Ecclesiastical Heraldry

The heraldry of the many church denominations in South Africa takes several forms. Some use coats of arms, some use seals, a few use badges or logos. Of all of them, the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church make the most extensive use of arms.

Afrikaanse Protestante Kerk

The newest of the Afrikaans reformed churches, founded in 1987. Its seal (BoH 1989) depicts a dove, the Greek letters alpha and omega, and the motto lig in duisternis ("Light in darkness"). The APK's theological college, the Afrikaanse Protestante Akademie, registered arms in 2001.

Afrikaanse Reformatoriese Kerk
This church, founded in 1982, has registered a seal (BoH 1988) depicting a Huguenot Cross and Noah's ark (an allusion to the church's initials?).

Anglican Church of Southern Africa
The Anglican Church (the Church of the Province of Southern Africa) follows the English tradition of using diocesan arms. Those of the Diocese of Cape Town (1847, CoA 1952) are the oldest. A few parishes too have adopted arms. Armigerous bishops may marshal their personal and diocesan arms.

Church of England in South Africa
This small Anglican church, which formally separated from the CPSA in 1938, uses an oval seal-like emblem depicting an open Bible, inscribed god's word above all things, on an inverted sword.

Congregational Church
There have been several groupings of Congregational churches. One of them, the Congregational Union of South Africa, used a quasi-heraldic device depicting a seven-branched candelabrum standing on a closed Bible, with the words lux fiat ("Let there be light"). The United Congregational Churches of South Africa, formed in 1967, has quasi-arms depicting a Latin cross and a dove. The tinctures appear to be blue and silver.

Ethiopian Episcopal Church

Originally the Order of Ethiopia, this Church functioned under the auspices of the CPSA from 1899 to 1990, and adopted its present name a few years later. Its arms were originally Azure, an African mother bearing a baby on her back, kneeling and grinding corn proper vested Or, and in dexter chief a dove descending in bend of the last (BoH 1995), but the tinctures were changed in 2001 to proper colours on a silver field.

Evangelical Lutheran Church
The emblem of the various Lutheran Churches is the Luther Rose: a white rose charged with a red heart bearing a cross. Two dioceses have adopted arms, those of the former diocese of Mapumulo being Azure, in base a trimount and in chief a cross crosslet Or.

The Lutheran Bapedi Church has registered arms (BoH 2003) depicting two crows on either side of a tree charged with a Latin cross. Two German congregations in Pretoria have registered seals.

Evangeliese Gereformeerde Kerk
In 1996, the EGK Seminary registered arms depicting a cross, a Bible, and a flame.

Gereformeerde Kerke van Suid-Afrika
The GKSA, established in 1869, uses a seal which depicts a church building on a rock, with the words die poorte van die hel sal dit nie oorweldig nie ("The gates of Hell shall not prevail against it").

Methodist Church of South Africa
The MCSA uses a badge, consisting of a white escallop charged with a voided Latin cross whose upper half is red and whose lower half is black.

Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk
The NHK was formed in 1853 by the Afrikaners who settled in the Transvaal after migrating from the Cape Colony in the 1830s and '40s. From 1858 to 1886 it was the official state church of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, and it bore - and still bears - the ZAR arms on its seal.

Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk

This is the largest of the Afrikaner reformed churches. Established in 1652, it uses congregational seals and synodal seals, and a few congregations have registered arms. The seal of the General Synod (BoH 1968), depicting a seven-branched candelabrum and a dove, with the motto een liggaam en een gees ("One body and one spirit"), serves as the emblem of the NGK as a whole.

New Nazareth Apostolic Assembly Church in Zion
This Church's seal (BoH 1995) depicts a simple cross.

Orthodox Churches
The two Orthodox Church dioceses use the badge of the Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa, based in Egypt. It depicts the winged lion of St Mark.

Roman Catholic Church
The Roman Catholic Church follows the worldwide Catholic heraldic practices, which include the use of diocesan and, occasionally, parish, arms. Bishops who are not already armigerous usually assume arms on their consecration. The Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, too, is armigerous. Some armigerous religious orders, such as the Dominicans and the Ursulines, are active in South Africa.

Zion Christian Church
The largest church in South Africa. It uses a seal depicting a five-pointed star (BoH 1966). A green and ochre (or orange?) flag, depicting a cow and a star, has been registered (BoH 1986) for the use of its presiding bishop.

Bible Colleges and Seminaries

A few theological colleges and seminaries have registered arms, some of pleasing simplicity such as those of the Theological College of SA (BoH 1967), which are simply Purpure, a Latin cross Or, and the Josua Bible Institute's Azure, two Latin crosses in saltire Or (BoH 2000).

References/Sources/Links

South African Heraldry Website © Arthur Radburn