Religious communities, such as priories and abbeys, were among the earliest medieval corporate bodies to adopt and use coats of arms as seals for the most practical of reasons. By its very nature, a seal is an official
and when affixed to a document, physically authenticates its origin while providing assurance of legitimacy.
Seals do not have color, just simple black and white lines originating from its application--pressing a device with the seal (a signet ring would be one example) into wax generating an impression. Additionally, seals should never be used as decorative elements or logos and reserved solely for its created purpose of authentication, whereas coats of arms can serve as dignified emblems suitable for decoration. As such, corporate bodies usually have both a seal and a coat of arms, with each designated for specific use.
The seals I'm presenting in this article contain color for ease of identification. I've also removed certain elements from the seal in several concept pieces below to avoid using the seal as a decoration.
In an era when most outside of the nobility and clergy could not read or write, a seal impression made in wax readily identified itself as genuine requiring little skill or imagination. Many seals contain the coat of arms of the owner and arranged in circular or vesical designs. There are plenty of seals without arms in the design and are no less official than those heraldic ones. There is no right or wrong design. There are, however, traditions one can follow when constructing a new seal.
The medieval vesica piscis style is the dominant shape used within the Anglican tradition and widely seen in Episcopal Church heraldry. The illustration above shows how this shape is created from two circles.
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Concept piece and example of la Rose's preferred seal design
Designed and rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025 |
Circular shaped seals work equally well.
Pierre de Chaignon la Rose (1872-1941) created a gothic quatrefoil seal to contain the arms of the corporate body. I've illustrated a concept piece based on la Rose's gothic design for the Medieval Academy of America.
The Brotherhood of St. Gregory (BSG)
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Concept piece and not official, an armorial flag of the Brotherhood of St. Gregory
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025 |
Founded in 1969 by Richard Thomas Biernacki, BSG, the Brotherhood of Saint Gregory (BSG) is a dispersed religious community of men in the Episcopal Church. Gregorians can be found engaging all sorts of ministries both in the church and the world. Recently, the community elected its second Minister General as chief shepherd who happens to be a well respected and dear friend. His election inspired me to learn more about BSG's armorial insignia and render various assets for the community.
As I worked to digitally recreate BSG's arms and seal in vector, I began to see my own ministry develop and become clearer to me. How can I use what I'm learning as a means to support and give back to others? Answering that question was easy; explaining that ministry to a priest via email whom I don't know and attached a suite of digital files in vector of the parish coat of arms is a bit more difficult.
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Concept piece and not official, a processional banner of the Brotherhood of St. Gregory
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025 |
What is exactly is this ministry? I am inspired to find, recreate, and deliver new images of coats of arms to those communities whose images are pixelated or poorly done. Knowing that most parish vestries would not wish to spend money commissioning a professional heraldic artist--budgets are more than tight these days--I am able to assist without remuneration. So far, I've had several positive experiences helping and look forward to more.
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Concept piece and not official, cross with BSG design
Designed and rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025 |
The Gregorian seal was designed by the Rev. Canon Edward Nason West, OBE, Th.D., Litt.D., Sub-Prelate St.J. (1909-1990) and based on the attributed arms of Pope St. Gregory the Great.
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Attributed arms of St. Gregory the Great
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025 |
St. Gregory's attributed arms are blazoned: Or, three bendlets Gules on a chief of the field two lions counter-rampant Gules supporting a torteau inscribed IHS. West changed the metal from gold to silver and added an additional red bendlet for suitable differencing.
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Comparison between arms and shield used within the community's seal
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025 |
The shield West created within the BSG seal is different from the coat of arms and incorporates an inscribed cross in the seal. The cross contains the community's motto along with something else that took me a bit to figure out.
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| Monogram of the Holy Name |
West used a version of the monogram of the Holy Name for the "s" in soli deo gloria. Since the base image I was working from was a tad old and slightly blurry, it was difficult to make out exactly what those three lines were on the letter s.
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Concept piece and not official
Designed and rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025 |
One concept piece I really like is what I call the arms of BSG's Minister General. The Minister General is not mitered like a Benedictine abbot, but does carry a simple wooden crozier reflecting his service as shepherd of the community. I thought to place a pastoral staff in pale behind the arms as a way to identify the office.
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Arms of St. Norbert's Abbey in De Pere, WI
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025 |
The concept of using a crozier as an external ornament is widely used by Roman Catholic religious communities. The coat of arms for St. Norbert's Abbey, for example, uses a crozier.
Click here to learn more about the coat of arms of St. Norbert's Abbey.Blazon for the Coat of Arms of the Brotherhood of St. Gregory
Blazon: Argent, four bendlets Gules on a chief of the field two lions counter-rampant Gules supporting a plate inscribed IHS Gules;
Motto: Soli Deo Gloria, Latin for “to God alone be the glory.”
The Community of St. Mary (CSM)
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Concept piece and not official, a seal for the Community of St. Mary
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025 |
Not far from the campus of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, is the convent of the Community of St. Mary (CSM), Southern Province. The Sisters of St. Mary began their ministry as a Benedictine religious order for women in 1865, and continue their work to this day. In addition to the convent, a lovely retreat center is located on the property offering year round programs. During my time as a seminarian, I spent many hours in silent retreat at St. Mary's and cherish those memories of reflection and solitude.
Click here to visit the official website of the Community of St. Mary, Southern Province.
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Concept piece and not official, flag designs for CSM
Designed and rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025 |
Recently, the sisters' posted an image of an impaled coat of arms for a bishop in the Episcopal Church who is a long-time associate of the community. I was curious to learn more about these arms and my hunt for the retired bishop's email address proved fruitless. I had a thought to contact the convent and see if they would connect me with the prelate. My detailed email of introduction was indeed forwarded, and within a few days I was on the phone interviewing the bishop regarding his personal coat of arms.
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Concept piece and not official, cross with CSM design
Designed and rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025 |
My highly engaging conversation with the retired bishop answered several of my questions, and I ended the call feeling deep gratitude for this new resource and the sisters who made it all possible. How should I thank the sisters for their kind help? A handwritten thank you note would not do, I thought. Creating new digital emblazonments of the community's seal seemed more appropriate. Voila.
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Concept piece and not official, processional banner design for CSM
Designed and rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025 |
The Community of St. Mary does not have a coat of arms, but rather uses a vesica-shaped seal as their primary image for identification. The central image within the seal is an Easter lily with three leaves--this image can be found in a stained glass window at St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Memphis, TN. Since the lily used in the official seal is not heraldic by design, I wanted to create a heraldic version without losing any symbolism. The flowering lily is a nice reference for both the Blessed Virgin Mary as well as resurrection, and the three leaves most likely refer to the Trinity. All together a simple and clear symbol representing the community.
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Concept piece and not official, up close view of flag design for CSM
Designed and rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025 |
I really like the two flag designs for CSM, using the base of the seal without actually using the seal itself. Many US municipal flags, on the other hand, simply use their official seals on a flag creating generic identity. By adding a cotise in different metals to the flag (gold and silver/white) is one way to distinguish between the northern and southern provinces of the community. The same design scheme can be applied to a processional banner as well.
The Brotherhood of St. Gregory and the Community of St. Mary represent the heart and soul of the Episcopal Church, offering devoted lives of ministry and prayer for the Body of Christ. The symbolic identities of these two communities are reflected in their seals which embody not only their charism and gifts but their active presence in our world today. Thanks be to God!
