Recent Finds Special Edition: The Arms of Christ Church Cathedral

Arms of Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal) in Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

It began as a flag.  A recent search online yielded the most exciting image, one I've yet to encounter--a parish flag.  Usually, it's the other way around for me, translating a coat of arms into a flag.  Not this time.  So the Recent Finds Series now adds another special edition post highlighting this hidden gem.  To read other articles in the series, click on the corresponding label at the end.  

The new flag of what was then Christ Church parish (now cathedral) was unveiled in the Spring of 1921 and illustrated in The Living Church.  

The Parish Flag of Christ Church
Image source: The Living Church (1921 May 21), 91

Even more exciting, at least to me, the article names the designer along with a brief rationale.  Did I mention the hatching too?  Huzzah!  I cannot express how thankful I was to have all this data in one place.  Again, most unusual.

The Rev. Henry Martyn Medary (1871-1962), an Episcopal priest in Pennsylvania was responsible for creating this gorgeous ensign for Christ Church.  The crispness of Medary's design is equal to his rationale:

"Its field of gold corresponds with the field of the arms of Wisconsin. A large red cross cut through the field symbolizes the name of the parish, Christ Church.  Four 'fountains' (discs with white and blue waves) suggest the rivers on which Eau Claire is situated, and also the meaning of the word, 'Wisconsin,' which is supposed to stand for 'wild rushing channel.'

"In the center of the cross a gold fleur-de-lis indicates the early French settlers of the state. Through the arms of the cross run two 'pales raguly,' heraldic symbols for timber, suggesting the lumber industry upon which this portion of Wisconsin grew up" (The Living Church, 21 May 1921, 91).

The blazon I offer for the arms of Christ Church Cathedral in Eau Claire, WI:  Or, between two pales raguly Vert debruised in fess a cross throughout Gules thereon a fleur-de-lis of the field between four fountains.  

I turned to Pierre de Chaignon la Rose's (1872-1941) blazon constructed for the arms of the Episcopal Diocese of Quincy as my guide.  Click here to learn more about the arms of the Episcopal Diocese of Quincy.  

Armorial flag and coat of arms of Christ Church Cathedral in Eau Claire, WI
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

I wonder if Medary was closely following la Rose's work?  I suspect so, or at least Medary was a student of heraldry.  I've yet to encounter another designer's work produced at la Rose's level this early in the 20th century.  Whenever I would discover a coat of arms dated between 1910-1940 without attribution for its designer, I would proudly say, "no one else [except la Rose] was capable of this work at such-and-such a time in the US."  Thanks to Medary's gift of ecclesiastical heraldry in 1921, I no longer speak those words.

Medary was a member of the Diocese of Pennsylvania's committee responsible for proposing a seal and coat of arms back in 1902-1904.  Since la Rose designed the Diocese of Pennsylvania's arms, Medary would be quite familiar with his work.  Nonetheless, Medary would continue to make several heraldic contributions to advance sound heraldry in the Episcopal Church. 

Carpeting behind the main altar inside Christ Church Cathedral, Eau Claire, WI
Image source:  Cathedral Facebook page

My search for evidence to see if these arms are presently used produced one artifact--and I had to squint in order to catch it too.

On a carpet behind the cathedral's main altar is an embroidered image of the coat of arms.  The image of the arms on the carpet is the only rendering I could find online.  Perhaps the cathedral community is unaware of their arms so beautifully arranged and published 104 years ago?  Surely not!

The armorial flags of the Episcopal Church and Christ Church Cathedral in saltire
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

I believe this may be the first instance these arms have been digitally rendered in full color.  Simply lovely. 

Works Cited

The Living Church. (1921 May 21). A parish flag. The Living Church, 65(3), 91.

Recent Finds X

Coats of arms from various parishes and cathedrals in the Episcopal Church
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Part 10 of Recent Finds showcases several more coats of arms from parishes and cathedrals in the Episcopal Church discovered online.  To read more in the Recent Finds series, click the corresponding label at the end of this post.  I'm beginning to believe that St. Andrew and St. James win the popularity contest for being dedicated to the most Episcopal parishes.

