Ecclesiastical heraldry

Cardinals place their coat of arms in their titular church in Rome, like the arms of Cardinal Hoyos at SS. Nome di Maria al Foro Traiano

Ecclesiastical heraldry is the tradition of heraldry by Christian clergy. Initially used to mark documents, ecclesiastical heraldy developed to identify persons and dioceses, and is most formalized within the Roman Catholic Church where every bishop including the Pope has a personal coat of arms. Analogous customs are followed by clergy in the Anglican Church, the Lutheran Church, the Eastern Rite Catholic Churches, the Orthodox Churches, and institutions such as schools and dioceses.

Within the coat of arms, the shield usually combines the bishop's personal arms with those of his diocese, and may change if he is appointed to a different position. Around the shield are other elements that correspond to his position in the hierarchy, including the Roman galero (ecclesiastical hat) and the cross. Eastern traditions favor use of the mantle or cloak instead of the galero in heraldry. The papal coat of arms has its own heraldic customs. Popes display the Papal Tiara (or mitre) and keys of Saint Peter. The mitre and crozier is common on institutional arms.

The personal seal of Martin Luther is now a recognized symbol of Lutheranism

History

Twelfth-century seal of Stefan of Uppsala

File:Bertrant de Blancquefort SEAL.gif

The Knights Templar Seal of Bertrand de Blanchefort from the twelfth century

Heraldry developed in Europe beginning in the late eleventh century as personal badges of the warrior classes, in part as a mark of identification on the battlefield. The heraldic insignia were also used on seals to identify documents. The earliest seals bore a likeness of the owner of the seal, with the shield and heraldic insignia included. The Church likewise identified the origin and ownership of documents and buildings, using oval seals to distinguish from secular round seals. The Synod of London required seals for all religious authorities in 1237, and Edward I of England decreed in 1307 that no document would be valid without one. Personal seals of bishops and abbots continued to be used after their deaths, gradually becoming an impersonal seal. Over time the seals of the nobility were reduced to just the shield. Clergy followed this development, but being non-combatants they tended to replace military elements with clerical elements. The shield was retained but other non-clerical devices, such as helmets and coronets, found little place on clerical coats of arms. However, there was no structured Church heraldry until the seventeenth century, when a system for ecclesiastical hats attributed to Pierre Palliot came into use.

Pope Leo XI coat of arms

The full system of emblems around the shield was formalized in the Catholic Church by the letter of Pope Pius X Inter multiplices curas of February 21, 1905. Until 1960, the composition of the shield itself was regulated and registered with the Heraldry Commission of the Roman Curia, but after this office was abolished by Pope John XXIII, shield design has had no official guidance. The Collegio Araldico (College of Heraldry) in Rome is recognized by the Holy See but has no enforcement powers, and the Annuario Pontifico (Pontifical Annual) ceased publishing the arms of members of the Roman Curia after 1969. International custom and national law govern limited aspects of heraldry, but since 1960 shield composition depends on expert advice. Archbishop Bruno Heim, a noted ecclesiastical armorist (designer of arms), said

Ecclesiastical heraldry is not determined by heraldic considerations alone but also by doctrinal, liturgical, and canonical factors. It not only produces arms denoting members of the ecclesiastical state but also shows the rank of the bearer.... The design of prelatial arms is often a disastrous defiance of the rules of heraldry, if only as a breach of good taste.

The traditions of Eastern Christian heraldry have less developed regulation. Eastern secular coats of arms often display a shield before a mantle topped with a crown. Eastern ecclesiastics have adopted coats of arms according to this style replacing the crown with an appropriate hat drawn from the liturgy, or have used different heraldic styles.

While marking documents is the most common use of Church arms today, the marking of buildings remains in those churches in Rome which display a cardinal's coat of arms to indicate a connection with him. Impersonal arms are often used as the banner of a school or religious community.

Shield

The shield is the normal device for displaying a coat of arms. Clergy have used less military shapes such as the oval cartouche, but the shield has always been a clerical option. Clergy in Italy often use a shield shaped like a horse's face-armor. Clergy in South Africa sometimes follow the national style using a Nguni shield. Women traditionally display their coats of arms on a diamond-shaped lozenge; abbesses follow this tradition or use the cartouche.

