During the Sept. 13 service of consecration of the new bishop of the Diocese of Massachusetts, colleagues and friends presented the Rt. Rev. Alan M. Gates with numerous vestments and symbols of his new office.
These included a Bible, presented by the chief consecrator, the Rt. Rev. Stephen T. Lane, Bishop of Maine.
The Diocese of Massachusetts presented gifts of a stole and matching chasuble (a sleeveless outer vestment) and the episcopal ring. The signet-style ring, engraved with the diocesan shield, is a symbol of the bishop's legal authority in the church and is used to make a wax seal on official church documents.
The new bishop's cope (a capelike vestment) and matching stole are gifts of St. Paul's Church in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where he served for 10 years as the rector. His mitre (the pointed headdress worn by bishops) is a gift of his colleagues on the St. Paul's parish staff. These vestments were designed and fabricated by Patrick Boylan of Grace Liturgical Vestments in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Matthew Cavanaugh
Bishop Hollingsworth presents the crozier.
Gates's crozier--reminiscent of a shepherd's crook, symbolizing the bishop's role as shepherd of the diocese--is a gift of the Diocese of Ohio. Designed by the Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth Jr., Bishop of Ohio, and crafted by him and Abe Yoder, an Amish craftsman from Baltic, Ohio, it is made of white oak, harvested in Ohio's Amish country.
The pectoral cross also was a gift of St. Paul's Church, courtesy of the William and Mary Conway family. It was designed by Gates together with artist Amy Conway, and executed by Amy Conway Studio LLC.
The form of the cross is modeled after the Canterbury cross with four arms of equal length, each
Courtesy Photo
Bishop Gates's pectoral cross
broadening at its outer end to create an overall circular shape. The Canterbury cross is associated with the Anglican Communion.
The addition of four small crosses, one in each quadrant of the primary central cross, is patterned after the Jerusalem cross. The symbolism of this five-cross form is variously associated with Christ and the four corners of the earth, Christ and the four evangelists, or the five wounds of Christ. This element of the design celebrates the longstanding partnership which the Diocese of Massachusetts has with the Diocese of Jerusalem. In addition, the Jerusalem cross is associated with the Washington National Cathedral where Gates was confirmed and ordained deacon.
Each arm of the central cross displays a small engraved symbol. The vertical arm has two symbols of divinity. The triquetra at the top is symbolic of the Holy Trinity. The Christogram at the bottom contains the Chi Rho, the first two letters of the Greek word “Christ.” The horizontal arm has two symbols referencing Gates’s call to serve in the Diocese of Massachusetts. At the left is a mayflower, the state flower of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. At the right is a chambered nautilus, a symbol connected with the diocesan Cathedral Church of St. Paul, evoking the affirmation of Jesus that “in my Father’s house are many rooms.”
The center of the cross is adorned with an amethyst, a stone which by virtue of its purple color is associated with the office of bishop.