery of Memorial Chapel: Ukrainian Pysanky Symbols in Stained Glass.”

Memorial Chapel was built in the 1940s after the Lake Junaluska Cottage Owners Association started a movement to raise funds for a Temple of Peace, to be erected in the name of the Prince of Peace, and in honor of those who served in the armed forces of our country in World War II.

A glass painter who worked on the chapel was Lubomyr Stephan Wandzura, a Ukrainian immigrant who served in the war. Symbols incorporated into the windows range from net/sieve that symbolized Christ as a fisher of men to an arrowhead that symbolized protection of the home and also protection of the homeland

See the short guide below for more information from his book about the symbols in the chapel, which is open to visitors mid-day most days for private prayer and meditation. A Prayer Service for Ukraine took place on March 15 at Memorial Chapel at Lake Junaluska.

Memorial Chapel in early spring
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