Personal design

File:Serb-ch.gif

Coat of Arms of the patriarchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church, with mantle, staff and cross, and a gold on silver charge

A new bishop requires personal arms almost immediately. One of the first duties of a Catholic bishop is to prepare documents which must bear his own name and arms. Unless a bishop has a family coat of arms, he typically adopts within his shield charges or symbols that indicate his interests or past service, possibly including a charge from the arms of his first diocese. Devotion to a particular saint is represented by symbols established in iconography and heraldic tradition.

The first rule of heraldry is the rule of tincture which says that "colour must not appear upon colour, nor metal upon metal." The heraldic metals are gold and silver, usually represented as yellow and white, while red, green, blue, purple and black normally comprise the colours. An heraldic device was intended for recognition at a distance (in battle) and a contrast of light metal against dark colour was desirable. The same principle can be seen in the choice of colors for most license plates.

This rule of tincture is often broken in clerical arms; the flag and arms of Vatican City notably has gold and silver placed together. In the Byzantine tradition colors have a mystical interpretation. Since gold and silver express sublimity and solemnity, combinations of the two are often used regardless of the rule of tincture of Western heraldry.

Marshalling

Arms of an Anglican bishop marshalled with those of the diocese (left shield) and spouse (right shield)

If the bishop is the diocesan bishop, it is customary to combine or marshall the arms of the diocese to dexter (to the left by the viewer's eyes) by impalement, following the normal rules for combining impersonal and personal arms. The arms of Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury, are found impaled with those of the See in a document from 1411. In Germany and Switzerland quartering is the norm. Guy Selvester says if arms are not designed with care, these impalements can lead to "busy" shields overcrowded with charges. On occasion, this is avoided by placing a smaller shield overlapping the larger shield, known as an inescutcheon or escutcheon of pretense. In the arms of Heinrich Mussinghoff, Bishop of Aachen, the personal arms are placed in front of the diocesan arms, but the opposite arrangement is found in front on the arms of Paul Gregory Bootkoski, Bishop of Metuchen. Cardinals sometimes combine their personal arms with the arms of the Pope who designated them. As Prefect of the Pontifical Household Jacques Martin impaled his personal arms with those of three successive pontiffs. A married Anglican bishop combines his arms with those of his wife and the diocese on two separate shields placed accollé, or side-by-side.

Suffragan bishops (auxiliary bishops) do not combine their personal arms with those of the diocese they serve. Catholic bishops in England use only their personal arms, as dioceses established by the See of Rome are not part of the state-established Church and cannot be recognized in law.

Around the shield

File:Brasão Dom Vicente Joaquim Zico.jpg

Archbishops like Vicente Joaquim Zico use a green galero (hat); above the shield is the pallium and a cross with two horizontal bars

The shield is the core of heraldry, but other elements are placed above, below, and around the shield. The entire composition is called the achievement of arms. Some of these accessories are unique to Church armory or differ notably from those which normally accompany a shield.

Galero

The hat called a galero (or gallero) is a distinctive part of the achievement of a Roman Catholic cleric. The galero was originally a pilgrim's-style hat like a sombrero, granted in red to cardinals by Pope Innocent IV at the First Council of Lyon in the thirteenth century, and was adopted by heraldry almost immediately. Although not actually worn by other clergy, the galero in various colors and forms was used in heraldic achievements starting with its adoption in the arms of bishops in the sixteenth century. By the nineteenth century it was viewed as specifically "Catholic." The color of the galero and number of tassels (also termed houppes or fiocchi) indicate the cleric's place in the hierarchy. A bishop's galero is green with six tassels on each side. A territorial abbot is equivalent to a bishop and uses a green galero. An archbishop's galero is green but has ten tassels. Both patriarchs and cardinals have a galero with fifteen tassels, but the patriarch's galero is green while the cardinal's is red or scarlet. The patriarch's tassels are interwoven with gold.

Chinese bishops often avoid using green galero in their arms since a "wearing a green hat" is the Chinese idiom for cuckold. Instead of green these bishops use a variety of colors from violet and black to blue, or scarlet if a Cardinal.

