"Who hast at this time consecrated thy servant Charles to be our King": the joyful Laudian heart on the eve of Coronation Day

The first Charles promoted the Laudian vision.  The second Charles restored a Laudian vision.  And the third Charles? The Coronation liturgy of the third Charles is demonstrating the continued resonance of a Laudian vision.

Let us reflect on five ways in which the Coronation liturgy is deeply Laudian.

Firstly, the Eucharistic rite in the Coronation liturgy is fundamentally rooted in the Prayer Book tradition.  Yes, it is not 1662 - but is much closer to 1662 than the Eucharistic rite in the vast majority of Church of England parishes. The words of 1662 will be heard in the preface, Sanctus, Prayer of Consecration, Prayer of Oblation, the words of administration, and in the post-communion prayer. Mindful of current liturgical practice in the Church of England, this is an outcome worthy of recognition and support.

It reflects the King's well-known commitment to the Book of Common Prayer. As Prince of Wales, he was patron of the Prayer Book Society.  He presented prizes at the Society's inaugural Cranmer Awards in 1989 and, doing so again in 2019, spoke of the ongoing significance of the BCP: "as you get older, the words in the prayer book mean more and more and more". 

Laud's defence of conformity to the Prayer Book and its ceremonies, in the face of an angry Puritan agitation which refused to accept the authority of Church and Crown, finds vindication in the Eucharistic rite in the Coronation liturgy. What is more, if we wanted to be slightly mischievous, we might also point out that this Eucharistic rite is very close indeed to that in the 1637 Book of Common Prayer for Scotland, promulgated by Charles I and robustly defended by Laud.

Added to which, of course, is the fact that the Coronation liturgy will see rochet and chimere, the cope, surplice, tippet, and hood: that goodly, decent order which Laud defended against sectarian agitation, what he described as "the upholding of the Externall Worship of God".

Secondly, the Coronation liturgy showcases the choral tradition which Laud valued and defended, and which the Puritans despised and tore down. Consider, for example, Laud's 1634 letter to the Dean and Chapter of Norwich Cathedral, in which he counselled appointment of livings as Petty Canons "without any respect had to ye Quire, which if itt bee, will vtterly overthrowe ye Quire Service, and you will not be able to reteine either voyces or skill amongst you". By contrast, during the dark years of the Interregnum, "Quires and Places where they sing" were forcibly disbanded, until the Restoration when, in the words of one Laudian preacher at that time, the Church of England could again "sing the Offices of heaven with Angels, and Archangels, and all the holy Spirits, with joy and gladness for evermore".

The fact that the King has personally commissioned choral pieces for the Coronation liturgy also has a truly Laudian character, reflecting Charles I's princely care for the churches of his realms and his joy in their choral tradition.

Thirdly, it is significant that the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh, the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, and the Archbishop of the Church in Wales each have a role in the Coronation rite.  Here is a reflection of the Caroline and Laudian vision of the episcopal national churches of these Islands, what the Laudian Bramhall described as "the Britannick Churches". 

In his study of Bramhall, John McCafferty notes that the Laudian vision for the Irish and Scottish churches was "centred on a royal, not Canterburian, supremacy". Now, of course, the Irish and Welsh churches are disestablished, while episcopacy has not known establishment in Scotland since the Glorious Revolution. The point, however, is not current establishment status.  Rather, it is that these national episcopal churches owe an historic debt to the Crown, which secured their existence in the face of the claims of both Roman papacy and Genevan consistory. This historic debt will be reflected at the Coronation, when the primates of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales take their place alongside Canterbury and York.

Fourthly, the Coronation liturgy has a deeply ecumenical dimension: the prior blessing of the Chrism by the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, with the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem; the Pope's gift of a relic of the True Cross for the Coronation; and the participation of the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster and Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Thyateira & Great Britain in the Blessing. This reflects something of the Laudian vision of the national episcopal churches of this realm having their place alongside the churches of the East and those of the West, what the Canons of 1604 described as "the Churches of Italy, France, Spain". On this was founded the Laudian ambition for a union of national episcopal churches embracing the Lutheran kingdoms, the Orthodox East, and the Gallican church. The ecumenical dimension of the Coronation, therefore, brings joy to the Laudian heart.

