The Arms of the School of Theology, The University of the South

"Devout, Learned, and Useful."
The coat of arms and motto of the School of Theology,
The University of the South.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024

In the Fall of 2007, the Krouse family moved onto the Domain of the University of the South.  Located atop the Cumberland Plateau in the town of Sewanee, Tennessee,  the School of Theology has been forming women and men for ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church since 1878.  With my daughter celebrating her first birthday, and my son coming along to join the clan in a few months, both the seminary and community became a treasured safe-haven for me and my family. 

The School of Theology has produced scores of priests, theologians, and bishops throughout the world formed at Sewanee and ready for ministry within the church.  I was truly fortunate to have been taught and formed by so many legendary academics.  Professors such as The Rev. Dr. Donald S. Armentrout (1939-2013) who famously taught church history with so much hyperbole and excitement, students oftentimes felt alive and embraced by the characters he portrayed.  I can still see Dr. Armentrout holding onto his suspender straps.  The Rev. Dr. A. Richard Smith (1928-2020), the legendary professor who taught New Testament Greek, not only made an ancient language understandable but helped us dive deeply into those texts for a richer understanding of the Christian faith.  

In times of personal crisis, Dr. Joseph E. Monti (1943-2023) was always there with an empathic ear and wise counsel.  An ethicist, Dr. Monti taught moral theology and famously wheeled in a cart containing his notoriously thick syllabus--literally filling up an entire three-ring binder and bringing tears to the eyes of his pupils.  He was a force to be reckoned with, but sweet and gentle all the same.  Another inspiring and vibrant professor was The Rev. Dr. Susanna Metz (d. 2022.) who taught contextual theology and led the field education program.  Susanna, as she insisted on being called, was always laughing and believed deeply that Jesus wanted us all to simply lighten up.  I cherish clinking mugs of beer with Susanna and my classmates at Shenanigans, as we successfully coaxed her to move our small class discussion at times.

Proud dad moment.  My son was baptized in 2007 during the Great Easter Vigil at All Saints' Chapel, Sewanee.  My proud grandfather, "Pappaw," smiles with me.  

Finally, I had the honor of befriending The Rev. Dr. Marion J. Hatchett (1927-2009) towards the end of his historic and scholarly life.  I worked with him to arrange his vast library collection and deliver boxes of old books to the university's library so as to fill in any gaps in their collections.  I am thankful that I had Marion, as he simply wished to be called, autograph for me every copy from his list of published works.  I cherish our many luncheons we had together.  What a gem!    

Today, new legends are forming at the seminary, and while my path led me in a different direction away from ordained ministry, I have employed countless lessons learned as a seminarian which continue to enrich my life.  Why do I share all of this?  Simply because I have learned over the years that Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) knew of how we view symbols.  The great transcendentalist deeply understood the power these symbols have in the course of human experience.  Emerson wrote:

The world being thus put under the mind for verb and noun, the poet is he who can articulate it. For though life is great, and fascinates, and absorbs; and though all men are intelligent of the symbols through which it is named; yet they cannot originally use them. We are symbols and inhabit symbols [emphasis mine]; workmen, work, and tools, words and things, birth and death, all are emblems; but we sympathize with the symbols, and being infatuated with the economical uses of things, we do not know that they are thoughts" (Emerson, 1983, page 456).

In other words, whenever I see the arms of the School of Theology, I cannot help but heap onto that shield my own deeply personal experience with the place.  While heraldry was never intended to bear such weight, the human experience appropriates, when in use, those memories onto a coat of arms.  I believe this with all my heart.  Perhaps, this is why scholastic heraldry is so important.  I need something to hold onto to bear in my life those memories.  I live and inhabit this coat of arms.  

The arms of the School of Theology, from a library painting which prominently hangs inside the Student Common Room, Hamilton Hall.

Designed in 1981 by Sewanee Professor James Waring McCrady (b. 1938), the arms of the seminary carry forward McCrady's unique "Sewanee tressure," his device for showing unification within the arms of the subordinate colleges and schools of the university (McCrady, 2009, p. 552).  

Arms of the School of Theology, The University of the South.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

In McCrady (1983), he offers this blazon for the seminary's arms, "Gules on a cross or surmounted by a Sewanee tressure counter-changed a crossed fleam sable" (page 30). 

The seminary, at some point, picked up its own motto as seen above in the library painting.  The motto, Pius Doctus Utilis, translates to "Devout, Learned, Useful."

For a detailed analysis on the heraldry of the University of the South, please click here. 

