The Archdiocesan Coat of Arms
Atlanta,
known as the "Crossroads of the South," because of converging railroads which
gave the city its early prominence, received its name as the eastern
terminus of the Western and Atlantic Railroad which connected north Georgia
with the Tennessee River. Originally called Whitehall, then Terminus, and
afterwards in 1843, Marthasville, the state legislature finally acquiesced
to the wishes of the railroad and accepted the name of Atlanta in 1847, thus
naming the city indirectly after the Atlantic Ocean.
The Atlantic Ocean is represented on the shield of the Coat of Arms by white and blue wavy bars, the heraldic equivalent of the waves of the sea; seven bars in number to symbolize the Seven Sacraments.
The crown of Christ the King denotes the title of the cathedral church, the Eternal King whose redeeming Sacrifice on the Cross is renewed daily in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Above the crown is placed the Cherokee rose, the State flower of Georgia (Rosa Laevigata), as befits an archdiocese located in the Capital City. The Cherokee rose is a white flower with a yellow center.
The crown of Christ the King on the shield also has the secondary representation of the crown of King George II of England after whom Georgia was named. The blue and white wavy bands may be said as well to symbolize the rolling foothills of the Blue Ridge country; but more importantly they are the colors of our Blessed Mother.