Canterbury & York

Coat of arms of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, Church of England
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

To continue exploring the world of ecclesiastical heraldry in the Episcopal Church, I want to explore the two archiepiscopal arms in the Church of England--those of Canterbury and York.  This whole post stems from running across a version of an armorial flag for Canterbury that I'd not seen previously...

It seems one cannot discuss the ancient arms of the See of Canterbury without acknowledging the arms used by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster.

Coat of arms of the Archdiocese of Westminster (Roman Catholic)
revised in 2014
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The Heraldry Society posted an excellent article on the arms of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster which offers some details and history around these arms. Please click this link to read the article on the The Heraldry Society website.

Side by Side: the arms of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster (left)
and the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England (right)
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

I've also learned that in 2014, the Archdiocese of Westminster, in fact, revised its coat of arms to appear as they do in the above illustration.  What changed?  The archiepiscopal cross found in pale behind the pallium was removed and placed as an external ornament, because the cross required two cross bars reflecting the see's metropolitical authority.  Click this link to read about the change on the Archdiocese of Westminster website.

Two versions of the archiepiscopal staff from the arms of Canterbury and the two bar 
staff carried by the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
Rendered by Chad Krouse

Finally, I know now that the archiepiscopal cross in the arms of Canterbury predates the use of two bar crosses to identify metropolitans.  All this from seeing a flag online!  

Coat of arms of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Admittedly, I've not thought a whole lot about the design for these arms, taking them for granted I suppose.  Initially I thought the pall was the ordinary in the form of a pall cross rather than a charge.  This fact is new and interesting to me.  Especially when considering these arms as an armorial flag.

The See of Canterbury (Cantaur) is the senior archiepiscopal office in the Church of England, followed by its junior partner, the See of York (Ibor).

The blazon for the arms of the Archbishop of Canterbury: Azure, an archiepiscopal staff in pale Or surmounted of a pall Argent fringed of the second and charged with four crosses patee fitchee Sable.

Possible armorial flag for the Archbishop of Canterbury
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The scholarly world of the Internet showed me an image of these arms as a flag during my search and I was rather stunned.  It was the image of the flag that caused me to hunt down the blazon to see what's going on.  There is no pall cross ordinary.

So, I'm inclined to believe that the illustration above does in fact work when translating these arms into a flag.  

Armorial flag of Sewanee: The University of the South
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Here's an example to clarify what I mean.  The arms of the University of the South (Sewanee) in Sewanee, TN has a pall cross as the ordinary in the design and overlaid with the "Sewanee" tressure.  If Canterbury's arms used the pall as the ordinary, the armorial flag would translate much like Sewanee's flag above.  Make sense?  All this was new to me and I simply wanted to share.

Armorial flag and coat of arms of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

One important point to remember when considering ecclesiastical flags in the Church of England is the Earl Marshal's Warrant of 1938, which codified the design and arrangement for flags within the provinces of Canterbury and York.

Let's say St. Swithun's by the Swamp (always a go to example in seminary) wants to fly a flag from the church tower.  The parish is situated within the boundary of the Diocese of St. Albans and under its authority.  Furthermore, the diocese is located within the Province of Canterbury in the Church of England.

Coat of arms for the Diocese of St. Albans, Church of England
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

According to the Earl Marshal's Warrant of 1938, St. Swithun's flag must adhere to these guidelines:  the flag will consist of a white field with the red St. George cross throughout, and in dexter canton the arms of the diocese where the parish resides.  The illustration below would be the proper flag for our fictitious parish to fly. 

Armorial flag of the Diocese of St. Albans
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

As a complete aside:  I assert that the Earl Marshal's Warrant of 1938 likely influenced the final design for the coat of arms of the Episcopal Church, which officially adopted its arms in 1940.  To read the whole saga of how the Episcopal Church adopted arms, please click here for my article.

