Erection date: 14/5/1986
Javier Perez de Cuellar, Secretary-General of the United Nations unveiled this inscription 14th May 1986 to recall the 40th anniversary of the United Nations and to commemorate the meetings of the United Nations Preparatory Commission and the Security Council and the early days of the organization in this building 1945 - 1946.
Site: Church House, Westminster (4 memorials)
SW1, Deans Yard, Church House
The four plaques are located as follows:
To the left of the entrance - 1937 foundation,
To the right of the entrance - opened 1940 (can be seen in our photo),
In the entrance porch, to the left - UN 1986,
In the entrance porch, to the right - centenary 1988.
Centre front, second floor, is a large high relief figure by Charles Wheeler, representing the Prophet of Assembly of the Church of England (though we can't discover any more about this personage, nor why it's so Eastern-looking). And below that, some Greek text, about which our language consultant, David Hopkins, writes:
"It’s a direct quote from Luke 17:21 in the New Testament. If you have the right font on your computer it says: Η ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΑ ΤΟΥ ΘEΟΥ ΕΝΤΟΣ ΥΜΩΝ ΕΣΤΙΝ. In “English letters” this would be “He basileia tou theou entos humon estin”. The translation in the King James version says: “The kingdom of God is within you”, although some academics have argued that a better translation would be “The kingdom of God is in your midst”. Neither makes much sense to me!"
Googling around suggests the carving may represent Elijah but we need help here. Why does a building so central to the Church of England carry Greek text and an apparent Eastern religious icon so prominently?
