Recent Finds Special Edition: The Arms of Christ Church

The coat of arms of Christ Church (Episcopal) in Alto, Tennessee
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

I saw the most unusual post recently via Facebook's Ecclesiastical Heraldry group immediately catching my attention.  While Roman Catholic heraldry usually dominates group discussion, I tend to perk up whenever the focus shifts to Episcopal Church heraldry.  This special posting began as a mystery, but one wrapped as a gift to me from the heraldic gods.

Based on data in my ongoing project collecting both US scholastic and heraldry from the Episcopal Church, I offer a few data-informed insights to help us understand the design rationale and identify the designer of the arms for Christ Church (Episcopal) in Alto, TN.

Abstract Clues

Needlepoint cushion depicting the arms of Christ Church Alto, TN
Image source:  Facebook Ecclesiastical Heraldry Group 

The cleric posting his query is resident in the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee and was seeking insight regarding a coat of arms for a parish in his diocese which closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Immediately, wheels began turning and I started thinking critically about this unusual design for a parish coat of arms in the Episcopal Church.  I assert that Dr. J. Waring McCrady (b.1938) from The University of the South designed the arms for Christ Church in Alto during the late 20th century.

Allow me to cite my data. 

Clue #1 - Location

Christ Church located in Alto, Tennessee
Image Source:  Parish Facebook page

I knew somewhere in my past that I was familiar with the parish in question.  I've heard the name many times.

Christ Church located in Alto, Tennessee lies at the base of the Holy Mountain where the Domain of my alma mater Sewanee: The University of the South dominates the landscape.  The University and its School of Theology are but a stone's throw from where Christ Church is located.  Also, both university and parish are situated within the bounds of the Diocese of Tennessee.  When I was a seminarian at Sewanee, I recall many classmates attending Christ Church which frequently was supplied by ordained faculty members from the School of Theology.  

It would not be out of the question for Dr. McCrady to design arms for a nearby parish.  However, I have not seen or discovered any parish arms designed by the French professor and this fact did give me pause when attributing him as the designer.  

Note the bell tower in the photograph above which likely explains the bell in the base of the parish arms.

Yet, we know McCrady designed corporate arms for others outside of the university due to his status as the former chair of the Advisory Committee on Heraldry.  General Convention (1982) notes that the General Convention in 1982 gave the Presiding Bishop authorization to create this new advisory group concerning matters of church heraldry; however Wright (2005) reveals the committee met only once and without minutes or records from the discussion.

Arms of the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

One example of McCrady's work outside of Sewanee can be found in the arms of the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, adopted by the see in 1971.

McCrady's blazon for the arms of the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast: "Barry wavy of seven Or and Azure, an anchor in pale Gules; on a chief of the third a dove descending Proper between two saltires couped of the first" (Diocese of Central Gulf Coast, n.d.). 

Clue #2 - The Pale

Quilted processional banner of arms of Christ Church Alto, TN
Image Source:  Facebook Ecclesiastical Heraldry Group

The Facebook post contained two images of the parish coat of arms--a needlepoint cushion and a quilted processional banner.  When I began comparing the two images, I noticed that the pale on the banner was not entirely in gold which seemed rather odd and out of place.  

Below is my rendering of how the processional banner should appear if my guess regarding a solid gold pale is correct.  I continue to follow Pierre de Chaignon la Rose's (1872-1941) design methods for processional banners, which I call processional banners of arms.  Click here to see more examples of la Rose's design method for processional banners.

Processional banner of arms, Christ Church in Alto, TN
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Thinking more about what I was seeing on the needlepoint cushion led me to believe that the banner's rendering must have been the result of an artistic error.  There would be no need to counterchange the chevron as seen on the quilted banner.  The cushion seemed correct in my mind, and immediately raised questions about the third clue staring me in the face.

Clue #3 - Counterchanging 

L-R: Arms of The University of the South, Christ Church Alto, TN, and The School of Theology
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

When tertiary charges, or elements, of the same metal or color are placed over an ordinary, the designer has to make a decision in order to avoid violating the rule of tincture.  In other words, metal cannot be placed upon another metal and the same goes for colors.  

Why?  Simple.  

If you're standing on a 13th century European battlefield as a knight covered in metal armor from head to toe, those abstract designs painted on shields offer the only identification of friend or foe.  Gold and silver might not contrast enough on a shield, for example, and failure to notice the difference could mean life or death.  Therefore, we avoid using color on color and metal on metal even in the 21st century.

