The
Ecclesiastical
Arms of Reverend
Nilda Lucca de
Anaya, United
States of
America,
Ordained in 1983
by Bishop
Francisco Reus
Froylan, 5th
Episcopal Bishop
of Puerto Rico,
US. The
Episcopal Church
(TEC) is a
member church of
the worldwide
Anglican
Communion.
These arms
commemorate the
fact that the
Reverend Nilda
Lucca de Anaya
is the first
woman in Latin
America, and one
of the first in
the US, to be
ordained an
Episcopal Priest
(Anglican). A
trailblazer, her
contributions to
the Episcopal
Church have been
many, from
leading
humanitarian
missions in
Cuba, being
President of the
ECW (Episcopal
Church Women),
helping the
Lambeth Movement
allowing women
to be ordained
in the Anglican
Church in
England, to
serving at the
prestigious
National
Cathedral in
Washington, DC,
with many
articles written
about her. The
holder of a
Master’s degree
in Public Health
(MPH), the
armiger is a
graduate of the
prestigious
Episcopal
General
Theological
Seminary in New
York City,
founded in 1817.
The
traditional
design, in lieu
of crest on top
of a helmet, is
a black galero
hat with a cord
with a single
tassel at each
end denoting a
Priest. The cord
in Gules and
Sable,
represents the
colours of
Ponce, Puerto
Rico where she
was ordained.
The
symbol of the
Holy Spirit is
shown as an
intertwined
triangular knot
on the cord. The
shield in Azure
with a Chevron
in Or.
The
triquetra in
Argent below the
chevron,
signifies the
Holy Trinity,
and represents
the Holy Trinity
Church in Ponce
where the
armiger was
rector. The
Church was
organized by
British
residents in
Ponce, Puerto
Rico, as an
Anglican
congregation in
1869. They built
their first
church of wood
and metal at
this site in
1873, aided by
materials sent
by Queen
Victoria's
Government,
including a
bell, cast in
England in 1870.
The Rampart Lion
in Argent
represents the
city of Ponce,
founded and
named after Juan
Ponce de Leon in
1692 by his
grandson. The
Cross of
Jerusalem, also
in Argent,
represents the
Episcopal
Church.
The
moto in Latin
means "being
first"; the
armiger being
the first
ordained woman
priest in the
Episcopal Church
in Latin
America, and one
of the first in
the United
States.
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