Key to illustration above:

Top Row (L-R):  St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral (Memphis, TN), St. Michael's Episcopal Cathedral (Boise, ID), and Calvary-St. George Episcopal Church (New York, NY)

Middle Row (L-R): Grace Episcopal Church (Spring Hill, TN), Prince of Peace Episcopal Church (Dallas, PA), and The Episcopal Church of St. Andrew and Holy Communion (South Orange, NJ) 

Bottom Row (L-R): St. Andrew Episcopal Church (Kokomo, IN), St. James Episcopal Church (Fairhope, AL), and Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal Church (Memphis, TN).

Coat of arms of St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral Memphis, TN
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

I'm admittedly somewhat conflicted with this design, knowing there's a great rationale and explanation for the arms.  I simply cannot locate one online at the moment.

Coat of arms of St. Michael's Episcopal Cathedral Boise, ID
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The arms of St. Michael's Cathedral are bold and impressive.  The bells, according to DeKay (1993) reference the first sounds of the Church ringing in the Boise area.

Coat of arms of Calvary-St. George Episcopal Church New York, NY
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Clean and simple, the arms of Calvary-St. George Episcopal Church do not disappoint!

Coat of arms of Prince of Peace Episcopal Church Dallas, PA
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The arms of Prince of Peace Episcopal Church are quite stunning in my opinion--someone knew what they were doing when designing these arms for the parish.

Blazon for the arms of Prince of Peace Episcopal Church Dallas, PA:  Ermine, on a cross quadrate throughout Vert a dove descending Argent haloed Or with an olive branch in its beak Proper.

Coat of arms of The Episcopal Church of St. Andrew and
Holy Communion South Orange, NJ
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The arms of St. Andrew & Holy Communion suitably differenced the attributed arms of St. Andrew while providing clear identification of the parish.  Simple and clear. 

Coat of arms of Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal Church Memphis, TN
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

I like how the anchor is differenced here, just wish the feather quill pen was placed differently or omitted altogether.  A lovely coat of arms nonetheless.

Recent Finds VII

I had this vision in my head for a lion bishop
Created and rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

A lion bishop?  Well, of course!  Anything is possible in the world of heraldry!  I had this vision in my head with the lion wearing a mitre and cope and bedazzled in all the episcopal finery possible.  Voila!

...and the finds keep coming!  Here's a quick post with some interesting US corporate heraldry found online recently and then rendered by me.  

The coat of arms of St. James Episcopal Church Prouts Neck, ME
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The coat of arms of St. James Episcopal Church Prouts Neck in Maine successfully avoided the old "2 and 1" with escallops.  In the absence of any known blazon, I'm guessing the escallop here would be proper.  Green is an entirely appropriate tincture for the State of Maine. 

The coat of arms of St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church Hollis, NY
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

"Hail Mary, full of grace the LORD is with you," proclaimed the angel Gabriel.  The coat of arms of St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church in Hollis, New York successfully ties together the herald's trumpet with the angel's wings.  I'm still trying to track down, however, if this coat is the attributed and undifferenced version for St. Gabriel.  Regardless, the design works.  My only question is why is there no geographic reference--which leads me to believe these are the attributed arms.  

The coat of arms of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Barre, Vermont
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025 

Vermont continues to keep things interesting and the coat of arms of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Barre, VT are quite lovely if not unique to say the least.  These arms were a fun puzzle to solve.

The coat of arms of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (left) and Anderson University (right)
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

In 2021, Anderson University in South Carolina officially adopted a coat of arms as seen above.  The university is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and I wonder if the bordure was intentional--matching Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's arms.  Either way, I appreciate this thematic approach by our Protestant sisters and brothers.

The coat of arms of St. Paul Seminary (Roman Catholic) in St. Paul, MN
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The coat of arms of St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota carries forward the barry wavy in base which is featured in the arms of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis along with its cathedral, the Basilica of the St. Mary.  Additionally, the seminary's arms avoid the undifferenced and attributed version of arms while providing unique geographic identification as well as unification.  Score!

The Unusual Arms of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida

Coat of arms of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

When the Episcopal Diocese of Florida was divided into four dioceses (Florida, Southeast, Central, and Southwest) in 1969, Dekay (1993) notes that all three of the new dioceses retained various elements from the former see's seal.  Thus, the very intricate bordure that appears on the arms of both the Dioceses of Southeast and Southwest Florida.  