In preparation for the University of the South's 125th anniversary celebration, McCrady's designs for new arms identifying the university, its undergraduate college, and the seminary were adopted in 1983.  Click here to read my article on the heraldry of the University of the South.  His design work prominently featured the newly created Sewanee tressure unifying all three coats of arms.  

McCrady (1983) offers the following blazons for the arms of the University of the South and its School of Theology:

"Blazon for the arms of The University of the South:  Purpure, a cross pall Or overall a double tressure long-crossed and counter long-crossed counterchanged (known as the Sewanee tressure).

"Blazon for the arms of The School of Theology, University of the South:  Gules on a cross Or surmounted by a Sewanee tressure counter-changed a crossed fleam Sable" (30).

As seen in the illustration above, when the Sewanee tressure is overlaid upon the ordinary in the arms of the university and the seminary, McCrady counterchanges the colors to avoid violating the rule of tincture.  It is a bit decadent, I believe, and I can only recall McCrady employing this technique within both US scholastic and Episcopal Church heraldry.  I won't lie when I say it took weeks to figure out how to digitally create this counterchanged Sewanee tressure in Adobe Illustrator.  

Thanks be to God for clipping masks...   

The counterchanged chevron and corresponding cross crosslets fitchy hightened my suspicion of a McCrady design for a parish.  I felt as though I was on the verge of actually seeing one and having data supporting my theory.

One final clue helped put matters to rest regarding the parish arms.

Clue #4 - Corporate Unification

The coat of arms of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

McCrady's designs for the University of the South continue a proud, albeit small, tradition in American heraldry of illustrating unification in corporate arms.  Two early examples of unification in arms can be found for both Episcopal Church and US scholastic heraldry in the early 20th century.

The first example of this phenomenon used in Episcopal Church heraldry was la Rose's design work for the Episcopal Diocese of Quincy and its cathedral.  Click here to learn more about la Rose and the arms of the Diocese of Quincy and the Cathedral of St. John.

US scholastic heraldry produced its first example to illustrate unification not long after la Rose's work in Quincy, seen on the campus of Kenyon College in Ohio.  Click here to learn about The Rev. Canon Watson's designs for Kenyon College and its seminary.

A garb of wheat in heraldry

The idea of abstractly creating a charge or design element that could be used to show unification between the corporate sole and its foundation(s) was important to McCrady.  The sprigs of wheat in the arms of Christ Church likely hold dual references--geographical and unification.  Let me explain.

Arms of Christ Church (Episcopal) in Alto, TN
Rendered by Chad Krouse

The best corporate heraldry, in my opinion, follows a carefully constructed framework producing bespoke identification for the organizational bearer of those arms.  Geographical location, topographical features, saintly dedication, and even local history provide important building blocks when designing corporate coats of arms.  

The seal of the State of Tennessee, as well as the arms of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee, feature the garb of wheat within their design.  I believe McCrady used these sprigs of wheat in the arms of Christ Church Alto to illustrate 1) the rural/agricultural landscape surrounding the parish, and 2) identify it as a parish church in the State and Diocese of Tennessee.   

Following McCrady's blazon he constructed for the arms of the University of the South, I offer the following:

Blazon for the arms of Christ Church Episcopal in Alto, TN:  Vert, on a pale Or surmounted by a chevron Argent counterchanged Sable and charged with three cross crosslets fitchy counterchanged a bell in base of the field between two sprigs of wheat Or.

What a gift to discover a parish coat of arms by McCrady illustrating parish unification with its diocese.  So far, this new find represents a first to illustrate such unification and clearly got me excited.  Kindly let me know your thoughts.  

Works Cited

Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast (n.d.).  Our Seal.  Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast.  https://www.diocgc.org/about-us

General Convention (1982).  Journal of the 67th General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church.  Seabury Professional Services.

McCrady, J. W. (1983).  After 125 years completing the university's heraldry. The Sewanee News, 49(1), 29-30.

