King Charles III deviated from tradition by praying aloud during his coronation ceremony.
The King’s Prayer
God of compassion and mercy
whose Son was sent not to be served but to serve,
give grace that I may find in thy service perfect freedom
and in that freedom knowledge of thy truth.
Grant that I may be a blessing to all thy children, of every faith and conviction,
that together we may discover the ways of gentleness
and be led into the paths of peace.
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
A simple prayer which bodes well — generically — for the future of all religions under his reign. Though the presence of several RC religious representatives at the coronation is a very strong message of reconciliation, there was no specific ‘olive twig/branch’ for Roman Catholics in this prayer.
The Oath as put to the King by the Archbishop of Canterbury, has major significance:
“Will you to the utmost of your power maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant Reformed Religion established by law?
Will you maintain and preserve inviolably the settlement of the Church of England, and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government thereof, as by law established in England?”
I look forward to hearing something from King Charles directed towards British Roman Catholics, in the near future. RCs “make up around 13% of the United Kingdom’s 67 million inhabitants, with Anglicans at 14%.” The numbers of Anglicans in the UK are diminishing rapidly so an association makes eminent sense — but may not work due to underlying fear more than the theological conflicts.
The full Liturgy is appended below. (Click image.)
Kevin Hay
(You can follow Kevin on Twitter @kevinhay77)
