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The Seal of the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church was designed by the Reverend Arnold Harris Hord, a charter member, and adopted at the Annual Meeting of April 20, 1939. In the language of heraldry, these arms are described as Purpure, a pale gules with the Tower of the Church at Jamestown argent, date 1607 above and 1910 below, between the Arms of the See of Canterbury and an Iona Cross of the last, a bordure or, with the inscription sable.

Seal of the Historical Society

Shield of the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church

THE TOWER OF THE CHURCH AT JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIARepresents the founding of the Church in the United States in the year 1607. The date appears above the Tower and the Society's date founding, 1910, appears below.

​THE ARMS OF THE SEE OF CANTERBURY
Represents the English Succession in the American Church, a reminder that to the Church of England it “is indebted under God, for her first foundation and a long continuance of nursing care and protection.”

THE IONA CROSS
Represents the Scottish Succession in the American Church. A copy of an ancient cross in St. Oran's Chapel, the oldest church building on the Island of Iona, it is the type of cross used by the early Scottish Church. The Iona Monastery is “long regarded as the Mother Church” of Scotland.

MOTTO — Quid operatus sit Deus in Christo
The Latin Vulgate (1881)  translated into English is: “What God has done in Christ.” Its inspiration is from Numbers 23:23 (Old Testament) and Ephesians 1:20 and is intended to define, in some measure, the fundamental purpose and function of the Historical Society to share the workings of God in the Episcopal Church. 

Historical Society of the Episcopal Church

Dedicated to preserving and disseminating information about the history of the Episcopal Church and its antecedents.
A 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization established for educational, charitable and religious purposes.
(920) 383-1910 | administration@hsec.us | PO Box 1301, Appleton, WI 54912-1301 | © 2021

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