History: Shield and Seal History

Fides, Virtus, Scientia. These words are taken from St. Jerome's Latin translations of the Greek New Testament found in 2 Peter 1:5: pistis, arete, gnosis, that is, Faith, Virtue, and Knowledge.

The full Latin text of 2 Peter 1:5 reads: "Curam omnem subinferentes ministrate in fide vestra virtutem, in virtute autem scientiam."

The St. Andrew's flag represents both the Faith component of the mission as well as the Episcopal Church.

The scales of justice represent Virtue.

The two books represent Knowledge. The book facing up represents knowledge gained by reason and the book facing down represents knowledge gained by revelation. The open and faced down books were used by Harvard University in their crest for its first 200 years of existence to represent the dynamic relationship between reason and divine revelation.

The bright light encompassing the seal represents the glory of the Lord (Psalm 36:9, "In thy light, we see light.").