Anglican Church Heraldry

The Anglican Church of Southern Africa, also known as the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, follows Anglican heraldic traditions. The dioceses have arms, as do some cathedrals and parishes. Senior clergymen who are armigerous are entitled to marshal their official and personal arms, and clergymen of all ranks are allowed to display the additaments appropriate to their status, such as clerical hats or mitres. The Province as such has no arms or emblem of its own, and it uses the compass rose of the Anglican communion in general.

Anglican worship was introduced into South Africa with the first British military occupation of the Cape Colony (1795-1803), but it was not until 1847 that the parishes were organised into a Diocese of Cape Town.

Diocesan Arms
Each diocese in the Province (except for one which was established only recently) has its own arms. The achievements are all the same: a shield ensigned of a bishop's mitre. Between 1949 and 1954, the dioceses had their arms formally granted (and, in some cases, altered) by the College of Arms, at the College's request. Some were later registered at the Bureau of Heraldry.

The arms of the Diocese of Cape Town are the oldest: Quarterly, I & IV Azure a lion rampant Argent; II & III Sable three open crowns palewise Or; on a cross throughout Or an anchor in fess point Sable and in honour point a stag's head erased Gules, between the attires a pheon Azure (1847, CoA 1952, BoH 1972). They combine the arms of the English dioceses of Durham and Bristol, with the anchor of Good Hope and, originally, an inescutcheon of the arms of Baroness Burdett-Coutts who financed the diocese. The inescutcheon was replaced by the stag's head (from her arms) in 1952.

More recent arms are simpler. Those of the Diocese of the Highveld (BoH 1990) are Argent, between two flanches Gules a cross crosslet fitchy Azure. The newest arms, those of the Diocese of False Bay, allude to its area: Per fess dancetty Azure and Or, in chief dexter a garb and sinister a bunch of grapes slipped and leaved, and in base an anchor counterchanged (2005, BoH 2006).

Parish Arms

A few parishes have adopted arms. The first appears to have been St Mary's Collegiate Church (now Cathedral) in Port Elizabeth in the 1890s More recently, St Dunstan's Cathedral in Benoni registered arms (BoH 2004), which are Argent, a cross Azure between in chief dexter a chalice Or and in sinister base a pair of pincers Sable. An interesting feature of the design (besides the gold chalice on silver), which is not mentioned in the blazon, is a compartment representing steps, which is placed below the shield, even though there are no supporters.

Arms of Clergy
Traditionally, archbishops and diocesan bishops who are personally armigerous impale their arms with those of their dioceses. They place a mitre above the shield, in place of a helmet and crest, and one or two croziers behind the shield. A bishop suffragan may also use a mitre and crozier(s) with his personal arms.

Lower-ranking clergymen may use black clerical hats instead of helmets and crests, the different patterns for the different grades having been laid down in England in 1976. A few clergymen have registered their arms with these hats.

References/Sources/Links

South African Heraldry Website © Arthur Radburn