THE EPISCOPAL FLAG - HISTORY AND MEANING

In 1940, on the 251st anniversary of the ratification of Episcopal church’s Constitution, Canons, and the first Book of Common Prayer, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church adopted an official flag and seal.   The flag was designed by William Baldwin, a member of the Cathedral of the Incarnation on Long Island, NY.  The white field represents the purity of the Christian religion.  The red cross represents the sacrifices of Jesus and Christian martyrs.  The red cross on a white field is the cross of St. George, the patron saint of England, indicating our affiliation with the Church of England.  The “Madonna Blue” field in the upper left hand corner represents Christ’s human nature which He received from His mother.  The nine white crosslets on the blue field represent the original nine dioceses of the Episcopal Church when it was founded in 1789.  The nine crosslets are arranged in the form of St. Andrew’s cross, the patron saint of Scotland, commemorating that Samuel Seabury, the first American bishop, was consecrated there in 1784.  The red, white, and blue colors represent the United States as the American branch of the Anglican Communion.  The same design is used in our Episcopal seal.  

​~ Dr. Gil Haas