Nostra:Holy Land: Difference between revisions

[[File:Theocracy Israel..png|thumb|190x190px|''Town of the Catholic Theocracy of Israel'']]

[[File:Holy Land Israel - FEB 2024..png|thumb|214x214px|''Nation of the Holy Land'']]The coat of arms of the Catholic Theocracy of Israel displays the so-called [[wikipedia:Jerusalem_cross|Jerusalem Cross]] on its shield, derived from the [[wikipedia:Kingdom_of_Jerusalem|Kingdom of Jerusalem]], a crusader state established immediately after the success of the [[wikipedia:First_Crusade|First Crusade]] in the 11th century. In this sense, the Holy Land made use of the symbolism and narratives of the medieval crusades from its very beginning. The symbolism of the five-fold cross is variously given as the [[wikipedia:Five_Holy_Wounds|Five Wounds of Christ]] or Christ and the [[wikipedia:Four_Evangelists|four evangelists]]. The bishop's staff, also known as the [[wikipedia:Crozier|crosier]], crossed with the sword behind the shield represents the elimination of the separation between state and religion: pastoral religious guidance as well as canonical ecclesiastical jurisdiction are merged and connected with civil law and government policy, each represented by the staff and the sword. The shield is surrounded by olive branches, which on the one hand have the ancient symbolism of welcoming a newly crowned king (in this case Jesus Christ himself) and on the other hand symbolise the peace (in this case the peace which comes with Christ's Kingdom). Above the shield the so-called [[wikipedia:Mitre|mitre]] is displayed, symbolising the episcopal dignity traditionally carried by the bishop on ceremonial and liturgical occasions. The [[wikipedia:Crown_of_thorns|crown of thorns]] of Jesus is depicted at the very top, symbolising the sovereign kingship of Christ over the Theocracy. The motto ''Christus vel mors'' was inscribed, which translates as ''Christ or death'', meaning the spiritual and eternal death that follows with rejecting Christ as saviour of mankind.           

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The coat of arms of the Holy Land is similar to the coat of arms of the Theocracy of Israel, but with a few changes: Christ's crown of thorns is adorned with a golden king's crown to emphasise the kingship of Christ. The olive branches are not made of gold but have their natural colour. The shield is surrounded by a chain on which the motto ''Deus Vult'' is engraved, a phrase that was originally known as ''[[wikipedia:Deus_vult|Deus lo vult]]'' (Latin: ''God wills it!'') and was used by the crowds as a cry to action when [[wikipedia:Pope_Urban_II|Pope Urban II]] called for the liberation of Jerusalem in his sermon at the [[wikipedia:Council_of_Clermont|Council of Clermont]] on 27 November 1095. In doing so, the former Pope laid the foundations for the First Crusade, which contributed to the Christian reconquest of the Holy City. In addition, the coats of arms of the oldest preserved towns of the Holy Land (besides the Theocracy of Israel) are illustrated on the olive branches: namely Byzantine Theocracy, Magna, Holy Arabia, Mons Regalis, Edessa and Crabistan. The motto ''Unity in truth'' is depicted as ''Unitas in veritas'', which stands for the unity of the different middle eastern towns under the one divine truth of the Christian religion within the Holy Land.  

ㅤ [[File:Arch Jerusalem (1) (3).png|thumb|207x207px|''Archdiocese of Jerusalem'']]The coat of arms of the Archdiocese of Jerusalem contains the Jerusalem cross depicted on the shield, above it the mitre and behind it the bishop's staff crossed with a cross: In the Catholic Church, display of a cross behind the shield is restricted to bishops and archbishops as a mark of their dignity and office. The cross of an ordinary bishop has a single horizontal bar or traverse, also known as the [[wikipedia:Latin_cross|Latin cross]]. A archbishop or patriarch uses the [[wikipedia:Archiepiscopal_cross|Archiepiscopal cross]] with two traverses, also known as the [[wikipedia:Patriarchal_cross|Patriarchal cross]]. The [[wikipedia:Papal_cross|Papal cross]] has three traverses.