gold itself, symbolizes St. Thadcteus; the gold (chrysos) symbolizing the kingdom of Christ, and the prassius, Christ's death, both of which he preached to Abgar, King of Edessa.
The
jacinth, which is of a celestial hue, signifies Simon Zelotes, zealous
for the gifts and grace of Christ and endowed with a celestial prudence.
By
the amethyst, which shows to the onlooker a fiery aspect, is signified
Matthias, who in the gift of tongues was so filled with celestial fire
and with fervent zeal to serve and please God, who had chosen him, that
he was found worthy to take the place of the apostate Judas.
Some
theologians were opposed to the assignment of the foundation stones to
the apostles, for they held that only Christ himself could be regarded
as the foundation of his Church. Hence the symbolism of these stones
was made to apply to Christ alone, the color of the stone often guiding
the commentator in his choice of ideas denoted by the different gems.
Thus, one writer, applying all the meanings to Christ, finds that the
greenish Jasper denotes satisfaction; the sky-blue Sapphire, the soul;
the bright-red Chalcedony, zeal for truth; the transparent green
Emerald, kindness and goodness; the nail-colored Sardonyx, the strength
of spiritual life ; the red Sardius, readiness to shed His blood for
the Church; the yellow Chrysolite, the excellence of His divine nature
; the sea-green Beryl, moderation and the control of the passions ; the
glass-green Topaz (chrysolite!), uprightness; the harsh-colored
Chrysoprase, sternness towards sinners; the violet or purple Jacinth,
royal dignity, and, lastly, the purple Amethyst, with a touch of red,
perfection.6
Andreas
of Caesarea freely recognizes his indebtedness to the much more
ancient source, St. Epiphanius, bishop of Constantia in Cyprus, who
died in 402 a.D., and who wrote a short but very valuable treatise on the
*
Georgius Vitringa, " Nauwkeurige onderzoek van de goddelyke Openbaring
der H. Apostels Johannes," Dutch trans, of Latin by M. Gargon,
Amsterdam, 172S, vol. ii, p. 681.
