Arms of Gregory John Bittman

Blazon

Per fess nebuly Gules and Argent, in chief a dove volant affronty, in base a lamp enflamed counterchanged;

Symbolism

Red is a colour found in the arms or flags of Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Poland, thus marking Bishop Bittman’s ancestry. Red and white are the colours of Canada. The dove is the attribute of Pope St. Gregory the Great, thus alluding to Bishop Bittman’s first name as well as the fact that he was ordained a bishop on the feast day of St. Gregory. The dove is also a symbol of the Holy Spirit, of peace and love, and of the faithful. Its depiction in the arms is based on a stained glass window in St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, thus connecting Bishop Bittman’s exercise of the apostolic ministry of a bishop with St. Peter, numbered as the first apostle. The lamp is a symbol of nursing, a reference to Bishop Bittman’s profession as a Registered Nurse prior to his reception of holy orders. A lamp is also a Christian symbol, a metaphor for the Word of God. Its flame alludes to the flames above the disciples’ heads on the day of Pentecost to the shape of a bishop’s mitre, and to the enflamed Sacred Heart of Jesus, marking the fact that Bishop Bittman was ordained a deacon on the Feast of the Sacred Heart. The division line resembling clouds alludes to the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, on which Bishop Bittman was ordained a priest.