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A flaming chalice is the most widely used symbol of Unitarianism and Unitarian Universalism (UUism) and the official logo of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and other Unitarian and UU churches and societies.
Living in Paris during the 1930s Deutsch drew critical cartoons of Adolf Hitler. When the Nazis invaded Paris in 1940, he abandoned all he had and fled to the South of France, then to Spain, and finally, with an altered passport, into Portugal. There, he met the Reverend Charles Joy, executive director of the Unitarian Service Committee (USC). The Service Committee was new, founded in Boston to assist Eastern Europeans, among them Unitarians as well as Jews, who needed to escape Nazi persecution. From his Lisbon headquarters, Joy oversaw a secret network of couriers and agents. The History of the Flaming Chalice, About Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist Association (2007).
After 1941, the flaming chalice symbol spread throughout Unitarianism in America and the rest of the world. This spread continued after Unitarians in North America merged with Universalism to form the Unitarian Universalist Association. The symbol gradually became more than a printed logo. By the 1960s, people like Fred Weideman of Dearborn, Michigan, were making flaming chalice jewelry. Some congregations began displaying the symbol in their worship spaces. At some point, three-dimensional chalices were made to be lit during worship services, but the origin(s) of this usage remains obscure.
The chalice symbol is often shown surrounded by two linked rings ( see illustration). The two linked rings were based on the quote from the poet and life long Universalist Edwin Markham, "He drew a circle that shut me out—Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But Love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle and took him in!" It also served as a symbol signifying the joining of Unitarianism and Universalism in 1961. In August 1962, the newsletter of the Midwestern Unitarian Universalist Association began using a chalice symbol drawn inside the two interlocking rings, as drawn by Betty King.
There is no orthodox interpretation of the flaming chalice symbol. In one interpretation, the chalice is a symbol of religious freedom from the impositions of doctrine by a hierarchy and open to participation by all; the flame is interpreted as a memorial to those throughout history who sacrificed their lives for the cause of religious liberty. In another interpretation, the flaming chalice resembles a cross, symbolic of the Christianity roots of Unitarian and Universalism. The History of the Flaming Chalice, supra.
Later, associations were made between this symbol and the Hussites religious sect. Czech people reformer Jan Hus (1369–1415) began reading the Bible to his congregations in their native language, while the Catholic Church demanded that the Bible only be read in Latin. Also, during Eucharist, the chalice was reserved for the clergy; the laity only received bread. When a church council condemned the practice of priests who were giving the chalice to their congregants, Hus refused to support the condemnation. After his execution by burning in 1415, followers of Hus adopted the "lay chalice" as an important symbol of their movement.Arnason, Wayne B. and Rebecca Scott. We Would Be One: A History of Unitarian Universalist Youth Movements. Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, 2005, p. 58. Accessed June 7, 2009.
Outside of weekly worship services, many small gatherings of Unitarian Universalists incorporate a lit chalice, often accompanied by readings, as a reminder of the religious nature of the gathering. Unitarian Universalists, Unitarians and Universalists might also display a flaming chalice on clothing, jewelry, their cars, or in their homes as a symbol of their faith, much as Christians display a cross or as display a Star of David.
In keeping with the traditions of religious pluralism and individualism, there is no requirement, doctrinal or otherwise, that congregations or adherents use or acknowledge the flaming chalice as a religious symbol.
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