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- Patron: Linda Norman-O’Briant
- Stitchers: Gayle Belcher and Melanie Folk
The Bishop’s chair is the seat reserved to the diocesan Bishop. The Bishop presides over Baptisms, Confirmations, and Ordinations from this chair, which is moved to the center of the chancel when the Bishop makes a visitation to St. Anne’s. When the Bishop is absent, the Bishop’s Chair stands adjacent to the altar in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament as a visible reminder of the Bishop’s authority and pastoral relationship to our parish.
The chair back is emblazoned with the Coat of Arms of the Diocese of Georgia, designed by Harry D. Temple, commander of the Institute of Heraldry of the United States Army and the designer of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The central gold band is taken from the Elliott coat of arms in honor of the Right Reverend Stephen Elliott, the first bishop of Georgia. The two thin parallel silver stripes are memorials to Dr. Thomas Bray, to whom the Episcopal Church in Georgia traces its beginning, and Dr. Henry Herbert, the first English priest in Georgia. The boar’s head is from the coat of arms of General James Oglethorpe, who brought the Church of England to Georgia in 1733. The two Cherokee roses, whose petals are silver with sepals and pistils of gold, symbolize the Church’s service to Georgia. The background of the shield is blue, chosen in part for its general symbolism of truth, honor and enlightenment. Surrounding the shield are the traditional ecclesiastical symbols of the Holy Catholic Church: miter, crozier and key. This was adopted by Bishop Albert Rhett Stuart and the Diocesan Council at their April 1971 meeting as the result of the work of Bishop Paul Reeves, who was then the Bishop Coadjutor.
The seat is designed with a wash basin and pitcher, a reminder to all bishops that their “joy will be to follow him who came, not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Adapted from Diocese of Georgia sources and the Book of Common Prayer