Joseph Cardinal Zen used a violet galero in his arms, and the simple Latin cross, as bishop of Hong Kong

Lesser prelates use other colors. The superior general of an order displays a black galero with six tassels on each side, while provincial superiors and abbots use a black galero with six or three tassels on each side, although Norbertines (White Canons) display a white galero. Monsignors have used a violet or black hat with red or violet tassels in varying numbers. Although a priest would rarely be an armiger unless he had an ancestral right to arms independent of his clerical state, a priest would use a simple black galero with a single tassel on each side. Priests who hold an office such as rector would have two tassels on each side.

Clergy of the Anglican Communion who are not bishops historically bore arms identical to a layman, with a shield, helm and crest, and no ecclesiastical hat. In 1976 a system for deans and canons similar to Roman monsignors was authorized, allowing a black hat, black or violet cords, and violet or red tassels. Within Presbyterian Church heraldry, a minister's galero is represented as black with a single blue tassel on each side, though a doctoral bonnet or Geneva cap may replace the galero. The office of moderator does not have a corporate arms, but the minister occupying the office may add tassels to his personal arms to indicate parity with offices of other churches: three for a moderator of a presbytery, and six or ten for moderators of higher courts. Clergy of the Chapel Royal display red tassels.

The depiction of the galero in arms can vary greatly depending on the artist's style. Typically the top of the hat is flat and the brim is very wide. However, the brim can be rendered much narrower, and the top can be domed. Such variants look like a cappello romano with tassels, but in heraldry it is still considered a galero. The tassels may be represented simply as knotted cords.

Cross

The display of a cross behind the shield is restricted to bishops as a mark of their dignity. The cross of an ordinary bishop has a single horizonal bar or traverse, also known as a latin cross. A patriarch uses the patriarchal cross with two traverses, also called the cross of Lorraine. The papal cross has three traverses but this is never displayed behind the papal arms.

The cross with a double traverse is seen on the arms of archbishops, and relates to the processional cross used by archbishops as a symbol of jurisdiction. Except for cardinals of the Roman Curia, most cardinals head an archdiocese and use an archepiscopal cross on their arms. A notable exception is Joseph Cardinal Zen, bishop of Hong Kong. Because Hong Kong is not an archdiocese, he uses the simple latin cross in his arms.

According to Guy Selvester, an American ecclesiastical heraldist, "non-episcopal cardinals may not display a cross in their arms." Today all cardinals are required to be bishops, but priests named cardinal at an advanced age often petition the Pope for an exception to this rule. Notable examples are Albert Cardinal Vanhoye and Avery Cardinal Dulles, although curiously the latter's arms do display a cross.

Mitre and pallium

Franz Christoph von Hutten's coat of arms from the eighteenth century with mitre, staff, and sword

The use of mitre on personal arms was suppressed by the Roman Catholic Church in 1969, and remains only on corporate arms. Before then in the Roman Catholic Church (and currently in the Anglican Church) the mitre was placed above the arms of all persons who were entitled to wear the mitre, including abbots. It substitutes for the helmet of military arms, but may also appear as a crest placed atop a helmet, notably in Germanic heraldry. The mitre and galero are found together on arms through nineteenth century. Even in the arms of a cardinal, who alone had the right to actually wear a galero, the mitre was not entirely displaced. The mitre may be displayed either auriferata (gold) or pretiosa (precious, jewelled), the former more common in English heraldry. A form of mitre with coronet is proper to the Bishop of Durham because of his role as Prince-Bishop of the palatinate of Durham. For similar reasons the Bishop of Durham and some other bishops display a sword behind the shield, pointed downward to signify a former civil jurisdiction.

The pallium is a distinctive vestment of archbishops, and may be found on their arms as well as the corporate arms of archdioceses, displayed either above or below the shield. The coat of arms of Pope Benedict XVI sparked controversy by displaying a mitre and pallium instead of the customary tiara.

Crosier

Generic arms of an abbot with sudarium and crook pointing left

The crozier was suppressed on most personal arms by the Catholic Church in 1969, and is now found only on corporate arms, and the personal arms of abbots and some abbesses. It was displayed as a symbol of pastoral jurisdiction by bishops, abbots and abbesses, and by cardinals even if they were not bishops. For abbots and abbesses, it was turned inward toward the mitre (or to the left), and for bishops it was turned outward (or to the right), although this symbolic distinction did not apply to actual carried crosiers. The croziers of abbots have a sudarium or veil as decreed by Pope Alexander VII in 1659, which may have arisen because most abbots did not wear gloves when carrying the crosier, but bishops did. In English custom and in the Anglican Church, two crosiers crossed are often found in saltire behind the shield.

