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News, events, updates, and tidbits from the Presbyterian Historical Society. Use tags to read related articles or sort by author for similar posts written by PHS staff members and volunteers.

Detroit GA 1891: Serpent on the Seal

May 21, 2014

At the 1891 General Assembly in Detroit, the Reverend Henry C. McCook and other members of the Committee on the Seal of the Church presented their recommendation for a new church emblem. In their official report, the committee members described the proposed seal and laid out arguments for its elements that alluded to biblical history and texts; Greek, Egyptian, and Hindu mythology; and earlier Presbyterian seals.

In conducting its research, the committee had discovered a seal it believed to have been adopted by the Trustees of the General Assembly as early as 1799. Featuring a...

Author: 
Jenny
Tags: 
PCUSA, General Assembly, Henry McCook
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The Unlikely Designer of Philadelphia's Flag

September 27, 2012

Written by Elaine Shilstut, Cataloging Librarian

Last month, we were contacted by a Philadelphia high school teacher researching the story behind the city of Philadelphia flag. For those of you who cannot easily visualize the flag’s design, it consists of three equal vertical bands of blue, gold, and blue. Emblazoned across the center is the city’s coat-of-arms: a shield flanked by two robed female figures, an arm holding a pair of scales at

...
Author: 
Elaine
Tags: 
American History, Philadelphia, Henry McCook
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Celebrating 400 Years of the King James Bible

October 27, 2011

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the printing of the King James Bible, also known as the King James Version or the Authorized Version. Six teams of scholars labored to produce the translation from 1604 to 1611 under the auspices of King James I of England.

American scholar John Livingston Lowes called the translation the “noblest monument of English prose” for the tremendous influence it exerted on English literary style from the seventeenth century onward.

The Society holds two early folio editions of the 1611 King James Bible, also known as the “He...

Tags: 
Henry McCook, Rare Books, Foundations of the Faith
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