The 60th anniversary celebrations of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II were both a demonstration of the ability of the Church of England to rise to the state occasion and a poignant reminder of how far we have declined as a nation in the lifetime of our reigning monarch.
Watching TV footage of the coronation, I heard more than one commentator remark on the oil with which the Queen was anointed, symbolising that monarchy was conferred on her by God.
And this was no ‘abstract’, ‘all faiths’ God. The oil was administered, and the crown placed on her head, by the Archbishop of Canterbury. And, before this, he had asked her on oath: ‘Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the Laws of God and the true profession of the gospel? 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? And will you preserve unto the bishops and clergy of England, and to the churches there committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges, as by law do or shall appertain to them or any of them?’
