"At the opening of Unitarian Universalist worship services, many congregations light a flame inside a CHALICE.. This flaming chalice has become a well-known symbol of its denomination. The flame and the chalice were brought together by an Austrian artist, Hans Deutsch, in 1941. Living in Paris during the 1930's, Deutsch drew critical cartoons of Adolf Hitler. When the Nazis invaded Paris in 1940 he abandoned all he had and fled. Deutsch was asked by the Unitarian Service Committee to design a symbol to make false documents look official for those people who escaped and were fleeing overrun countries at the time. The flaming chalice design was made into a seal for papers and a badge for agents moving refugees to freedom. In time it became a symbol of Unitarian Universalism all around the world for new truths that pass the tests of reason, justice, and compassion." (Credit: Brochure: The Flaming Chalice, by Daniel D. Hotchkiss)
This flaming chalice stands in the sanctuary of Unity Unitarian Church on Grotto Avenue in St. Paul, MN.
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