A System of Heraldry for the Anglican Ordinariates

My first substantive article for The Anglo-Catholic, a website dedicated to the nascent Ordinariates, is being published today. You can read it here. It is a treatment of how the Ordinariates might preserve a number of Anglican heraldic traditions (some of which are themselves strongly reminiscent of medieval heraldic custom) within the larger Roman Catholic system, and, while by no means the last word on the subject, should be intended to get this very interesting discussion going. Ecclesiastical heraldry is a subject even many liturgically-minded Catholics do not understand well, which is a pity, as like church art and architecture it has preserved the art of thinking symbolically, something almost wholly lost to most people today, and a habit necessary to the cultivation of the Christian imagination. The Ordinariates, in this area, as in so many others, has the potential to be rich in tradition while at the same time forging ahead to cover new and unexpected ground. I look forward to further discussion and comments on the subject, here or over at The Anglo-Catholic.