Armorial flag of the Province of Canterbury
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Yes, I suppose the arrangement also works for both Canterbury and York, but its rather drab, all things considered.  I prefer the initial design with the pall and archiepiscopal staff.  If I was the Rt. Hon. Rt. Rev. Archbishop of Canterbury, I'd be on the phone with Garter to plead my case!

Coat of arms of the Archbishop of York
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

I'm fortunate to say that I've been inside York Minister in the City of York.  The minister is huge!  I hope one day to be equally as fortunate to make a pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral.  The City of York itself, as I recall, is filled with heraldry.

Possible armorial flag for the Archbishop of York
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The arms of the Province of York are simple and clear, so long as we don't get into the Gules and pall with archiepiscopal staff...

Flags of the Provinces of Canterbury & York
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

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 Special Edition: Impaled Parish Arms

Cover of "Cookbook: Centennial Edition," by
Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, Kansas City, MO
Image source: eBay

As the Recent Finds series continues, I'm presenting a special edition from a rare find.  To read other articles in the Recent Finds series, click on the corresponding label at the end of this post.  

Cookbooks.  That's right, cookbooks.  These bindings of locally loved recipes were something of a phenomenon in the Episcopal Church during the mid-to-late 20th century, produced mostly by parish women and oftentimes as a fundraiser for the church.

During a recent Internet search for parish coats of arms, I happened upon one such work from St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Kansas City, Missouri with the most unusual cover.  An impaled coat of arms!  Seeing an impaled coat of arms in the Episcopal Church, let alone one for a parish, is a rare find.  

Applied arms
Image Source:  Parish's Facebook Page

In case the arms depicted on the cookbook's cover was merely a one-off design, I dug a little deeper to see if this impalement exists and really used by the parish.  It is!  I especially love the doormat.

Arms of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Kansas City, MO depicted in stained glass
Image Source: Parish's Facebook Page

These arms are used and loved by the parish--the stained glass window depicted above is gorgeous even if  the crescent is blazoned as Argent rather than Or.  Well, too late to change that I suppose.

While these arms are technically correct and rendered well, however, it is highly unusual to see this sort of arrangement with parish arms in dexter and those of its diocese in sinister.  Traditionally, the arms depicted in sinister are the senior arms of the pair.  Thus, the arms of St. Paul's Episcopal Church take precedence over those of the Diocese of West Missouri according to the design.  Seems rather out of place to me.  Nonetheless, these impaled arms are quite lovely.

Attributed coat of arms of St. Paul
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Heralds have throughout history given saints attributed coats of arms for heraldic identification.  Most often, these attributed arms have been used for decoration on altar reredos, stained glass windows, and carvings found throughout Christian churches in the West.  

Saint Paul never bore a coat of arms himself but has been attributed arms widely recognized with a sword and an open book inscribed in Latin, Spiritus Gladius (sword of the Spirit).  

That St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Kansas City, MO successfully differenced the attributed arms of its dedication shows that someone knew what they were doing when creating arms for the parish.  

Blazon for the attributed arms of Saint Paul:  Gules, a sword in pale with point to base pommel and hilt Or surmounted by an open book edged with three clasps Or inscribed SPIRITUS GLADIUS. 

Coat of arms of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Kansas City, MO
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Repositioning the sword with its point now to chief, dispensing with the open book, and incorporating a golden celestial crown provides three distinct marks of differencing the attributed arms of St. Paul.  Huzzah! 

Technically, I believe, the parish could simply use this coat of arms without impalement.  The heraldic designer could have simply stopped here.  I wonder if the desire to add the arms of the diocese was requested or there was a need to "ju-ju" the arms to look more decadent.  Who knows, we only have a cookbook to go by at this point. 

Blazon for the arms of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Kansas City, MO:  Gules, a sword in pale pommel and hilt Or with point to chief surmounted by a celestial crown Or.