That is all well and good, until I discovered a theme.

Top: Arms of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida
Bottom (L-R): Arms of Trinity Cathedral, Vergers' Guild,
and the Church of the Incarnation
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

So far, these three arms using the "Chief of the Diocese of Southeast Florida" for unification, are all I could find.  I wonder if there are others out there hiding.

Arms of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Miami, FL
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Trinity Cathedral in Miami is the seat of the Bishop of the Diocese of Southeast Florida and incorporates a "Chief of the Diocese of Southeast Florida" to show unification.  

Arms of Vergers in the Diocese of Southeast Florida
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

I don't have much information on these arms, but they are in use and can be seen sewn onto vergers' gowns in the diocese.

Arms of the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation Miami, FL
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

I was very intrigued to stumbled upon the coat of arms of the Church of the Incarnation which uses the same chief for the same reason.  Believe it or not, I had no idea what the unicorn symbolized in Christianity.  Well, it's the perfect representation of the Incarnation.  

Works Cited

Dekay, Ekford. (1993).  Heraldry in the Episcopal Church.  Acorn Publishing.

Recent Finds Part IV

I will freely admit to having way too much fun hacking my way through the jungles of the Internet in search of good heraldry for US corporate arms.  So far, I've been holding strong with the Episcopal Church, and I've collected 96 designs for cathedrals, parishes, and a few schools.  It has been a welcomed break from my usual la Rose research and I am learning a lot as I attempt to emblazon many of those arms I find. 

For today's installment, I have nine arms of Episcopal parishes to share.  I'm now having a hard time deciding which ones to post--I have a lot!

Coats of arms of various Episcopal parishes in the US
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025
Click to enlarge

Top Row (L-R):  St. Matthias (Athens, TX), Christ Church (Pelham, NY), and All Souls (Okinawa, Japan)

Middle Row (L-R):  St. Martin's (Metairie, LA), St. Mark's (Perryville, MD), and Trinity Cathedral (Little Rock, AR)

Bottom Row (L-R):  St. Margaret's (Inverness, FL), Trinity Fort Worth (TX), and St. Giles (Jefferson, ME)

Arms of St. Matthias Episcopal Church (Athens, TX)
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Making this tomahawk-like hatchet was fun and these arms are based on the attributed arms of St. Matthias and differenced by the hatchet.  My guess is that the design of the axe is a geographical reference for a First Nations tribe in the Athens, Texas area.

All Souls Episcopal Church (Okinawa, Japan)
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Coming all the way from Okinawa, Japan, the arms of All Souls Episcopal Church are simple and lovely.  The arrangement of the doves is the "attributed" symbol for All Souls and can be found in various arms.

Arms of St. Martin's Episcopal Church (Metairie, LA)
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

I've added St. Martin's in Metairie for their simplicity.  Again, based on St. Martin's attributed arms and then overlaid upon a bordure of St. George to emphasize the parish's Anglican roots.  

Arms of St. Giles' Episcopal Church (Jefferson, ME)
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

I could only find a line drawing for the arms of St. Giles in Jefferson, Maine, but thankfully it contained hatch marks.  These playful arms incorporate both Maine and references from the saint's attributed arms.

There's more!  I'm beginning to think about what I can do with all these arms and data.  Nothing to announce yet, but definitely the wheels are turning.

Finding Patterns in Temple's Heraldry

Four ecclesiastical coats of arms by Col. Harry D. Temple
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025
click to enlarge

Searching the Internet for what I deem to be "good" US corporate heraldry has yielded quite a few finds.  For this article, I want to highlight a few themes (or patterns) in the data so far likely identifying the designer.

Col. Harry D. Temple (1911-2004) was a proliferate heraldic designer in the Episcopal Church, active from the mid-to-late twentieth century.  While he was head of the US Army's Institute on Heraldry, he must have been a devout Episcopalian given the sheer volume of arms he produced for cathedrals and parishes.  To date, I've only discovered two coats of arms for Episcopal dioceses designed by Temple--Virginia and Georgia.  The Diocese of Virginia, however, plays an integral part in one theme under examination here.  

