Story Behind The Two Keys On Vatican’s Flag

A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - There is a deeper meaning behind the Vatican City State’s flag.

The flag is made up of two fields, vertically divided in half: the yellow half flies alongside the flagpole and the white half bears the papal tiara and crossed keys.

Yellow (golden) is a symbol of gold / precious metal / or sun /; it’s something divine, in the heavens and a symbol of wealth, power and good. White (formerly silver) is a symbol of purity and the earth renewed by Jesus Christ.

These two fields are vertically arranged with equal shapes and dimensions.

On the white side of the flag, there are the keys of St. Peter in traditional colors, and bound with a red cord (link between two powers) and surmounted by the tiara.

See also:
History Of The Saltire – Scotland’s National Flag And World’s Oldest Sovereign Flag

How The Strange Dream Of Roman Emperor Constantine Changed History

The Name Vatican And Etruscan Goddess Vatika Of The Underworld – What Is The Connection?

The symbol of the key is mentioned frequently in the Bible, especially in Matthew 16:19:

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven,” said Jesus givingthe keys to heaven's gates to Simon Peter the Apostle.

In cloth, they are expressed in white and yellow and so are the papal colors, when they were first used in a circular cloth badge (cockade) in 1808.

The silver key symbolizes the Pope's earthly power and the gold one represents God's divine power. The mechanisms of the keys are turned up towards the heaven.
Their grips are facing downward to show that they were given  into the hands of the Pope, in other words, down to earth - not vice versa.

Vatican flag (in Italian: bandiera pontificia), is considered a flag of the Catholic Church and was adopted on June 7, 1929.

However, they have been a papal emblem since the Middle Ages.

Written by – A. Sutherland AncientPages.com Staff Writer

Copyright © AncientPages.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of AncientPages.com