ON ECCLESIASTICAL HERALDRY heraldry & coat of arms explained Ecclesiastical heraldry is the tradition of heraldry developed by christian clergy. Ab initio, it was used as a system to mark documents which later developed as a system for identifying peoples. It differs from other heraldry in the use of special insignia around the shield in church usage. It was formalized within the Catholic Church where most bishops, including the pope, have personal coat of arms. Most of this insignia is the low-crowned, wide brimmed ecclesiastical hat commonly known as the roman galero, the color and ornamentation of this hat indicating rank and office: red for a cardinal, green for a bishop and black for an ordinary clergy with a the number of tassels increasing with rank; a deacon has black galero with no tassels; a priest has the same black galero but with two cords with one tassel on each side*; a bishop has a green galero with six tassels and an archbishop has ten tassels on each side; a cardinal has a red galero with 15 tassels on each side. The Pope has the papal tiara. *[For further distinction: Chaplains of His Holiness: a black galero with six violet tassels on each side Prelates of Honor: a purple galero with six black tassels on each side Prothonotary Apostolic: a purple galero with six red tassels] A coat of arms or family crest has long been a symbol of a familys identity and values. Originally used to identify warriors dressed in armors, each knight chooses symbols and colors to represent his family or clan. These family crests or coat of ams have been passed down throughout generations. Rather than being a sign of pretensions or vanity, ecclesiastical heraldry is about tradition and honor. As it was used in times past, as in during medieval times, a coat of arms was used to tell a story about their person, their origin and their background. Todays coat of arms in eccleasiastical usage connects the past with the present. Family symbols are used and charges depicting creatures and things which represent places, ideas, values and deeds are being incorporated. Most people know that bishops, archbishops and the Pope have their own unique coat of arms but what people do not know is that priests (and deacons) as members of the clergy are equally entitled to their own as well. The only difference is that all those who enjoy the fullness of holy orders (episcopacy) have a diocese or titular see under their jurisdiction; hence, half of their coat of arms is the particular place of episcopal assignment with the other half being their own or familial shield; the personal side is designated unique for the particular cleric. sources: ecclesiastical heraldry wikipedia heraldry for priests the hermeneutic of community rev. fr. guy selvester aspects of heraldry in the catholic church sacerdotal heraldry the black biretta rev. john trigilio
Posted on: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 11:11:04 +0000