Coat of arms of Christ Church in Alexandria, VA
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The chief of St. George, argent a cross throughout gules, is seen in two known arms by Temple as illustrated above in the top row--Diocese of Virginia and Christ Church Cathedral in Louisville, KY.  Two designs that I found recently play perfectly into this design scheme, St. James Episcopal Church in Leesburg and Christ Church Alexandria, both in Northern Virginia.  In these two later coats of arms, we see Temple adding differencing marks in the chief for variation.  Due to Christ Church's geographic location in Washington, DC, the undifferenced arms of Washington are used in chief--kind of brilliant I think.

Blazon for the arms of Christ Church Alexandria:  Azure, three lymphads Or on a chief Argent two bars and three mullets in chief Gules. 

Coat of arms of St. James Episcopal Church in Leesburg, VA
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

St. James' avoids using the traditional three escallops and places one at fesspoint on the chief.  The checky base comes from the Lee arms to play on the geographic location of the parish    

Blazon for the arms of St. James Episcopal Church in Leesburg, VA:  Checky Or and Azure, on a chief Ermine a cross throughout Gules charged at fesspoint with an escallop Or.  

I feel very confident attributing the designs of Christ Church and St. James to Temple--once a designer has developed her or his framework for illustrating unification and differencing, those designs tend to be repeated and variated throughout their work.  I learned this lesson through my research on Pierre de Chaignon la Rose (1872-1941).

Another example of Temple's framework showing unification through the canton
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024

Another example of Temple's framework for showing unification can be shown above in the arms of Augustine Parish (left) and Trinity Cathedral (right) in the Diocese of Easton.  

Temple's framework using the canton for differencing
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Temple also used the canton for differencing and/or to provide additional historical facts/names/etc. for the corporate arms in question.  Here we see (left) Cathedral of St. James in South Bend, IN, (center) St. Luke's Cathedral in Orlando, FL, and (right) the retired arms of St. Paul's Parish in Richmond, VA.

Likely another example of Temple's framework for unification
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Finally, I'm currently on the hunt for evidence to support my hypothesis that these two arms were designed by Temple.  First, the canton raised my suspicion followed by the "bordure" of the arms of the diocese where the parish is located--Central Gulf Coast (left) and New Hampshire (right).  The cantons, here, provide additional geographic references--the star for Texas and the chevron between three estoiles refers to the arms of the Earls of Peterborough.

I love finding patterns in data, especially in heraldry.  Yes imitations exist, but more often than not, a designer's framework is easily recognizable once understood.  More to come. 

Temple's Ecclesiastical Heraldry

Anchored by the arms of the Episcopal Church, select ecclesiastical arms
designed by Col. Harry D. Temple.  Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

After emblazoning several designs created by Col. Harry D. Temple (1911-2004), I've admittedly become smitten with his work in scholastic, civic, and ecclesiastical heraldry.  As head of the US Army's Institute of Heraldry, Temple naturally devised a lot of military heraldry but I have little interest there. 

The researcher in me has already started a "Temple Roll of Arms" to begin collecting data on Temple's non-military designs, and I easily gathered 20 so far.  I know more exist.  Challenge accepted!

From what I gather based on my data so far, Temple's ecclesiastical work was mainly within the Episcopal Church and primarily designing arms for cathedrals and parishes.  However, there are at least two designs for Episcopal dioceses--Dioceses of Virginia and Georgia.  

The arms of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Dekay (1993) cites Temple designing the arms for the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia in 1971, blazoned:  Sable, three lymphads Or, on a chief Argent a cross Gules.  His simple design for the diocese ties together Virginia's settlement of Jamestown through the ships as well as its Anglican heritage with the chief of St. George.  Again, lovely and simple.  

The arms of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Temple's design for the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia was adopted by the see in 1971 and blazoned: Azure, on a bend engrailed Or cottised Argent, a boar's head couped Gules armed Argent and langued Azure between two roses Argent seeded and barbed Or.

The following design rationale comes from the Diocese of Georgia's Archives:

"The symbolism and description in modern language is this: The wide wavy-edged diagonal band is gold and is taken from the Elliott coat of arms in honor of the Right Reverend Stephen Elliott, the first bishop of Georgia. The two thin parallel stripes are of silver and are memorials to Dr. Thomas Bray, to whom the Episcopal Church in Georgia traces its beginning, and Dr. Henry Herbert, the first English priest in Georgia.

