Our Diocesan Seal and History

The Diocesan Seal

The official seal of the Diocese of Oregon was accepted by the twentieth Annual Meeting of the Diocesan Convention in 1908.

This final seal includes the Arms of the Diocese of Oregon designed by Mr. Pierre de Chaignan la Rose,  and the inscription Sigillum Dioecesis Oregonesis Conditae MDCCCLXXXIX (Seal of the Diocese of Oregon, Established 1889).

Included in the Seal:

    • Episcopal Ornaments: Mitre, Keys, Crozier
    • Vesica Piscis, the fish-like shape symbol for Jesus of Nazareth
    • Shield
    • Crosses-Crosslets: three Missionary Crosses
    • Fesse: horizontal stripe in the middle of the shield, red for the Oregon Trail
    • Roses: to represent the city of Portland
    • The border and inscription

The diocesan logo is a modern translation of the seal, not a replacement. The wooden seal pictured hangs in the diocesan office.

The Diocesan History

1847
 The first recorded service using the American Book of Common Prayer in the Pacific Northwest
1836
 The first Anglican priest arrives in Oregon
1851
 The first missionary arrives in Portland, Oregon, and establishes Trinity Parish, Portland (now Trinity Episcopal Cathedral), also established: Grace, Champoeg; Ascension, Lafayette; St. John the Evangelist, Milwaukie; and St. Paul, Salem
1853
 The first convocation of clergy and laity of The Episcopal Church in the Oregon and Washington Territories met, and the Rt. Rev. Thomas Fielding Scott was elected first Missionary Bishop
December 3, 1868
 The Rt. Rev. Benjamin Wistar Morris consecrated as the second bishop
October 8, 1889
 Officially becomes the Diocese of Oregon
September 29, 1906
 The Rt. Rev. Charles Scadding consecrated as the third bishop
January 6, 1915
 The Rt. Rev. Walter Sumner consecrated as the fourth bishop
February 12, 1936
 The Rt. Rev. Benjamin Dagwell consecrated as the fifth bishop
August 24, 1958
 The Rt. Rev. James W. F. Carman was consecrated as the sixth bishop
1958
 The “Bishop’s Close,” the 13-acre Elk Rock, Kerr Estate was given to the diocese
January 31, 1974
 The Rt. Rev. Matthew Bigliardi was consecrated as the seventh bishop
November 30, 1985
 The Rt. Rev. Robert Ladehoff was consecrated as the eighth bishop
September 20, 2003
 The Rt. Rev. Johncy Itty was consecrated as the ninth bishop
April 18, 2008 –
April 10, 2012
 The Rt. Rev. Sanford “Sandy” Zangwell Hampton served as Assisting Bishop of Oregon
April 10, 2010
 The Rt. Rev. Michael Hanley was consecrated as the tenth bishop
January 30, 2021
 The Rt. Rev. Diana Akiyama was consecrated as the eleventh bishop

 

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