THE SEAL AND SHIELD OF THE
EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF SOUTHEAST FLORIDA

The armorial device of the Diocese of Southeast Florida can be thought of as two stacked shields. The shield in the central foreground represents the geography of southeast Florida and the shield in the background, which is shown as a border, represents the Diocese of South Florida—a significant part of our history.

The central design symbolizes the Diocese of Southeast Florida's geographic position between the Atlantic Ocean and the Everglades. The shield is divided vertically: the right half (from the viewer's perspective) depicts waves of blue on silver for the eastern shore of Florida; and the green of the left half represents the "River of Grass" to the west.

The Cross and Sun design which overlay this section are taken from the state flag of Florida, but the medallion is inscribed with the sacred monogram "IHS" to refer to the Son of Righteousness.

The border around the central design is based on the shield of the mother diocese, the Diocese of South Florida, which was split into three dioceses including the Diocese of Southeast Florida in 1969. This design consisted of a red cross with a white outline, the upper left corner is black, the lower right is blue, and the other corners are silver.

The whole shield is ensigned with a mitre and is surrounded by the legend “Seal of the Diocese of Southeast Florida A.D. 1969”.

Blazon (description in heraldic language)

Per pale Vert and barry wavy Argent and Azure, overall a saltire Gules the dexter half fimbriated Or surmounted by a bezant charged with the Christian monogram "IHS" with the cross above the "H" Azure, all within a bordure quarterly 1st Sable, 2nd and 3rd Argent, 4th Azure, a cross Gules fimbriated Argent.

Thanks to Michael Swanson for the blazon.

High Resolution Graphic of Seal and Shield.