What does our symbol stand for?
The ERSU symbol was first produced from a photograph of an architectural element in the courtyard wall of the historic Reformed Church building in Odessa, Ukraine, on Pastera Street #62 (previously named Khersonskaya Street). This church was built in 1896 by the Reformed Congregation which existed from the early days of the 19th century, and is now the house of worship of the Evangelical Reformed Presbyterian Church of Odessa.
Although the ERSU symbol was adopted from this original, and slightly adapted, we read the following symbolism into it: The Cross is central, leading to growth in our lives and in the church, spreading outward from the Borderlands of Ukraine to the ends of the Earth for the glory of God.
“The Cross is central” – seen in the vertical and horizontal axes
“leading to growth” – as seen in the sprouting leaves, aiming not only at the personal, spiritual, and educational growth of our students, but to the spiritual, numerical, and geographical growth of the Church of Jesus Christ
“the Borderlands of Ukraine” – our center, as seen in the center of the round global symbol as our locus, and reflected in our preference for blue and yellow colors,
“spreading” – seen in the points oriented outwards in all directions
“to the ends of the Earth” – going out to all the globe
“for the glory of God” – pointing away from ourselves in humility, but pointing especially upwards to our God and Savior.