- The Governor General of Canada
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Nikita James Nanos
Ottawa, Ontario
Grant of Arms, Flag and Badge, with differences to James Nikita Labbé Nanos, Gregory Nikita Labbé Nanos, Paul Nikita Labbé Nanos and Marc Nikita Labbé Nanos
August 20, 2004
Vol. IV, p. 390
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Blazon
Arms
Gyronny of eight Azure and Argent a cross and saltire all counterchanged, overall an eight-pointed star Or;
Crest
Issuant from a coronet erablé Argent a demi double-headed eagle Or gorged with a collar of trillium flowers proper pendent therefrom a gemstone Azure;
Motto
TO THY WORD BE TRUE;
Symbolism
Arms
Mr. Nanos is a direct descendent of the Nanos and Sekeris clans in Greece and uses the blue and white colours of Greece as well as the Greek cross and the cross of St. Andrew (who is the patron saint of the Patriarchate of Constantinople). The central gold star takes a shape often used for honours and contains two allusions, of honour and wealth. The first is to Mr. Nanos’s great-great-great-grandfather who was awarded the Gold Medal, known as the Chruseon Ariston, by King Otto of Greece. The second is to the uncle of Mr. Nanos’s great-great-great-grandfather. This uncle was the Treasurer of the Filiki Etevia, a secret society with a twelve-person executive that initiated and funded the 1821 Greek Revolution. The Sekeris family were merchants operating in Greece, Russia and France, and they were the first major family of wealth to support the Revolution.
Crest
The coronet represents the Canadian family. The double-headed eagle alludes to the faith of Mr. Nanos and to the origins of the Nanos family in northern Greece and southern Albania. The gemstone and collar of trillium flowers repeat the ideas mentioned in the badge as well as that of invulnerable faith and of Mr. Nanos’s home province of Ontario.
Motto
The words allude to the importance of integrity and honesty, which are critical to his profession as a public opinion pollster.