A time for Anglican Royalism
by Laudable Practice, The Critic:
The days following the death of Her late Majesty the Queen revealed something of the complexities and ongoing relevance of the religious history of the United Kingdom. Passing from this mortal life in Scotland, she died, noted many commentators, a Presbyterian: north of the border, the monarch worships in the Kirk. As for The Queue, those hundreds of thousands who waited long hours to pay their respects to the late Queen as she lay-in-state, comparisons were drawn with pre-Reformation pilgrimages and the honour shown to relics by the Roman Catholic tradition.
Not as evident in the commentary, however, has been recognition of how the days of national mourning revealed a deep well-spring of rich and historic Anglican Royalism. Such Royalism was, for centuries, inherent to the Church of England which emerged from the Reformation. This was a Church whose Articles of Religion declared “The King’s Majesty hath the chief power in this Realm of England, and other his dominions”, with the chief authority over “all Estates of this Realm, whether they be Ecclesiastical or Civil”; whose Prayer Book petitioned for deliverance from “all sedition, privy conspiracy, and rebellion”; and from whose pulpits, over centuries, allegiance to the Crown was taught as a God-given duty, securing the peace and well-being of the realm. That many parish churches over centuries displayed the Royal Coat of Arms aptly summarised how a vision of sacral monarchy was integral to Anglicanism.
It was the first Elizabeth, Gloriana, who was the foundational icon of this ecclesiastical Royalism. Not only did her religious settlement define the Church of England and its cultural influence (royal supremacy, a national church, the Book of Common Prayer, modest but resonant ceremonial), her defence of Church and State in the face of the Armada provided a moment which embodied providential blessing. As the great 16th century theologian Richard Hooker exclaimed, “By the goodness of Almighty God and his servant Elizabeth we are”.
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