THREE BLAZING STARS.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 27 September 1927, Page 8

THREE BLAZING STARS.

ARMS OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF NEW ZEALAND. F.or the purposes of its official seal, as well as for tradition's sake, an Archdiocese or Diocese requires a distinctive heraldic coat of arms. There is a currious story concerning the arms chosen, by the Archbishop of New Zealand, relates the "Church News." Once the Diocese of New Zealand had arms of its own—three blazing stars, "arranged one and two" on a blue ground." When the subdivisions came, the northern diocese of Auckland was defined and it retained, rightly or wrongly, the New Zealand coat of arms in its entirety (probably on the ground of the residence of Bishop Selwyn, who retained the title Bishop o£New Zealand till he resigned). Each new diocese, to indicate its parentage, incorporates the three stars in a canton (a small square) on the dexter side of the shield, with its own distinctive emblem on the body of the shield. Thus Christchureh has the vertical cross with the letters "I.X.V superimposed, aind the New Zealand emblem in the top dexter segment: Waikato has just adopted arms with the stars in that position, and on the body of the shield dexter a broad wavy band of blue (the river Waikato) on silver ground, sinister (left), a silver chevron (Mount Egmont) with azure (sky) above and vert (green grass) below. This arrangement prov«d satisfactory until General Synod decided that the province should have an archbishop. It was desirable that he should have official arms, and the most natural thing would have been to take the original arms of the New Zealand Church. But, as General Synod foolishly did not choose Auckland as the fixed seat of the archbishop, and preferred to make the position elective, it couldn't resume possession of its lawful arms and instruct Auckland to choose another coat of arms like unto the rest of the dioceses, without upsetting Auckland, and no one likes to do that, of course; But the heraldic experts were not to lie beaten. They took Bishop Selwyn's three stars and superimposed on the blue shield quite appropriately an archbishop's pallium (vestment), in the midst of the shield, its three projections fitting in admirably between the stars. The episcopal mitre above the shield [gave place to the archbishop's cross.