Wright, J.R. (2005 May 26).  Heraldry of the American Episcopal Church [Lecture summary].  New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.  https://silo.tips/download/heraldry-of-the-american-episcopal-church#modals

The Arms of Johns Hopkins University

The seal and coat of arms of The Johns Hopkins University
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

With the Great 50 days of Easter now in full swing, I'd like to return to some new heraldic discoveries among our academies.  Today, I want to feature a fairly well known coat of arms, albeit one with a plot twist.  To read other articles in this series focusing on corporate heraldry shaping the American tradition, click the tag at the end of this post.

For a quick recap:  several months ago I challenged myself to seek and find good corporate heraldry in the Episcopal Church, civic/social organizations, and my other favorite category of scholastic coats of arms.  I wanted to build a dataset of those corporate bodies bearing coats of arms that shape the American heraldic tradition, as well as to prove this ancient art is alive and thriving in the US today.   

Coat of arms of Johns Hopkins University
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The coat of arms of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore is another example of arms that I did not pay much attention to over the years.  Why?  Given the only emblazonments seen of the university's arms are entangled within its vesica seal likely kept me from digging any further.  As a result of taking on the task of rendering those arms discovered online, I know that how these arms were presented created my issue.  

When I began to render the seal and actually look at the design, the disparate elements began to make sense to me.  What I once saw as fussy now has layers of meaning.  I recall reading in Col. Harry D. Temple's (1911-2004) Heraldry and the Diocese of Virginia, in which he noted the use of oak leaves in scholastic coats of arms as a way to denote strength.  I never considered this image of acorns and leaves in Johns Hopkins' ensigns to be anything more than mere doodles.  I was wrong.         

These arms continue to grow on me, even with the Calvert-Crossland quarterings that seemingly overpower everything. I sense there must be another way to illustrate geographical location for the university rather than blithely use the arms of Maryland.  Ah, too late.  

Adopted by its board of trustees on 7 December 1885, the seal and coat of arms of this private research university were collaboratively designed by Clayton C. Hall, a prominent Baltimore historian and Stephen Tucker, then Somerset Herald at the College of Arms in London (Johns Hopkins University, n.d.).  Plot twist...heralds at work on an American design in the 19th century.

Having evidence of the College of Arms creating a scholastic coat prior to the 20th century is assuredly an outlier in my data--the College of William & Mary notwithstanding.  I have evidence of the herald's college involved with designing arms for Bryn Mawr College (1903-1904) and the University of Chicago (1911-1912), but those would come later.  Furthermore, it is altogether possible that Johns Hopkins' commission to the College of Arms may have created a precedent that the University of Chicago (also a private research university) would later follow with their restudy.  Perhaps a missing piece of the puzzle now coming into focus.  Thus, this London-based plot twist was an exciting revelation.

L-R: Coats of arms of Bryn Mawr College and the University of Chicago
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

One observation:  it appears that the go-to differencing mark used by the heralds at that time in corporate arms is the chief,  Johns Hopkins and University of Chicago illustrate this point.   Click here to learn about the coat of arms of the University of Chicago.  

Armorial flag, Johns Hopkins University
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The date of armorial adoption places the university in the top 5 US academic institutions bearing coats of arms.  As this is a ongoing project there will be some seat swapping as new data emerges.  For now, these are the current top five oldest academic institutions in the US with coats of arms along with their adoption date:

1. Harvard University - 1643

2. College of William & Mary - 1694

3. Yale University - 1740

4. Brown University - 1833

5. Johns Hopkins University - 1885

The university's arms look sharp as an armorial flag.  The quartered crosses bottony are supposed to be stretched as illustrated, unfortunately.  

Blazon for the arms of Johns Hopkins University:  Quarterly 1st and 4th, paly of six Or and Sable a bend counterchanged (Calvert); 2nd and 3rd, quarterly Argent and Gules, a cross bottony counterchanged (Crossland); on a chief Azure a terrestrial globe between two open books bound and edged Or.

Works Cited

Johns Hopkins University (n.d.).  Academic seal.  Johns Hopkins University, https://brand.jhu.edu/visual-identity/university-marks/#academic-seal

Temple, Harry D. (1971).  Heraldry and the Diocese of Virginia.  Privately printed.

Heraldry for the Easter Triduum

Ideas for incorporating heraldry during the Easter Triduum
Designed and rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Entering the great Easter Triduum, or three days, leading to the Feast of the Resurrection, I wanted to create arms to mark each day as a way to incorporate heraldry into these high holy days.  I use the major theme(s) from the liturgies of the day to abstractly identify those corresponding coats of arms.