According to McCrady (1983), the colors gules (red) and or (gold) come from the arms of William Porcher DuBose (1836-1918), who served as the second dean of the seminary.  The crossed fleam in the center represents the patron saint of the seminary community, Saint Luke. Saint Luke was also the name of the seminary's first building on campus as well as the name of one of the chapels which can all be seen today.  The Gospel writer is attributed as a physician, hence the use of the fleam which was a physician's implement for bleeding.  McCrady added the cross bar to the fleam in a most unusual way that gives dignity and significance to the design--typically in heraldry, the fleam is a stand-alone charge and McCrady's differencing of that symbol is purely masterful. To render the crossed-fleam in sable (black) not only alludes to the clerical color, but also to the Manigault arms, "the widow upon whose benefaction the seminary originally depended" (McCrady, 1983, page 30). 

An idea for a seal/logo for the school.
Designed and rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

McCrady's design for the arms of the seminary is simply genius.  His forms are simple and direct.  Not only are the seminary's arms beautiful, but they convey clearly the mission of the school.  This shield is a treasured possession for so many seminarians and Episcopal clergy who were deeply formed within the walls of Hamilton Hall.

In 2024, the American Heraldry Society selected the seminary's arms to receive its annual Pierre de Chaignon la Rose Design Award.  Click here to read the press announcement from the School of Theology.   

An armorial flag for the School of Theology, The University of the South drawn by the author, September 19, 2014.

Over the past few years, the School of Theology has embraced her arms as evidenced by a few events.  When comparing the popular use of the seminary's coat to the others found within Sewanee's heraldry, it is likely that the seminary's arms are used more so due to the influence of heraldry within the Episcopal Church.  For example, choir dress for clergy in the Episcopal Church requires a black preaching scarf upon which are (sometimes, depending on individual taste) tippet seals or arms are sewed to show clerical's seminary and/or diocese.  

The flags of the University of the South on full display inside All Saints' Chapel during a lecture.  Source: The University of the South.

In 2014, I rendered all the arms at Sewanee as flag and posted those drawings to this blog.  Enter The Rev. Robertson "Rob" C. Donehue T'16.  I truly suspected that no one in the world would ever read my posts here, but I was wrong.  At the time, Rob was a seminarian at the School of Theology and saw my post, sparking conversations about Sewanee's heraldry.  Rob's passion for Sewanee's heraldry, along with his savy leadership, brought my humble sketches into reality.  My dream of seeing Sewanee's heraldry come alive and "fly," was simply made possible by Rob.  By the university's Easter 2016 commencement, all three banners were up and flying (The Sewanee Purple, April 16, 2016, website).  Please click here to read The Sewanee Purple's article.  I am incredibly thankful for Father Rob and the work he did as a seminarian to make all this possible.  To this day, we still correspond about these very topics.  

The armorial flags of the University of the South and its schools.
Rendered by Lucas Hofmann, 2024.  Click image to enlarge.

In 2018, the graduating class of seminarians gave the seminary a gift of the school's arms rendered as a banner for processions.

The graduating class of 2018 pictured with the new banner.  Source:  The University of the South.

And perhaps most exciting of all, in the fall of 2022, the St. Luke's Community (the name for the student body association for the seminary) announced through Facebook that signet rings and pendants bearing the seminary's arms would be available for purchase.  Through a collaboration with a local Tennessee jeweler, Mr. Jim Woodard of Woodard's Diamonds and Design, two seminarians (now ordained), The Rev. Garron Daniels T'23 and The Rev. Suz Southern T'23 helped make the seminary's arms more tangible through this creative project.  Huzzah!  

A new project brought to life by The Rev. Garron Daniels T'23 and The Rev. Suz Southern T'23.  Source: School of Theology Facebook page.

It is so exciting to see these heraldic developments at my alma mater.  The School of Theology is truly a special place.  These armorial bearings mean more to me than simply good heraldry.  Memories, lessons learned, and the people who came into my life there, forever changed me.  I will never be able to pay back the debt I owe to the School of Theology, save winning the lottery.  I am a proud M.Div. graduate, and though my career in higher education philanthropy is so far removed from ordained ministry, I lean heavily on my formation from Sewanee each and every day.  I'll simply close with the fight song:

"Tiger, Tiger,

Leave 'em in the lurch.

Down with the heathen

And up with the Church

Ye-aa-ah, Sewanee's right"

Works Cited

Emerson, R.W. (1983).  Ralph Waldo Emerson: Essays and lectures.  Literary Classics of the United States, Inc.

McCrady, J.W. (2009).  Evolution of the university’s arms. In G.L. Smith & S.R. Williamson (Eds.),  Sewanee Perspectives: On the history of the University of the South.  The University of the South.

McCrady, J. W. (1983).  After 125 years completing the university's heraldry. Sewanee News, vol 49(1), 30.