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Dear Friends,
Tomorrow, millions of people around the world will watch something which has not taken place since June 2nd, 1953: the crowning and anointing of a British Monarch.
Yes, we here in America definitively threw off the British monarchy in the 1700s, and yet (judging by the media consumption) we in the 21st century cannot seem to get enough of them, albeit from afar.
Whatever your feelings or thoughts about monarchy, or specifically the British monarchy, I would like to highlight one thing which is nothing short of remarkable. Amidst all the pomp and pageantry that will be on display tomorrow, at the heart of the Coronation rite is the celebration of the Mass -- the Holy Eucharist -- according to our beloved Book of Common Prayer.
There have been some additions and alterations to the 1662 rite -- and as far as I can tell, all for the better. The whole Order of Service begins with a language about the Kingdom of God, and in this season of Eastertide, boldly proclaims, "Alleluia. The Lord is Risen. He is risen indeed Alleluia." Following the anointing, a rite which goes all the way back to the Kings of Israel, when Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed Solomon king, the service of Holy Communion will resume, with words that should be very familiar to our Episcopalian ears.
This should not be a remarkable thing, and yet it is. In an increasingly secular age, the world will witness an unapologetic expression of the Christian/Anglican faith, and the crowning of a national leader explicitly rooted in that faith. This is part of what made the late Queen's annual Christmas Speech so notable: she alone among world leaders made an unshakeable statement of faith and hope rooted in love of Christ and his teachings, and left no doubt that Jesus Christ shaped her own life.
We live in a country that was explicitly founded without an established Church or established Religion, so that no one faith was given priority over another. Yes, the elected President swears on oath with a hand on the Bible, and it is clear that many a President has made decisions that are deeply informed by their faith -- but it is simply not the same thing as what the British monarch is able to do. (Am I envious of our British siblings on this point? You may rightly assume, Yes.)
And so, I hope you will rejoice and give thanks along with me for what this Coronation will ultimately offer to the world -- an expression of our Faith, and a statement of the centrality of the Eucharist in the Church's life. Ultimately, despite all the attention on His Majesty King Charles and his wife Queen Camilla, the Coronation rite reminds us that there is only one true King from whom all kingship is derived, and is the King not of a nation, but of all the world, of all time, and of every heart: Our Lord Jesus Christ.
To Him be all majesty, dominion, praise, glory, and endless adoration, now and to the end of the ages.
Fr. Benjamin+
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