The Flaming Chalice

World Chalice

A flame within a chalice – a cup with a stem and foot – is the primary symbol of the Unitarian Universalist faith and represents the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and its member congregations.

In most UU churches, including ours, we light a flame in the chalice at the opening of our worship services and at the beginning of many other church group meetings. The chalice unites our members in worship and symbolizes the spirit of our work. The lighting of the chalice is usually accompanied by a brief reading.

Hans Deutsch, an Austrian artist, first brought together the chalice and the flame as a Unitarian symbol during his work with the Unitarian Service Committee during World War II. To Deutsch, the image had connotations of sacrifice and love. Unitarian Universalists today have many different interpretations of the image. More information about the history of our Unitarian Universalist symbol.

The current official UUA logo (seen in the left sidebar on all pages of this website) was designed to offer a visual representation of a modern and dynamic faith.

The flaming chalice image has changed many times over the past 65 years. Modern chalice designs often incorporate two overlapping circles which, for many people, represent our Unitarian and Universalist heritages, as seen in the example below.

Other chalice images include additional elements, some of which are merely decorative and others which are very meaningful. One interpretation appears at the top of this page and is called the "World Chalice."