Coat of arms of the Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Originally known as the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas City, the process for securing a design of arms to be used as a seal began in 1906 (Diocese of Kansas City, 1909, 41).  During its convention in the summer of 1909, the appointed Committee on Diocesan Seal presented for a vote its recommendation for a coat of arms.  Designed by Pierre de Chaignon la Rose (1872-1941), the arms of the see pack a lot of references as simply as possible in a way only the talented la Rose could manage.  

La Rose supplied his rationale to the Committee which presented it before the Convention:

"My first desire was, if possible, to introduce some symbol from the arms of the State of Missouri, which consist (apart from the impalement of the United States arms) of a crescent on a blue field, in chief, and a bear on a red field, in base. I have chosen the crescent. (1) because by its position 'in chief' it is the more important figure heraldically: (2) because it has a religious significance on an ecclesiastical coat, being one of the symbols of the Blessed Virgin Mary: (3) because the bear has little ecclesiastical meaning, except as a symbol of St. Bernard or of the animals which devoured the revilers of the prophet.

"Looking at the map of Missouri it struck me as interesting to note that at Kansas City the Missouri and Kansas rivers meet in the form of an heraldic charge, viz. the 'pairle (or pall) Y. This as an heraldic charge should not be confused with the actual pallium which appears on the arms of the see of Canterbury, which last is the pallium as actually worn, whereas the pairle is simply an abstract form following the same lines, and which, while it suggests the vestment, yet has not archiepiscopal significance. I have placed, then, a silver pairle on a blue field, with the silver crescent in chief, as a very definite representation, in the recognized astract forms of heraldry, of Kansas City in Missouri.

"In the flanks I have placed pendent ears of maize to indicate that the Diocese is situated in the midst of a great corn-growing district. As precedents for these pendent ears, one can refer to the colonial seal of the Province of East Jersey, and to the present arms of the Diocese of Athabasca, on both of which appear ears of maize in this pendent position.

"Finally, I have placed on the pairle four small St. George crosses, just as the Canterbury pallium is charged with four black crosses 'pattes.' By these St. George crosses we can definitely indicate the Anglican Communion in Kansas City, Mo., and we use four of them as the old Canterbury number (and there is nothing to prevent one from considering the number to represent the Lambeth Quadrilateral)" (Diocese of Kansas City, 1909, 41-42).

La Rose's blazon for the arms of the Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri:  "Azure, between in chief, a crescent argent, and in flanks, two pendant ears of maize leaved and slipped or, a pairle of the second, thereon four crosses gules" (Diocese of Kansas City, 1909, 41).

My version of the blazon for the Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri:  Azure, on a pall cross Argent four crosses couped Gules between two pendant ears of maize Or in chief a crescent Argent. 

Example of best practice when incorporating the arms of the see
with a parish coat of arms
Concept and rendering by Chad Krouse, 2025

One idea of how to incorporate the arms of the see with those of a parish can be seen above.  By using the see's arms as the base design--effectively creating a "bordure of the Diocese of West Missouri"--and overlaying the arms of the parish, this method would be seen as a best practice or preference when these two arms collide.

I like this method as it plays on cadency in the Scottish heraldic tradition.  A bordure is used to difference the main coat of arms while distinguishing between younger sons and other cadet branches within a family.  In a sense, one could see the arms of St. Paul's as a "child" of the Diocese of West Missouri.    

Two becoming one: impaling two coats of arms
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The illustration above simply shows the two separate coats of arms being impaled into a singular coat.  In heraldic terms, the viewer's left side of the shield is called "dexter," and the right, "sinister."  

Coat of arms of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Kansas City, MO
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Blazon for the impaled arms of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Kansas City, MO:  Impaled: Dexter, Gules, a sword in pale pommel and hilt Or with point to chief surmounted by a celestial crown Or (St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Kansas City, MO).  Sinister, Azure, on a pall cross Argent four crosses couped Gules between two ears of maize Or in chief a crescent Argent (Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri).

Armorial flag of the arms of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Kansas City, MO
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The impalement looks rather slick when translated into an armorial flag and banner.

