Parish granted armorial bearings
On Sunday, Nov. 5, 2006, Letters Patent granting armorial bearings to the Corporatin of the Anglican Parish of St. Andrews were formally unveiled and dedicated in All Saints Church, St. Andrews.
The coat of arms, flag and badge were granted by the Chief Herald of Canada, an officer of theGovernor General’s household, who exercises the Queen’s prerogative to grant arms, flags and badges in Canada. This was in response to the petition of the rector, the Rev. Canon John A. Mathesan, and the churchwardens Mary Jean Stinson and John L. Williamson.
The coat of arms reflects the long history of the parish, which was formally established in 1786, three years after the settlement of the town by the Penobscot Loyalists from Castine, Maine.
The cross of St. George recalls the parish’s Church of England origins and carries on it the Royal Cypher 
of King George III (GR3) to mark the loyalty of the founders and the benefactions received by the parish from the crown.
The paschal lamb in the upper left quarter is the traditional symbol for St. John the Baptist, patron of the parish’s chapel of ease, built in 1846 in nearby Chamcook. The lamb carries the banner of St. Andrews from it’s cross staff to recall the original Church of St. Andrews, the parish church’s original name, and the civil parish from which the ecclesiastical parish takes its name.
The celestial crowns, on a blue field across the top of the shield, are symbolic of All Saints, the dedication of the parish church.
The motto, from 1 Peter 2:17 (Authorized Version), appears over the altar in the memorial window to the Rev. Samuel Andrews, the first rector, a Loyalist refugee from Wallingford, Connecticut, who served from 1786 until 1818. It reflects his sentiments, those of the parish founders and their present day successors.
St. Andrews may be the first parish in the diocese to receive a grant of arms. The Bishopric of Fredericton and Christ Church Cathedral received arms in 1962 and 1995, respectively.