The boar’s head is from the arms of General James Oglethorpe, who brought the Church of England to Georgia in 1733. It is colored red.

The two roses, whose petals are silver with sepals and pistils of gold, symbolize the Church’s service to Georgia – the Cherokee rose is the State flower.

The rose at the upper right represents the Diocese of Georgia of the Episcopal Church in the United States, while the one at the lower left memorializes the Diocese of Georgia of the Episcopal Church of the Confederate States of America."

The arms of Trinity Cathedral in Phoenix, Arizona.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Temple virtually cornered the market devising arms for cathedrals in the Episcopal Church and set the standard for placing a mace and crozier in saltire behind his armorial designs for cathedrals.   One source I saw recently attributes Temple for designing 32 coats of arms for Episcopal cathedrals.  I've recently emblazoned a few and included below, selected purely based on my biased opinions.

Temple cleverly employed gyronny in the base of arms for Trinity Cathedral in Phoenix, Arizona to mimic the state's flag--both in design and colors yielding geographic identification.  Employing three cross-crosslet fitchy provides a fitting number for the Holy Trinity.  Dekay (1993) notes that Trinity became the cathedral for the Diocese of Arizona in 1988 and thus these arms were likely created around that time with the following blazon:  Gyronny of twelve Or and Gules, on a chief Azure three crosses-crosslet fitchy Argent.

The arms of Christ Church Cathedral in Louisville, Kentucky.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

In Temple's design for the arms of Christ Church Cathedral in Louisville, Kentucky we see a similar scheme used as in the arms for the Diocese of Virginia--still simple and clear however.  The chief readily identifies the Anglican nature of the institution while three golden fleurs-de-lis honor the city's namesake with charges from the French royal arms.  The inescutcheon at the honor point narrows the identification by abstractly illustrating the monogram for Jesus Christ with a red coronet for Christ's kingship and crucifixion, according to Dekay (1993).

Blazon for the arms of Christ Church Cathedral in Louisville, Kentucky:  Azure, three fleurs-de-lis Or, on a chief Argent a cross Gules in honor point an inescutcheon Or charged with a Chi-Rho Sable enfiling a coronet Gules. 

The arms of Trinity Cathedral in Trenton, New Jersey.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

For Trinity Cathedral's coat of arms, Temple leaned into local history by incorporating barry wavy lines to reference George Washington crossing the Delaware River prior to the Battle of Trenton during the Revolutionary War.  Dekay (1993) adds that the three celestial crowns refer to the cathedral's merger of All Saints' Parish and Trinity Parish in order to form the present cathedral community.  The star is a reference to the state of New Jersey.

The blazon for the arms of Trinity Cathedral in Trenton, New Jersey:  Sable, on a chevron barry wavy Argent and Azure fimbriated Or a mullet Or between three celestial crowns Or.

The arms of Trinity Cathedral (Episcopal) in Easton, Maryland.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Here is another of Temple's cathedral designs, the arms of Trinity Cathedral seat of the Bishop of the Diocese of Easton in Maryland.  It is important to note that the diocese itself does not bear arms but rather uses a simple seal, thus providing some challenges for any heraldic designer.  The canton--and ducal coronet--makes a clear reference to the Lord Baltimore's arms thus placing the owner in Maryland. 

Dekay (1993) gives the blazon for the arms of Trinity Cathedral in Easton, Maryland as:  Argent, on a chevron Gules three ducal coronets Or in base a cross patonce Sable, a canton paly Or and Sable with a bend counterchanged.

The arms of St. Augustine's Parish in Chesapeake City, Maryland.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

In Temple's design for an Episcopal parish located in the Diocese of Easton, we find the same canton illustrating unification of parish to the ordinary's cathedra.  At the moment I do not have definitive evidence of Temple's hand in designing St. Augustine's arms, but I'm willing to bet given the use of the canton in both arms, which in the parish's case also references the gift of land by Lord Baltimore.  As always, I'll be in contact with the parish to see what evidence is available and update this post as necessary.

