The Episcopal Shield
Several crosses appear on the shield. The large, red cross that divides the shield is a cross of St. George, the cross of the Church of England, and it represents our ties with our mother church.
There are nine small crosses in the upper left quadrant arranged in a St. Andrew's cross, the cross of the Church of Scotland. When no Anglican bishop of the Church of England would ordain a bishop for the fledgling Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA, bishops of the Church of Scotland agreed to lay hands on Samuel Seabury, ordaining him the first bishop of the "Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States of America" (ECUSA). This cross honors the part the Church of Scotland played in the birth of our church.
Each of the nine small crosses that comprises the St. Andrew's cross represents one of the nine dioceses that in 1789 founded the ECUSA.
The shield's layout, which is reminiscent of the American flag (the founding fathers of the ECUSA were also the founding fathers of our country), and its red, white, and blue motif signify that the ECUSA is the American representative to the Anglican Communion. The colors each have a symbolic meaning: Red is for the blood Christ shed for us and for the lives of the martyrs of our faith; White is the color of purity; Blue is the traditional color of the Virgin Mary, the mother of the Son of Man.