Banner and coat of arms of
St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Kansas City, MO
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

So who knows the backstory for these arms?  I'll see what I can learn and will report back any findings.  It is indeed a lovely coat of arms.

Works Cited

Diocese of Kansas City. (1909).  Journal of the twentieth annual council of the Church in the Diocese of Kansas City.  Diocese of Kansas City, 41-42.

The Medieval Academy of America at 100

Pride on display at home: my armorial flag of the Medieval Academy of America
Flag and photograph by the Author.

It's honestly rather hard to believe it almost as it is saying it--I presented a research paper before The Medieval Academy of America's (MAA) centennial conference at Harvard.  Those previous words fail to adequately describe the emotions and sense of belonging I felt while attending MAA's conference last week at Harvard.

Some 500 medieval scholars from around the world gathered on the campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts for three day conference in celebration of the MAA's 100th year since its founding in 1925.

Branded conference swag proudly displaying
MAA's coat of arms in full color

My involvement with MAA began when I discovered that my research muse, Pierre de Chaignon la Rose (1872-1941) designed the Academy's coat of arms in 1927.  As far as I knew, MAA did not have any updated digital assets of their arms, let alone any in full color.  Since heraldry is meant to be seen in full color, I commissioned a fellow digital heraldic artist in Europe to correct this injustice.  

Click here to read about how MAA got its arms in color.

Now that I'm somewhat competent with digital illustration, I've since rendered my own version of MAA's arms and sent to them for use.  MAA's armorial flag seen at the top is my version that I had made into a 3ft x 5ft flag in the style la Rose would have likely used if a flag had been commissioned from him.  Stretching the sun's rays to the edges really makes the whole image look stunning as flag.  

The arms seen above adorning conference merch were the commissioned version. 

Sever Hall at Harvard Yard served as one of several principal buildings hosting the 
Academy's conference

Sever Hall on Harvard's campus was one of the principal buildings hosting presentations during the conference.  My session was on Sever's third floor.  Much to my surprise and delight, Sever's classrooms have actual chalk boards hanging inside these hallowed laboratories of learning.  I don't know why, but observing this ancient pedagogical tool still alive and in use really impressed me.  While the space had fully updated audio/visual technology, the chalkboards harkened back to that age I remember in elementary and middle school.  

Chalkboards in Sever Hall's classrooms

My presentation, "From Battlefields to Beer Steins:  Devising Heraldic Identity for Select US Academic Institutions," focused on the 11 institutions in the US that either received a grant or devisal of arms from the College of Arms in London.

Title slide

I rendered each coat of arms in Adobe Illustrator so that I could help my audience visualize how the heralds in London created unique identification for these select academic institutions.  Now, to have all 11 arms in the same shape, full color, and done in my style is quite rare.  I'm holding back from posting all those arms for now, as I plan to submit a journal article for publication which will include those arms.

Coat of arms of The College of William & Mary
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Hands down, rendering the arms for the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia required a lot of time and patience.  It's a tad dark and bold, but I was under a pressing deadline.  

For fun, the impaled arms of Harvard and the Medieval Academy of America
to help celebrate the centennial in true heraldic fashion
Concept and rendering by Chad Krouse, 2025

The session and my presentation, I thought, went well especially when scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on a Friday.  During the Q&A, I was surprised to see a lot of interest in la Rose and his work.  I used la Rose's designs created for Calhoun College at Yale, Harvard Law, and Kirkland House at Harvard as examples of the power corporate heraldry holds in displaying institutional identity--all three coats of arms were retired in the 21st century.  

All in all, I had a great three days in Cambridge and simply over the moon about having participated in the conference.  I receive a lot of affirmation and motivation from opportunities such as this, to continue on with my journey exploring la Rose's work and US corporate heraldry.  

Spotted:  Harvard's arms on a university bus in Cambridge

For now, though, I need a break!