A simple knobbed staff is sometimes shown on the arms of conventual priors and prioresses, that is, superiors of monasteries that are not abbeys, as a symbol of office analogous to the crosier. This is sometimes accompanied by a rosary encircling the shield.

Mantle

File:CoA Husi Bishopry.jpg

Coat of Arms of the Orthodox diocese of Huşi

Mantling was originally a piece of material attached to a helmet and covering the shoulders, possibly to protect from the sun. In secular heraldry this was depicted shredded as if from battle. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries another form of mantling called a "robe of estate" became prominent. This form is used especially in the the Orthodox Churches, where bishops display a mantle tied with cords and tassels above the shield. The heraldic mantle represents the bishop's authority and is similar to the mantiya. It can also be found in the arms of the Bishop of Metz and the arms of the Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

The outside may be of any color, typically red, while the inside is white or sometimes yellow to distinguish it from a secular mantle. Prof. David Johnson has suggested that the mantle of all bishops should be white inside, excepting only patriarchs who use ermine, to indicate that all bishops are equally bishops and to emphasize the consular nature of Orthodoxy. Above the mantle is a mitre (of the Eastern style) between a processional cross and a crosier. The earliest examples of the arms of Orthodox hierarchs have the cross to the dexter of the mitre and the bishop's staff to sinister, but opposite examples exist. An abbot (archimandrite or hegumen) should display a veiled abbot's staff to distinguish it from the bishop's staff.

Archpriests and priests would use a less ornate mantle in their arms, and an ecclesiastical hat of the style they wear liturgically. While an Orthodox monk (not an abbot) displaying personal arms is rare, a hieromonk would appropriately display a monastic hat and a cloak or veil suggestive of his attire, and a heirodeacon would display an orarion behind the shield.

A secular example of mantling and motto

A shield in front of a mantle or cloak may be found among bishops of the Eastern Catholic Churches. However, Eastern ecclesiastical variations exist which omit the mantle but retain the mitre, cross and staff. Maronite bishops traditionally display a pastoral staff behind the shield, topped with a globe and cross or a cross within a globe. Eastern Catholic bishops may follow western ecclesiastical forms using a galero, although the shield itself is often rendered in a byzantine artistic style, and a mitre if present would be in the appropriate liturgical style. Cardinals appointed from the Eastern Catholic Churches almost always follow the same forms as other Roman cardinals with the galero.

Motto

Catholic bishops and Presbyterian churches use a motto in their arms, though it is rare among Anglican bishops. The motto is a statement of belief rather than a war cry as sometimes found on military coats of arms. Gustavo Testa, designated cardinal in December 1959, quickly selected as his arms a shield with the words "sola gratia tua" and the motto "et patria et cor" in order to meet a publishing deadline. Literally these phrases mean "only by your favor" "and fatherland and heart." Testa explained to Pope John XXIII that the shield meant "I am a cardinal because of you alone", and the motto meant "because I am from Bergano and a friend."

Papal insignia

Main article: Papal regalia and insignia

Saint Peter is represented holding keys as early as the fifth century. As the Roman Catholic Church considers him the first pope and bishop of Rome, the keys were adopted as a papal emblem; they first appear with papal arms in the thirteenth century. Two keys perpendicular were often used on coins but last appeared in the shield of the papacy in 1555, after which the crossed keys are used exclusively. The keys are gold and silver, with the gold key placed to dexter (viewer's left) on the personal arms of the Pope. Two silver keys or two gold keys were used late into the sixteenth century.

The Papal Tiara or triregnum is the three-tiered crown used by the Pope as a sovereign power. It is first found as an independent emblem in the thirteenth century, though at that time with only one coronet. In the fifteenth century the tiara was combined with the keys above the papal shield. The tiara and keys together within a shield form the arms of Vatican City. In heraldry the white tiara is depicted with a bulbous shape and with two attached red strips called lappets or infulae.

