The last week of 2023 saw a relatively uncommon event in the life of the church in North America: the publication of an official grant of heraldic arms to an American-born Anglican bishop, the Rt. Rev. Terry M. Brown. Armorial bearings in Canada are created and granted by the Canadian Heraldic Authority (CHA) according to the same legal, established practices as in the United Kingdom. Since the 1988 Royal Letters Patent from Queen Elizabeth II, the CHA has granted arms to many bishops and clergy of the Anglican Church of Canada, but Bishop Brown may be the first to hold both American and Canadian citizenship.
Canadian grants of arms use the same complex vocabulary to describe visual components, rooted in early modern English, Anglo-Norman legal French, Latin, and any languages that may be relevant to the life of the grantee, as is apparent in Bishop Brown’s grant using Solomon Island Pijin in homage to his five decades of missionary service among Anglicans in Melanesia. The CHA governs grant and registration within the Canadian honors system of personal coats of arms, corporate coats of arms (for a diocese), corporate flags, personal flags, and badges with government-recognized authority. It also governs the registration of indigenous emblems for First Nations, Inuit, and Metis subjects of the King of Canada, Charles III. Since 1988, almost 6,500 such grants have been published in the Public Register of Arms, Flags, and Badges of Canada.
Bishop Brown, born in Iowa in 1944, was educated in Iowa and Michigan, receiving a B.A. at Kalamazoo College before beginning doctoral studies at Brandeis that were interrupted by U.S. Army service in Japan in the late 1960s. He began a lifelong connection with the Anglican Church of Canada after his return from the military, and trained for ordination at Trinity College, Toronto.
After his ordination to the priesthood, his main ministries were lecturer at Bishop Patteson Theological Centre in the Solomon Islands from 1975 to 1981, tutor in church history at Trinity College Toronto from 1981 to 1984, and Asia/Pacific mission coordinator for the Anglican Church of Canada’s General Synod from 1985 to 1996. He was consecrated Bishop of Malaita, Melanesia, in 1996, retiring in 2008 and serving during transitions as acting primate.
In the 16 years since his retirement, Bishop Brown has served as assisting bishop in the Diocese of Niagara, as priest in charge of a local parish, as a participant in my archival and historical work through his patronage of Project Canterbury, and as a key figure in the Solomon Islands Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The commission was formed to investigate the causes of local ethnic violence between 1997 and 2003 involving groups in his diocese and neighboring Guadalcanal.
He visits friends and family in the United States frequently and has recently returned from a post-COVID trip to the Solomons for the consecration of a successor and to help oversee the creation of a new diocese of Southern Malaita and Sikaiana.
The Canadian Heraldic Authority’s description of the Arms follows.
Arms of Terry Michael Brown
From the website of the Governor General of Canada, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon
Blazon
Per fess enhanced Vert and Azure a bar wavy Argent between in chief a chalice issuant therefrom a host flanked by two wings displayed and in base a cross moline voided throughout Or;
Symbolism
Green and blue, the colours of the Solomon Islands flag, refer to the bountiful land and sea of the island nation, where Bishop Brown spent a lengthy portion of his career. The wavy band represents the surf and waves through which he frequently travelled in his former diocese. These features also evoke the arms of the Anglican Diocese of Niagara, his current place of canonical residence. The chalice and host allude to Bishop Brown’s sacramental ministry, as well as to the subject of his doctoral thesis, the Society of the Catholic Commonwealth, which used the chalice and host as its emblem. The wings make a punning allusion to Saint Michael the Archangel and Bishop Brown’s middle name. As eagle wings, they refer to the country of his birth and long-time place of residence, the eagle being the national bird of both the United States of America, and the Solomon Islands’ province of Malaita. The stylized cross is based on a design for a walking staff created for Bishop Brown during his time in Solomon Islands by members of the Melanesian Brotherhood; its points evoke a flying bird and, therefore, the dove of the Holy Spirit.
Motto
Blazon
HEMI KAMAP OLSEM WAKAMAN;
Symbolism
This Solomon Islands Pijin phrase, meaning “He became like a worker-man,” derives from the Bible, Philippians 2:7, “[Christ] took the form of a servant.” It represents Bishop Brown’s practice of mission, which focuses on the theology of kenosis (the self-emptying of power to take on servanthood). The use of Pijin shows Bishop Brown’s love for the province of Malaita, for his former diocese there, and for the people of Solomon Islands.