First, just to the right of Jude and to the left of Matthias, are two large panels with their own cryptic designs. They mark the ambries, cabinets in which to store the vessels and linens of the Eucharist. (But only the cabinet on the Epistle side opens; the panel on the Gospel side has never had a cabinet built behind it.) Below the panels are two small shelves on which sacramental vessels may rest. These shelves are called “credence tables,” as they serve those who believe (Latin credo) in the divinity of the sacraments.                                                                                         

These two identical panels are both triptychs. The larger, central section of each has painted the initials IHS. These are the first three Greek letters of the name “Jesus”: iota, eta, sigma. Flanking are two smaller sections, again with Greek letters: alpha on the left and omega on the right, each bisected by a cross. Of course you recall the Lord’s words: “I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:13). Jesus is truly God, surrounded on both sides by his faithful apostles.