http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/6043/estevez.jpg
No, we HAVEN’T seen worse! The personal arms are AWFUL and the episcopal cross mimics the giant outdoor cross at the Catholic mission in St. Augustine. That’s nice but specifying a particular style for an external ornament (as we have discussed here in the past) is a poor design decision and cannot be justified.
Lol! I agree 100%, and even if I didn’t, I would be hard put to gainsay your eloquence.
Well the Personal side of the Arms seems a great deal unheraldic and rather logo-like.
Why don’t appointees get a survival kit to steer them through this process? We’ve had a rather horrendous batch of auxiliary bishops here lately. Shouldn’t you be writing one (I mean survival kit) Guy?
Not only writing one (survival kit), but the minute someone is ordained (is that the word?) Guy should be heading them off at the pass with a very friendly letter saysing "Here I Am"... In fact he should sent one to every diocese by region…Maybe we could get him on the road… Or maybe we should get on the road taking care of our friendly locals doing heraldry briefs.. Put together the slides Father! Cliff Notes and off we go!
A few years ago I approached some people at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops suggesting we put together a committee to act as an advisory group. There already is a Bishops’ Committee on the Life and Ministry of Bishops so I suggested our heraldry group could be an ad hoc subcommittee with an episcopal moderator.
It was shot down.
Instead it was suggested I gather a committee on my own and write to every diocese in the USA (there are 194 dioceses in the USA) informing them of our existence. But, the USCCB was unwilling to endorse the effort or use their own internal communications mechanisms to inform bishops of our existence. I doubt anything will come of it.
I DO frequently contact bishops upon hearing of their appointment. They often have other plans. Most frequently I am not even given the courtesy of a reply.
Many have suggested I should publish something of a guide on this subject. The late Michael McCarthy was after me about it for some time. Perhaps I really should undertake to do just that.
Absolutely. Even something of fairly simple basics with reference information to people and books and websites should help.
such a guide would be a great idea, and helpfull not only to our bishops but also to other cerics wanting to assume arms. on an added note I personally would get a few heralds together and go ahead with the committee and create an online presence, even if you only notify each diocese as they have a change of administration.
wow, those are bad -
http://www.dosafl.com/imagegallery/VertNav/273/webBishopECrest.jpg
Father, you should most defiantly publish a guide! At the close of which, you should include your contact information or the contact information of your suggested ad-hoc subcommittee, saying that you/they are an expert of ecclesiastical heraldry and will gladly assist all comers in the design of their arms.
Oh my…they are pretty bad, aren’t they? I suspect weactually have seen worse, but not many.
As to publishing a guide, I would modify the part of Steve’s recommendation "saying that you/they are an expert of ecclesiastical heraldry and will gladly assist all comers in the design of their arms" by omitting the claim of "expert"—which, while true, has been used by so many who are definitely NOT experts as to lose credibility—and merely say "experienced" and add a few examples of your well-designed arms which have been actually adopted & used within the church (with the permission of the "client" parish or cleric). A picture is worth a thousand words, if for no other reason that it will catch the eye of those who would glaze over well short of the fourth decimal place; and hopefully will engage their interest in something simple and clean rather than a hodge-podge of everything including the parish kitchen sink..
A brief note that you don’t charge for your services (as long as that’s the case) and work closely with the parish or cleric would also be useful.
Father Guy, I think a guide is a very, very good idea. I do hope you go forward.
For an epigraph, you could use part of the gravedigger scene from Hamlet:
First Clown: There is no ancient gentleman but gardeners, ditchers, and grave-makers: they hold up Adam’s profession.
Second Clown: "Was he a gentleman?"
First Clown: "He was the first that ever bore arms."
Second Clown: "Why, he had none."
First Clown: "What, art a heathen? How dost thou understand the
Scripture? The Scripture says ‘Adam digged:’ could he dig without arms?"
Joseph Staub;97210 wrote:
First Clown: "What, art a heathen? How dost thou understand the
Scripture? The Scripture says ‘Adam digged:’ could he dig without arms?"
I was looking to see if anybody had attempted to attribute arms to Adam, when I happened upon the arms of Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802-1829).
http://www.numericana.com/arms/abel1.gif
Arms: Argent, the forbidden tree of knowledge with the Serpent between Adam and Eve, Adam receiving an apple from Eve whose sinister hand plucks a second apple, all Proper.
Crest: Two wings Argent.
:facepalm:
Complex, but really nice!—at least in this rendition.