I'll let the reader decide if these designs make the grade.

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday coat of arms
Designed and rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

As Palm Sunday has already passed, I'm adding my design for its coat of arms along with those for the Triduum.  While Palm Sunday is not included in the Triduum, Passion Sunday does kick off Holy Week as a major liturgy of the Church. 

Blazon for the attributed arms of Palm Sunday:  Gules, issuing from base three palms conjoined  Proper enfiled by a celestial crown Or.

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday coat of arms
Designed and rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Maudy Thursday kicks off the Triddum with the most unusual liturgy--foot washing, consecrating additional bread and wine for Good Friday, stripping the altar of all finery, and exiting in silence.  Typically, the reserved sacrament is moved to the altar of repose, and watched all night by the faithful gathered in prayer. 

For these arms, I wanted to illustrate both water and the Eucharist to commemorate what I believe to be the two major themes for the day.  

Blazon for the attributed arms of Maundy Thursday: Bendy sinister barry wavy Argent and Azure on a pale Gules a chalice Or ensigned with a plate charged with the monogram of the Holy Name Sable.

Good Friday

Good Friday coat of arms
Designed and rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Good Friday will always rekindle precious memories from seminary--watching and praying as Maundy Thursday moves into Good Friday.  I learned in those days the correct way of creeping to the cross.

Dividing the field "per pale" using white and black helped create the visual contrast I was seeking for arms marking Good Friday.  In some respects, the field division serves as that great veil between life and death, light and darkness, and so on.  Counterchanging the crosses and trimount in base help reinforce this theme too.  

Blazon for the attributed arms of Good Friday:  Per pale Argent and Sable, on a trimount in base a Latin cross palewise between two Tau crosses counterchanged.  

Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday coat of arms
Designed and rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Green can represent life and on Holy Saturday the faithful wait in certain hope for the coming resurrection.  The door of the tomb will be opened!  The white canton and red cross help indicate the coming joy of Easter--the cross can found in the agnus dei image as the Lamb of God holds a banner or pennon of the same design.

Blazon for the attributed arms of Holy Saturday:  Vert, a mounded cave faced with stones Proper charged with an opening Sable on a canton Argent a cross throughout Gules.  

The Great Vigil of Easter

Easter Vigil coat of arms

Designed and rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The paschal candle plays a central role during the liturgy of the Easter Vigil.  The candle is lit from the new fire and its flame shared with the congregation to light their own candles.  The Exsultet is sung, proclaiming our salvation history as the candle light grows.  "The Light of Christ," is chanted and responded with, "Thanks be to God."  

The paschal candle plays yet another role during the liturgy, albeit not a rubric one will find in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer.  The bottom of the paschal candle is plunged three times into the water at the baptismal font prior baptism (or for simply blessing the water at the font) in a rather saucy but sacred act referencing the new creation made by God in baptism. 

A semme of stars against a dark shade of blue to represent the night sky helps showcase a representation of the paschal candle, and making the arms of the Easter Vigil simple and clear.  The four waxed nailheads surrounding the cross each contain a piece of incense. 

Blazon for the attributed arms of the Easter Vigil:  Azure, a semme of six-pointed stars Argent on a paschal candle issuing from base Argent enflamed Proper a Latin Cross points ending with four wax nailheads between in chief the Greek letters Alpha and in base Omega all Gules.

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday coat of arms

Designed and rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The Day of Resurrection is the highest and holiest day of the liturgical calendar.  While this day can be represented by so many symbols, I wanted to design arms as simply as possible that could convey the importance of the day with as few charges as possible.

The blue pile appearing to issue forth from the empty tomb visually provides upward momentum made complete with a simple cross of gold.  Blue also helps reference the sky and the heavens too.  I thought these arms were rather striking and simple, which is exactly what I was seeking.

Blazon for the attributed arms of Easter Sunday:  Argent issuing from base a cave Proper charged with an opening palewise Sable debruised by a pile Azure charged with a Latin cross Or.

Recent Finds Special Edition: Arms of St. Anne's Parish

Coat of arms of St. Anne's Episcopal Parish, Annapolis, MD
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Founded in 1692, St. Anne's Episcopal Church located in Annapolis, Maryland proudly boasts more than 333 years of proclaiming the Gospel in North America and stands tall among the oldest houses of worship in the US.  There's loads of information online regarding St. Anne's history, so let's focus on its heraldry.

