Episcopal Shield

The Episcopal Church in the USA uses the shield of the Red Cross on a white shield and has an "X" of 9 white small crosses in a field of blue.

Why is this? Here is the answer; now the Red Cross on a white field is the St. George Cross. This is the indicator of our link to the Church of England, the
mother church of the Anglican Communion. Also the miniature crosses in the blue field represent the original nine American dioceses that met in 1789 in Philadelphia to implement the constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States.

In tribute to the role of the Scottish Episcopal Church, in ordaining the first American bishop, Samuel Seabury, in 1784, the outline of miniature crosses is in the form of blue the St. Andrew's Cross. St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland.

Also the colors of red, white and blue are a symbol of the sacrifice of Christ and Christian martyrs, the purity of the Christian faith, and the humanity of Christ received from the Virgin Mary. With in duplicating these colors of the American flag, they also characterize the United States as part of the Anglican Communion.

This page last updated: 04/05/2002