Saint Luke's Cathedral, Sault Ste. Marie

Heraldry of the World Civic heraldry of Canada > Ecclesiastical heraldry

SAINT LUKE'S CATHEDRAL (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario)

Denomination : Anglican

Official blazon
Per chevron Azure and Vert in chief three bars wavy Argent surmounted by a pale counterchanged in base an ox passant regardant Argent winged unguled and haloed Or and over all a chevron rompu also Or in the fess point an open Bible Argent bound Or; Supporters: A representation of a cathedra bearing on the tympanum between two trillium flowers all proper the arms of the Anglican Bishopric of Algoma as granted by the English Kings of Arms (Azure a Pastoral Staff and a Key wards upwards in saltire Or surmounted by an open book proper in chief a Celestial Crown of the second and in base a sprig of Maple of three leaves slipped also proper); Motto : OUR SPIRITS REJOICE

Origin/meaning

The arms were granted on September 15, 1995.

The wavy blue and white bars depict the series of waterfalls at Sault Ste. Marie, and the three-fold division symbolizes the Holy Trinity. The colour green refers to the ground upon which the cathedral stands. The “chevron rompu” is used here to represent a church-with-tower, thus a direct reference to St. Luke’s as a religious institution. The open Bible stands as the foundation for the congregational worship at St. Luke’s Cathedral. The winged bull is the symbol of the apostle Luke, the cathedral’s patron saint. This symbol appears in white and gold to represent purity.

The arms are held by an artistic rendition of a bishop’s cathedra, used to show the cathedral status of St. Luke’s. The arms of the Diocese of Algoma and trillium flowers appear on the cathedra.

The motto is taken from St. Luke’s gospel (Luke 1:46) and speaks to the communal spirit of worshippers.

Literature : Information and image from here