From Augustine Parish website:

"St. Augustine Church, originally called the Manor Chapel, was one of the 30 churches paying tithes to the Bishop of London in 1690. It was the place of worship for the early settlers of Bohemia Manor, an estate of several thousand acres granted to Augustine Herman by Lord Baltimore in 1660 for surveying and mapping Maryland environs.  Herman, who was born in Prague in the early part of the seventeenth century, came to America to seek is fortune. He subsequently became the first naturalized citizen of the colony and a prominent historical figure in Maryland." 

Blazon of the arms of St. Augustine's Parish in Chesapeake City, Maryland: Per fess Argent and Vert in base two arrows in saltire points up Argent surmounted by a winged spur Or a canton paly Or and Sable with a bend counterchanged.

The retired arms of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Lastly, I want to highlight one of Temple's most controversial designs for arms which became newsworthy in 2015.  St. Paul's Episcopal Church in downtown Richmond, Virginia was known as "the cathedral of the Confederacy."  According to Graham (2023), St. Paul's accepted Temple's design in 1967, the arms blazoned:  Azure, cursily Or a sword palewise Argent hilted and pommelled Or, on a canton Gules fimbriated Argent a saltire Azure fimbriated Argent charged with a mullet Or.

The rationale is fairly clear:  the blue field and gold cross-crosslets reference the arms of the Episcopal Church while the sword in pale is associated with St. Paul.  The canton, however, is where things get messy and abstractly mimics the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia.  The canton likely is a tribute to the parish's role as a house of prayer during the Civil War.  

By 2015, our society began an awakening through Black Lives Matter and many organizations began taking stock of names and symbols that exclude others.  St. Paul's began cleaning house and Temple's design of arms for the parish were quickly retired.  I will say that I do find the design simple and beautiful.  I chose to render the arms for sake of preservation in future studies of American heraldry.  Otherwise, I'm afraid, this design would be effectively erased.  

Having gone back through this post while adding several more of Temple's designs than originally planned, I must admit my visual delight in seeing his work rendered digitally in full color.  It does appear that cantons, ineschuteons, and chiefs are Temple's "go-to" in many of his heraldic designs.  Regardless, I am completely a Temple fan now and can't wait to explore and find more of his work.

Works Cited

Dekay, E. (1993).  Heraldry in the Episcopal Church.  Acorn Press.

Graham, C.A. (2023). Faith, race, and the Lost Cause: Confessions of a southern church.  University of Virginia Press.

Some Episcopal Cathedrals

St. John's Cathedral.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

St. John's Cathedral

Quincy, IL

Designed around 1906 by Pierre de Chaignon la Rose

Blazon:  Azure, on an eagle displayed Argent aureoled Or, an escutcheon Gules charged with seven mascles conjoined three, three, and one Or.

Cathedral of the Incarnation.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Cathedral of the Incarnation

Baltimore, MD

Designed in 1916 by Pierre de Chaignon la Rose

Blazon:  Quarterly Argent and Gules, a cross counterchanged with a pheon of the second in the first quarter.

Christ Church Cathedral.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Christ Church Cathedral

Hartford, CT

Designed in 1919 by Pierre de Chaignon la Rose

Blazon:  Argent, a cross pattee Gules between as many grapevines fructed and leaved proper.

Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Cathedral of St. John the Divine

New York, NY

Designer unknown, officially adopted around 1965

Blazon:  Azure, seven five-pointed stars Argent between as many candlesticks Or.

Washington National Cathedral.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Cathedral of Sts. Peter & Paul (Washington National Cathedral)

Washington, DC

Designed in 1949 by Alanson H. Sturgis

Blazon:  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.

Cathedral of the Advent
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024

Cathedral of the Advent

Birmingham, AL

Devised by the College of Arms in 1985

Blazon: Purpure, a cross tau ensigned by a celestial crown Or, a bordure ermois.  

-------------

These are few cathedral arms that I've done so far and wanted to bring them all together here.  Enjoy.

Washington National Cathedral

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."    

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.

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.  

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.

As always, I've sent along this information to the Cathedral's Archives in the spirit of sharing.  I'll update this post should more information come to light.

Works Cited

De Kay, E.J. (1993).  Heraldry of the Episcopal Church.  Acorn Press. 

Washington National Cathedral (1949).  The Cathedral Age, 24(1).