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| The coat of arms of Washington National Cathedral. Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024. |
The Cathedral Church of Saints Peter & Paul occupies prime real estate in our nation's capital. Also known as Washington National Cathedral, this cathedral houses the cathedra of the Bishop of Washington, DC and even has a place for the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.
I can recall with great detail my very first time worshipping there, participating as an acolyte around age 12 or so. I was in awe and filled with questions. True to form, I wrote a letter to the cathedral (circa 1992) inquiring about those guys walking around with "sticks" during the service--the concept of a verger had yet to invade the Diocese of West Virginia back then. I received a kind response explaining the ministry of a verger and I was smitten with all things "high church."
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| L-R: Arms of St. Alban's School, the Episcopal Diocese of Washington DC, and Washington National Cathedral. Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024 |
The cathedral's grounds host both the diocesan offices but also the St. Alban's School, and I've included all three as a set above.
The arms of the cathedral combines both attributed arms of its patron saints with an added coronet overall. From the child-friendly illustration below, the document provides a date for the arms, 1949. However, I've never been successful in tracking down an official blazon.
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| An illustration of the cathedral's arms in a coloring book. Click to enlarge. Source: Washington National Cathedral. |
De Kay (1993) provides a few details such as the metals for the keys, the sword's hilt is gold, and a gold bordure surrounds everything. But...no blazon...I've turned to the greatest resource at my disposal, The American Heraldry Society for blazonry assistance. I also wrote to the Cathedral's Archives in hopes they may have some information as well.
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| The arms of Washington National Cathedral. Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024 |
With special thanks to C. Hale, a member of the American Heraldry Society, we now know the designer as well as the the official blazon for the arms of the Washington National Cathedral. According to Washington National Cathedral (1949) the arms were designed by Alanson H. Sturgis and blazoned:
Gules a sword proper erect in pale hilted or, surmounted by two keys in satire or and argent over all in fess point a crown or.
Works Cited
De Kay, E.J. (1993). Heraldry of the Episcopal Church. Acorn Press.
Washington National Cathedral (1949). The Cathedral Age, 24(1).
