The Bishops' Conference of Scotland (BCoS) has a new Coat of Arms, created by one of the oldest heraldic courts in the world.

The Lord Lyon, Rev Dr Joseph John Morrow, recently presented the design to Archbishop Cushley at St Bennet's in Edinburgh who in turn shared it at a recent meeting of the Bishops' Conference.

The design is registered by the Lyon Court, one of the oldest heraldic courts in the world, under the authority of The King.

Archbishop Cushley described the design, saying: "Coats of arms are intended to convey a description of the person or institution in question.

"In this case, the saltire represents Scotland and its principal patron St Andrew.

"The gold martlet (bird) is taken from the coat of arms of St Margaret of Scotland, the secondary patron of our nation.

"The two crossed-over bishops’ croziers represent the two ecclesiastical provinces that exist in Scotland today, of St Andrews & Edinburgh and of Glasgow respectively.

"The red tressure (border) around the inner rim of the coat of arms, in canon law indicates episcopal authority over a given area, while in Scots heraldry the tressure symbolises a clan or group of colleagues, thus indicating the bishops as a conference.

"Finally, the Celtic Cross behind the arms reminds us of the very ancient roots of the Catholic Church in Scotland, going back to St Ninian in the fourth century AD."