Anton Ranjith Pillainayagam

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ANTON RANJITH PILLAINAYAGAM

Born : September 23, 1966
Deceased :

Auxiliary Bishop of Colombo, 2020-present; Titular Bishop of Materiana

Official blazon

- impossible to blazon **

Origin/meaning

The shape of the shield is designed on St Patrick's College Coat of Arms. The overlapping "A" and "M" are acronymic letters of "Ave Maria," demarcating the shield into six parts. The two topmost triangles, each enclosing a lily, are coloured purple and brown, respectively. The diamond shape in between them is colored green with a flame atop a halberd. The dexter and sinister sides are replete with red flames of fire over a yellow background. The lower half has a Yarl on the left and a clover leaf on the other. The bottom part has a Church dome silhouette circumscribing the logo of Jubilee Year 2000.

The lily inscribed in a purple shaded triangle signifies St. Joseph, whose staff according to non-biblical accounts blossomed when he visited his future wife, the Blessed Virgin Mary, to show her, that he had been chosen by God. The other triangle in brown with a lily symbolizes St. Anthony's purity and his lifelong struggle against the devil.

The green diamond shape enfolds a tongue of fire over a halberd since St. Jude received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and has been commonly depicted brandishing a pole or halberd. Tradition says he was clubbed or hacked to death in Persia evoking the Bishop's readiness to give his life for love of Jesus Christ.

The lateral extremes are replete with flames of fire of the Holy Spirit. There is a renewed outpouring of the Spirit of Truth and Love in the episcopate and the same Paraclete assists the Bishop in his task of shepherding. Bishop Anton Ranjith hails from Jaffna , this is symbolized by the Yarl and his mind was moulded and nurtured at St. Patrick's College, represented by the shamrock leaf. He received his Priestly Ordination during the Jubilee Year 2000,depicted by the logo, for the Archdiocese of Colombo signified by the dome of the Basilica at Tewatta that is dedicated to Our Lady of Lanka.

For his motto, Bishop Anton Ranjith has adopted the Latin biblical phrase, "DOMINUS EST," translated as, "It is the Lord." These were the words uttered by a disciple whom Jesus loved right after the second miraculous catch of fish a following the Resurrection (cf. Jn. 21:4-7). The disciples responded to the call without knowing that He was Jesus. Many times Bishop Anton also had responded without knowing that it was the Lord who was guiding him. But the end result of every act had made him realize and say with time like the disciple "It is the Lord" who had guided him.