Against 'Armorial Amnesia'

Heraldic abstraction of the Milwaukee Pierhead Lighthouse
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Armorial amnesia /noun/: institutional forgetfulness or rejection of their armorial insignia for corporate identification often at the expense of modern branding.

Example:  St. Bart's has the worst case of armorial amnesia I've seen in my life, the new logo approved by the vestry gives a solidly corporate and benign feeling as opposed to the parish's coat of arms used for so long.  

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Everything has its own cycle of life.  Trees.  Ants.  And us humans, of course.  Organizations, believe it or not, also have their own life cycle--a never-ending merry go 'round of death and resurrection.  I find that organizational cycles have variable speeds when it comes to most non-profits.  Volunteer-led groups, perhaps, are the most susceptible to painful downs when leaders depart and experience dramatic highs when fresh faces appear at the table.  

One casualty of the organizational life cycle is the slow and steady decline of institutional memory.  What do I mean by institutional memory?  It is quite simply the collective experiences of the organization through multiple life cycles, bearing scars and all. 

Just as the lighthouse gives advanced warning to ships at sea, organizations whose lifecycles spin continuously are at a significant risk of losing their history and/or identity.  Or, perhaps worst of all, institutions believing their identification is tied to something outdated like a coat of arms seek a more modern solution and reject their past.  

Preservation of design is my goal, especially in the absence of any other body maintaining a database of US corporate heraldry.  Recently, I was put to the test with a coat of arms from a now closed Episcopal Church.

Line art of the coat of arms of St. James' Episcopal Church (Milwaukee, WI)
Image from Dekay (1993), page 141

St. James' was established in 1867 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and constructed in the gothic revival style.  By 2017, the parish property was sold and is now being used as a meeting venue.  All attempts to discover any information on these arms via the internet proved fruitless.  

Dekay (1993) provides a line art drawing for St. James' arms.  I am most grateful for this clue even if there was no blazon provided in the work.  Without hatch marks or any colored image of St. James' arms, speculation based on known evidence is our course in recreating these arms for preservation.

First, let's begin with the base of these arms, a trimount, lighthouse, sun, and barry wavy lines.

Milwaukee Pierhead Lighthouse in Milwaukee, WI
Photo from dnr.wisconsin.gov

Given the city's location next to Lake Michigan provides a reasonable rationale for the barry wavy lines, so I logically selected blue and white.  I began to see that the base design was most likely meant for geographical identification which led me to understand the next element, the lighthouse.

A quick internet search revealed two lighthouses in the Milwaukee area, with the closer one being the Pierhead Lighthouse in red and black--the other was all white.  Believing that the Pierhead lighthouse better conformed to heraldic rules of tincture, I selected this one to recreate.  Typically, trimounts in base are rendered as a metal and white became the logical solution working perfectly with the red and black lighthouse.

The sun placed behind the lighthouse would be rendered in its proper colors.  So, now we turn to the chief.

Attributed arms of St. James
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025.

Dorling (1911) describes the attributed arms to St. James as: Azure, three escallops Or (p 140).  So, if the designer of the parish's coat of arms was a purist, blue might be the color of the chief and gold for shells.  However, there is another option which is equally attractive and works within our proposed scheme for the base.  

Using a red chief with white shells would provide differencing and at the same time create something unique for parish identification.  Below is an illustration to better understand what I mean here.

Comparing the color and metal of the arms' chief.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

I do believe that any one of these four could work, each presenting artistic benefits for identification.  However, we have to make some sort of guess.

The coat of arms of St. James' Episcopal Church (Milwaukee, WI)
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

My first instinct was to believe the chief was red and the shells white so as to provide contrast against the barry wavy lines while drawing out the red from the lighthouse.

Another reasonable option for the arms of St. James' Episcopal Church
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

However, the more I think about the options, I'm now of mind to go with the blue chief and gold shells.  Again, without a blazon at present its truly anyone's guess.  

I'll continue to see what I can find out about these lovely arms to settle the matter of its blazon.  Which do you prefer?

Works Cited

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

Dorling, E.E. (1911).  Heraldry of the church.  Mowbray Publishing.

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.

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.

Some Arms of Episcopal Seminaries

New poster of arms from Episcopal Seminaries (past and present)
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025
Click to Enlarge

I was recently inspired to tick off my list a few more coats of arms for seminaries of the Episcopal Church.  While there are a few others not represented here, my criteria was simply that armorial insignia needs to conform to established rules within heraldry.  So, no logos, no landscapes, etc.  Basically, when looking for the heraldry of Episcopal seminaries, this is pretty much it.  

Below are some of my renderings of a few emblazonments that can be difficult to find decent versions of on the web.

Arms of the General Theological Seminary
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

I was fortunate to spend some time at General in the Chelsea area of Manhattan--a lovely, beautiful campus.  These arms were designed by The Rev. Canon Edward N. West (1909-1990) who was a talented liturgist, artist, etc. on the staff at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.  

Arms of Nashotah House 
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Nashotah House has a long tradition as an Anglo-Catholic seminary within the church and reflected in their coat of arms.  The lilies are for the Blessed Virgin Mary and the two fountains are geographical references as the seminary is located between two lakes in Wisconsin.  I don't know who designed these arms but they're simple and clear!

Blazon:  Gules, on a cross throughout Or a triple blossom lily between two fountains in chief. 

Arms of Bexley Hall 
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Lots to note here on arms of Bexley Hall designed in 1907-08 by The Rev. Canon Orville E. Watson (1857-1951), a professor at the seminary in Gambier, Ohio.  For a full analysis on the heraldry of Kenyon College and Bexley Hall, please click here.

Arms of the Episcopal Theological Seminary in Kentucky
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The Episcopal Theological Seminary in Kentucky operated from 1834-1990 as a diocesan seminary and used as the basis for their coat of arms those from the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington.  Pierre de Chaignon la Rose (1872-1941) designed the arms for the diocese around 1908.  The differencing mark for the seminary's arms was the addition of the lamp above the clasped hands.

Arms of Philadelphia Divinity School
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The Philadelphia Divinity School (PDS) was established in 1857 and merged with Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1974 to create Episcopal Divinity School.  Simple and clear in design.  

Blazon:  Argent, a cross throughout Gules on a chief Azure three open books edged with four clasps Or. 

Arms of Episcopal Theological School
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Established in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1867, ETS was the predecessor school for Episcopal Divinity School (EDS).  In 1974, ETS merged with Philadelphia Divinity School to form EDS.  Another clear and simple coat of arms.

Blazon:  Argent, on a cross throughout Gules an open book edged Or inscribed Veritas et Vita.

Arms of Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, MA
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Created by a merger of two seminaries in 1974, Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge harmoniously reflects their foundation in the seminary's coat of arms.  The parted/frety cross ties together the two found in the arms of PDS and ETS.  Since books were incorporated as well in the arms of the two former institutions, four open books balance out the ordinary.  From a symbolic point of view, I'd say, the arms of EDS successfully visualize their foundation.

Blazon:  Gules, a cross parted fretty throughout Argent between four open books edged Or.