The official grant of the Coat of Arms was signed on Nov.20, 1992 and published in the Canada Gazette on Dec.5, 1992. The Coat of Arms was granted as follows:
"Now Know You that pursuant to the authority vested in His Excellency the Right Honourable Ramon John Hnatyshyn, a Member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order of Canada, Chancellor and Commander of the Order of Military Merit, one of her Majesty's Counsel learned in the Law, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, to exercise the armorial prerogative of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as Queen of Canada by Letters Patent dated the 4th day of June 1988, and the terms of my Commission of Office I, the Chief Herald of Canada do hereby grant and assign to the Wachna Family Inc. the the following Arms:
Per fess Bleu Celeste and tapisse of ears of wheat Or, in chief fifteen estoiles of six points also Or; And for the crest: Upon a helmet mantled Bleu Celeste doubled Or wreathed of these colours rising out of a coronet of maple leaves and waves of the sea alternately on a rim Or a demi griffin Bleu Celeste winged beaked and membered Or holding between the talons a book proper bound and the dexter page displaying a representation of the tryzub of the Ukraine Bleu Celeste the sinister page displaying a maple Gules; And for a Motto: STRENGTH IN UNITY in both English and Ukrainian.
Symbolism of the Coat-of-Arms can be described as follows: The 15 stars over the field of wheat represents the 15 children of Anna and Theodosy raised on the prairies of Canada. The stars are derived from the "SAS" coat of arms linked to Anna and are also symbolic of the many stars Theodosy would see as a shepard boy in the Carpathian Mountains The wheat is "the staff of life",the basic sustenance of life and a Ukrainian symbol of bounty. The griffin at the top of the shield is a mythical figure which is half-eagle and half-lion from Central and Eastern Europe. The griffin is present in our historic "Gryf" coat of arms. The griffin is a guardian of treasure and in its talons it holds a book. The book represents the quest for higher education. This is a goal that Anna and Theodosy emphasized with their children and remains as a family persuit. On the pages of the book is the Tryzub of ancient Ukraine and the Maple Leaf of Canada. This represents the transition of the family from Ukraine to Canada. Also on the crown of the knight are waves and maple leaves. This signifies the crossing of the ocean to Canada. This is our Coat of Arms. May it serve us well.
Robert Wachna
Detailed view of the Coat of Arms - 1755x2830 pixels (321kB)