And what of our brothers and sisters in the non-episcopal churches? The Moderator of the Church of Scotland presents the Bible to the King in the Coronation liturgy, while the Moderator of the Free Churches in England participates in the Blessing. A chastened, wiser Laudianism will recognise that such involvement by the historic non-episcopal churches of this realm in a Coronation, according to Anglican rites and ceremonies, stands in stark contrast to a time in our history marked by violent rejection of episcopacy, liturgy, and the Crown; and when, in the 1630s and post-1662, the way of charity was overtaken by coercion by Star Chamber and Conventicle Act.  The peace of the realm and of the church - gifts cherished by the Laudian heart - are served by a generosity and charity extended by the church by law established to Dissenting brethren. 

Fifthly, there is the provision the King has made for the rite of anointing in the Coronation. Contrary to some earlier media speculation, this will continue to be a rite administered privately, emphasising its sacral character and meaning for the King. The beautiful Anointing Screen will facilitate this. (And do read Francis Young's superb account of the King's sacral understanding of the monarchy.)

Some rather silly reporting on the sacral character of the anointing in the Coronation has evoked the idea of 'divine right monarchy' and 'absolutism', views often - but entirely wrongly - associated with the Laudians.  Laud explicitly denied that the Crown had "absolute and unlimited power". As Iain M. MacKenzie shows in his excellent study of Laudian constitutional thought, they regarded divine vocation as applying to all parts of the mixed constitution:

They applied it to monarch, parliament, and those set to execute the laws so made, the magistrates.  In all this and in all these, there is stressed the sense of vocation to the decrees of God as fulfilled in Christ.

He continues:

In the Laudian view, the place and standing of the monarch, in the ordering of Christ, through the enabling of the Spirit, in the decree of the Father, is to uphold and order that oikonomia of God, the only sure foundation of man and states.

This is what the anointing in the Coronation signifies: that the King recalls the entire polity to be rooted and grounded in the duties and obligations bestowed by the God of peace and love. Justice, parliaments, the liberties of the subject, the King's Peace, the commonweal: these are gifts of God, to be cherished and protected, for the good and peaceable ordering of our common life. The King's anointing at the Coronation is a sign that this ordering of the realm is the gift of God, bestowed by God for our flourishing.

Tomorrow, therefore, the Laudian heart can rejoice in a Coronation liturgy which is deeply Laudian, powerfully evoking the Laudian vision of church and commonwealth, and doing so in a manner which promotes the peace of both (a matter dear to the Laudian heart).

It is appropriate to conclude this eve of Coronation Day post with three prayers from the devotions of Archbishop Laud.

For the King:

O Lord, grant the King a long life, that his years may endure as many ages: Furnish him with wise and safe Counsels, and give him a heart of courage and constancy to pursue them. O prepare thy loving mercy and faithfulness for him, that they may preserve him; so will I always sing Praises unto thy Name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For the Church:

O Lord, we humbly beseech thee to keep thy Church and Household continually in thy true Religion, that they which do lean only upon hope of thy heavenly Grace, may evermore be defended by thy mighty power: And that I may humbly and faithfully serve thee in this thy Church, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For the Commonweal:

Lord, bless this Kingdom, that Religion and Virtue may season all sorts of men; that there may be Peace within the Gates, and Plenty within the Palaces of it. In Peace I beseech thee to preserve it, that it corrupt not: In War so defend it, that it suffer not: In Plenty so order it, that it riot not: In Want so pacify and moderate it, that it may patiently and peaceably seek thee, the only full supply both of Men and States; that so it may continue a Place and a People to do thee service to the end of time, through Jesus Christ our only Saviour and Redeemer. Amen.

God save the King.