Pope Paul III's coat of arms with tiara, keys and supporters

The red and gold striped ombrellino or pavilion was originally a processional canopy or sunshade and can be found so depicted as early as the twelfth century. The earliest use of the ombrellino in heraldry is in the 1420s, when placed above the shield of Pope Martin V. More commonly it is used together with the keys, a combination first found under Pope Alexander VI. This badge is used to represent the temporal power of Vatican City between Papal reigns, when the acting head of state is the cardinal camerlengo. The badge first appeared with a cardinal's personal arms on coins minted by order of the camerlengo, Cardinal Armellini, during the inter-regnum of 1521. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries it appeared on coins minted sede vacante by papal legates, and on coins minted in 1746 and 1771 while a pope reigned. The ombrellino appears in the arms of basilicas since the sixteenth century but is not ornamented except in arms of major basilicas. If found in a family coat of arms, it indicates that a member of the family had been pope.

The papal coat of arms is often depicted with angels as supporters. No other Roman clergy has a right to supporters unless by personal right.

Chivalric insignia

If entitled, Roman Catholic clergy may display the red Jerusalem Cross for the Order of the Holy Sepulchre or the Maltese Cross for the Sovereign Military Order of Malta behind the shield, or may display the ribbon of their rank in the order. Catholic clergy may not display insignia of knighthood received from other orders. Laymen who have been knighted in a Papal order such as the Order of St. Gregory the Great, the Order of Christ or Order of the Golden Spur, or awarded the title of Gentleman of His Holiness, may display the insignia of their rank in the order, either a ribbon at the base of the shield or a chain surrounding the shield.

See also

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• Heraldry
• Rule of tincture
• Lozenge
• Papal coat of arms
• Coat of arms of Pope Benedict XVI
• Papal tiara

• Crosier
• Galero
• Mantling
• Mitre
• Motto
• Supporters

Bibliography

• Boutell, Charles (1973). Boutell's Heraldry: Revised by J.P. Brooke-Little. F. Warne. ISBN 0723217084.
• Catholic Encyclopedia (1913). Ecclesiastical Heraldry.
• Catholic Encyclopedia (1913). Processional Cross.
• Encyclopedia Britannica (2006). Ecclesiastical Heraldry.
• Galbreath, Donald Lindsay (1972). Papal Heraldry. Heraldry Today. ISBN 0-90045522-5.
• Heim, Bruno Bernard (1978). Heraldry in the Catholic Church. Humanities Press. ISBN 0-391-00873-0.
• Heim, Bruno (1994). Or and Argent. Van Duren. ISBN 0-9057715-24-1.
• Innes of Learney, Sir Thomas (1956). Scots Heraldry. Oliver and Boyd.
• "Instruction on the dress, titles and coat-of-arms of cardinals, bishops and lesser prelates." L'Osservatore Romano, English ed. 17 Apr. 1969: 4. ISSN 0391-668X. Online here.
• Johnson, Prof. David Pittman, D.S.W. Orthodox Ecclesiastical Heraldry.
• Lartigue, Jean-Jacques (2000). Dictionnarie & Armorial de L'Épiscopat Français (1200-2000). L'Intermediare des Chercheurs et Curieux. ISBN 2-908003-19-8.
• Martin, Jacques (1987). Heraldry in the Vatican. Van Duren. ISBN 0-905715-25-X.
• McCarthy, Michael Francis (2005). A Manual of Ecclesiastical Heraldry. Thylacine. ISBN 0-9577947-7-0.
• Noonan, Jr., James-Charles (1996). The Church Visible: The Ceremonial Life and Protocol of the Roman Catholic Church. Viking. ISBN 0670867454.
• Rogers, Col. Hugh Cuthbert Basset, O.B.E (1956). The Pageant of Heraldry. Pitman.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Selvester, Guy. Aspects of Heraldry in the Catholic Church, from his personal website.
• von Volborth, Carl Alexander (1973). Heraldry of the World. MacMillan.
• Williamson, David (1992). Debrett's Guide to Heraldry and Regalia. Headline. ISBN 0-7472-0609-0.
• Woodcock, Thomas (1988). The Oxford Guide to Heraldry. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-211658-4.

External links

• A Gallery of Arms Designed and Emblazoned by Fr. Guy Selvester
• Metuchen Armorial, Fr. Guy Selvester
• Catholic Heraldry at heraldica.org
• Heraldry of Catholic Clerics
• Armoria ecclesiastica - Church arms in South Africa
• Thylacine Press - works on ecclesiastical heraldry