The Tree of Forgiveness
On the second arch over the choir, Burne-Jones has represented the Tree of Forgiveness. Christ, hands outstretched powerfully, is suspended before the green-leafed Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. On one side stands Adam and the other side Eve with her firstborn. The thistles from which spring the lily symbolize the hardness of man's labor from which springs his divine possibilities, concretized in the story of the Annunciation. Under this scene is written in Latin: "In the world, ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

Christ in Glory
The great mosaic of the rear wall of the apse represents Christ the Lord in glory. At the very top against the blue of the sky is glimpsed a glittering vision of angels. Below sits the majestic figure of Christ, enthroned upon the cherubim and seraphim. In Christ's left hand he holds the orb of the earth and His right hand is upraised in Blessing. From His feet issue the streams of living water and a rainbow is "round about the Throne." (Revelation 4). On either side of Christ are ranged the archangels, standing each before a gate of heaven. One gate, on Christ's right, is empty - reminding us of the fall from heaven of Lucifer. Below this majestic scene is the sea of the firmament, through which runs the inscription in Hebrew: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) and in Greek: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God." (John 1:1) Below this is to be found a row of graceful angels separating heaven from earth; and in the lowest register we find the Church Triumphant.

The Church on Earth
Against the background of the Heavenly City, we find five groups of persons representing the various classes or functions which have historically made up Christendom. On the extreme left are the ascetics, the prophetic element in the Church's life; among these, only St. Francis of Assisi receiving the stigmata is clearly recognizable. Next comes a group of matrons, representing the service of God in ordinary life. Among them can be seen Martha with her keys and Mary Magdalene with the box of ointment.

The major group in the center represents the great ecclesiastical figures of the Church's past, five fathers of the Eastern Church and five of the Western, with St. Paul in the front dressed in a chasuble (in his day a man's evening coat; worn today throughout the Catholic Church for the celebration of the Holy Communion.

To the right of this group we find the Virgin and Saints, among them the martyrs St. Catherine, St. Barbara, St. Cecilia, St. Dorothea and St. Agnes. Finally, on the right, come the Christian warriors representing the bulwark of peace and stable government. Here we find representations of the patron saints of many countries: St. George of England, St. James of Spain, St. Patrick of Ireland, St. Andrew of Scotland and St. Denis of France.

This lower register is particularly interesting in that the artist, following the Renaissance tradition, used portraits of many of the people of his time for some of the figures represented. For example, St. Ambrose on the extreme right of the center group has the face of J. P. Morgan, who contributed somewhat to the building of the church. St. Augustine to the right of St. Paul is a profile of Archbishop Tait, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Among the warriors we can distinguish General Grant (in 1873 President of the USA), General Garibaldi and, with a green tunic, Abraham Lincoln.