Red Door Curves, St. Ignatius, Montana

I was drawn to the bold colour and curvy shapes of this doorplate. (Do you see the standing bird facing left? I'm not sure if that's just my fancy, but now I can't NOT see it!)

It turns out there is a fair bit of symbolism to go with red painted church doors.

Here are two of my favourite reasons:

 “Red is the color of the Passion. Red doors say that symbolically we enter the church through the Passion, through death and resurrection in baptism (at an Orthodox baptism, the godparents present the candidate with red shoes as a symbol of walking the way of the cross) and by participating in the passion through the Eucharist.” –Paul Woodrum

“...red doors traditionally mean “sanctuary” — the ground beyond the doors is holy, and anyone who goes through them is safe from physical (and spiritual) harm. In ancient times, no one could pursue an enemy past red doors into a church, and certainly no one could be harmed or captured inside of a church. Today, the red reminds us of the blood of Christ and that we are always safe in God’s care!” –St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church 

Click here for more insight and beautiful photo examples.