May 7, 2023, column from the Amarillo Globe-News:
Reflections on the coronation, King Charles and a seat of power
By Mike Haynes
The
coronation of King Charles III was scheduled for Saturday, May 6, in London’s
Westminster Abbey. Assuming all went as planned, Charles was seated during part
of the ceremony on the oak Coronation Chair, which King Edward I had ordered built
around the year 1300 to hold the royal Stone of Scone. Edward had brought the
336-pound rock from Scotland to England.
Many monarchs had sat on the chair, or throne, as they were crowned,
and Charles was to rest on it with the historic, 336-pound stone just under the seat. One of the most sacred moments was to be when the Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Church of England, anointed Charles with oil to consecrate him and set him above his subjects.
At that point,
a screen was to shield Charles from the view of everyone except a few clergy
members. “When the
screen which will surround the coronation chair is removed, the king is
revealed to us all as someone who has taken on the responsibility of serving
God and serving the people,” a church spokesperson told the Associated Press.
The
700-year-old chair is called “one
of the most precious and famous pieces of furniture in the world” on the
Westminster Abbey website. I suspect not many other pieces of furniture are so
revered that a toy soldier company produced a 3¼-inch model of it, complete
with a tiny Stone of Scone.
Kathy
and I were fortunate to see the real chair several years ago at Westminster
Abbey. It didn’t look as grand as you might think would befit the Queen or King
of England. And we got to pass by the stone last summer in the Scottish Crown
Jewels room of Edinburgh Castle before it was moved to London temporarily for
Charles’ coronation.
A
legend says the stone, which got its name from a long stay at the monastery of
Scone in Scotland, has a biblical origin. Genesis 28:18 says, “Early the next
morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as
a pillar and poured oil on top of it.” (NIV) The tradition is that the
sandstone that Charles was to sit on Saturday was the one Jacob used as a
pillow at Bethel. It supposedly made a circuitous journey over centuries from
the Holy Land through several countries, gained the nickname, “Stone of
Destiny” and ended up in Scotland.
In the past, the entirety of
each coronation ceremony was considered a Christian worship service, and the
current Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, described the 2023 version as
such but added that it would “reflect contemporary society.” In addition to hymns
and prayers being offered in the Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic
languages as well as English, non-Christian religions were to be recognized.
Like his mother in 1953, Charles
was to be presented with sacred objects such as the royal orb and scepter. This
year, with Charles’ blessing, members of the House of Lords with Hindu, Jewish,
Muslim and Sikh religious backgrounds were to present the king with objects
devoid of Christian symbolism.
Of course, I would prefer that
the ceremony remain completely Christian as it has for 1,000 years. But I
understand Charles’ reasoning. The king represents all the United Kingdom’s
subjects, and the latest census showed that less than half of the population
call themselves Christian.
Charles also is head of the
Church of England, though. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, faithfully filled
that role out of duty and also because of her strong personal faith in Jesus
Christ. Charles has not indicated that he is as devout as his late, beloved
parent. But the 2023 coronation’s theme was “Called to Serve,” based on a
statement of Jesus in Matthew and Mark. Charles was scheduled to say, “In His
name and after His example, I come not to be served but to serve.”
Even as he juggles the duties of
church and state, let’s hope the new king, like Elizabeth II, will build his
new house on the Rock of Salvation.