I want to especially thank Eric Fredland, the parish historian for St. Anne's Episcopal Church, for his corrections and insights regarding the parish arms.  

One of the more interesting coats of arms that I've discovered online during my search for corporate heraldry shaping the American tradition, are those of St. Anne's Parish.  These arms stand out boldly, much like a peacock.  Certainly not in a bad way, but rather unusual when compared to arms from its brother and sister parishes.  Then again, most of those faith communities have not been around for more than 300 years.  

The designer, a well educated cleric whose published extensively on American colonial Anglicanism, would abstractly combine parish history and its location to create these unique arms for St. Anne's.

St. Anne's banner led by the parish processional cross inside Washington National Cathedral
during an Acolyte Festival
Image Source: Washington National Cathedral Facebook page

The Rev. Canon Arthur Pierce Middleton (1916-2020) sounds like the perfect guest for a dinner party, given his wide range of life experiences.  Take a minute to read Bay Journal's article celebrating Middleton's life.  I wonder if its fair to say Middleton was living history?  One of his ancestors, after all, signed the Declaration of Independence.

Processional cross, St. Anne's Parish
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

According to Hjortsberg (2011), Middleton designed the coat of arms which St. Anne's formally adopted in November 1989.  The arms were created in anticipation of the parish's upcoming 300th anniversary celebration in 1992 (E. Fredland, personal communication, 12 May 2025).  Middleton found inspiration from the church's historical foundation which may explain the quarterings used from the arms of the Sovereign of England in his rendering.  

Furthermore, Hjortsberg (2011) notes that Middleton was well supplied with research assistance by Dr. A. Weems McFadden (1925-2010), a decorated US Naval officer and noted dermatologist.  The final product was a bespoke coat of arms reflecting the identity of St. Anne's, and altogether a highly researched design layered with meaning.  

Processional banner, St. Anne's Parish
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The parish was founded during the reign of King William III and quarterings #1 and #2 reflect this special history.  Additionally, King William III gave St. Anne's Parish communion silver in 1695 which is still used today (E. Fredland, personal communication, 12 May 2025).  I dare say not a lot of parishes can tout such a royal gift.  Quarterings #3 and #4 are from the Calvert and Crossland arms used to identify Maryland.  

In summary, the quartered escutcheon abstractly identifies the owner as one who was founded during the reign of King William III of England and located in the Baltimore-Maryland region.  The chevron, ermine, and crown likely serve as sufficient differencing marks while reinforcing the parish's royal ties.  Another interesting fact is that Queen Anne provided a bell for the parish's original building (E. Fredland, personal communication, 12 May 2025).  

Shortened blazon for the arms of St. Anne's Parish in Annapolis, Maryland:  Quarterly; 1: France quartering Plantagenet (England); 2: Stuart (Scotland); 3: Calvert; 4: Crossland, overall on a chevron ermine an imperial crown proper.

Other arms found within Maryland illustrating various components of either Calvert or Crossland can be seen below.  

Examples of Episcopal Church arms incorporating elements from Calvert and Crossland
Click to enlarge
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Top Row:  Episcopal Diocese of Maryland

Middle Row (L-R):  Trinity Cathedral, Easton and St. Augustine Parish, Chesapeake City

Bottom Row (L-R):  Emmanuel Church, Baltimore; St. Anne's Parish, Annapolis; Cathedral of the Incarnation, Baltimore

Pierre de Chaignon La Rose (1872-1941) designed the arms of the Diocese of Maryland and the Cathedral of the Incarnation.  Col. Harry D. Temple (1911-2004) produced arms for Trinity Cathedral in the Diocese of Easton and St. Augustine Parish.

Examples of Roman Catholic arms incorporating elements from Crossland
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024

The Archdiocese of Baltimore and Notre Dame University of Maryland are two Roman Catholic arms using elements of Crossland in their arms--both designed by la Rose.

Abstractly illustrating historical foundation, saintly dedication, and geographical location are critical elements when constructing new corporate arms.  To successfully combine these elements in the simplest and clearest manner possible, I am finding, demands practice and research.

The arms of St. Anne's Parish are a treasured example of sound heraldry in the Episcopal Church.    

Works Cited

Hjortsberg, Carol (ed.) (2011).  St. Anne's Annapolis: History and times, Vol. II.  St. Anne's Parish.