Sermon at the Civic service for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

March 23rd at St Mary Abbotts

Monarchy exerts an enduring fascination, both here and globally, as witnessed by the huge popularity of The Crown on Netflix.  Some of the interest is healthy, some of it not so healthy- especially the prurient interest in the details of royal marriages.  In a dynastic system, it was ever thus. The marriage of King Charles II to the Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganca, was one such important marriage as Catherine's dowry was Bombay and Tangier. Charles II married Catherine in the port city of Portsmouth, as the King had been advised that she was sickly, and the marriage should happen as soon as she got off the ship.  They married in the former pilgrim church of the Domus Dei in that city, and the churchwarden's notes, preserved in the Anglican Cathedral, reveal a fascinating behind the scenes detail of the wedding ceremony.  Charles had never met Catherine and spoke no Portuguese.  Catherine had never met Charles and spoke no English.  As she entered the Church to walk down the aisle, the King turned to his brother James and said, " They have sent me a bat". The reason I begin with this story is that monarchs are ordinary people called to do extraordinary things in a life of service, and that they are equipped for doing so by their anointing.  So today, as we give thanks to God for 70 years on the throne of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, I offer a short reflection on anointing and its significance.  This significance is the same for prince and for pauper.

Anointing Connects us Organically to our Shared History and Past. Elizabeth II bears the title Fidei Defensor, or Defender of the Faith, a title given to King Henry VIII by Pope Leo X and borne by English monarchs since then. This means that the monarchy carries with it religious symbolism, which in the ceremony of the coronation is shown in the anointing. Elizabeth II is the world's only anointed Monarch, and she has spoken herself of the deep meaning and significance of the moment of anointing for her.  It is the centre and heart of the whole ceremony of coronation. The oil used is technically called chrism and is an olive oil base with natural perfumes, the formula of which is kept as a closely guarded secret by Westminster Abbey where it is kept. The actual oil used in the coronation of 1953 was re-created after 1941, as the original oil was destroyed in that year, when a German bomb hit the Deanery, where the oil was kept.  The use of this oil connects us to our shared religious past.  In the first reading, we heard of the anointing of King Solomon in the Hebrew Scriptures. Anointing is a symbol of protection and interior strength and is regarded as the essential equipment to fulfil a role or a job.  This belief and practice takes us back to our shared past and connects us to our deep roots and, like a tree, when we are connected to our past through deep roots, we flourish. This country, like others, has had a turbulent history with many fractures in the fabric of society, not least through the so-called Reformation of King Henry VIII and the abolition of the Monarchy during the English Civil War. But the ceremony of coronation, with anointing at its heart, takes us in an unbroken line back to the Anglo-Saxon past of the ninth century with the coronation of King Edgar in Bath Abbey in 973.   The coronation rite was the only feature of liturgical and common life which has remained unchanged, and in origin takes us even further back to early Byzantium. I do believe the reason for this is plain- that in the person of the anointed Monarch, every subject could see themselves as represented.  This doctrine of corporate personality has the capacity to unite us to our shared past, and in doing so, to connect us at the same time to each other, and to our future.  If our roots are tended and flourish, so will our shoots. Elizabeth II has clearly shown and demonstrated this for the whole of her life and reign.  This has been a shared blessing for all, and for this we thank god as we turn to the future.

Anointing Gives us a New Identity and propels us to the Future.  Anointing is not just for monarchs.  Christians are anointed at their baptism, and or confirmation, and deacons priests and bishops are anointed at their ordination.  This gives all anointed people a new and shared identity, and in an era of identity politics and gender wars, it is a model for the future. All of us have multiple identifies, and we can choose to focus on external identity features or on the deeper sacramental identity which unites us.  On a personal level, and for myself, I am absolutely certain that my most important identity marker lies in my baptismal anointing. Everything else is secondary.  This also gives us a new identity and takes us beyond external characteristic, and even gender. In Orthodox history this was clearly understood. One of the most important monarchs in Georgian history was the twice married twelfth century Queen Tamara, but she was never referred to as Queen, but as King Tamara, because of her anointing.  This refers to external anointing with oil, but as with all sacraments, it is accompanied by an interior spiritual disposition.  What is it?  Here we come to the second reading from the Gospel, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,” This interior anointing can be shared by people of all faiths and none. It is a manifesto for the future as we seek to build Jerusalem in this and every land. It is particularly a model for the future for all those who wield economic, social, and political power – none of which we hold for our own good, but for the common good as we build a society at peace with itself under its own vine. It is a model of sholom, Salaam, Pax. When we take these words to heart, we are empowered to enact them in an interior anointing. This too has been clearly understood by the Queen, who has lived and demonstrated them for the last 70 years. For this, we thank God, from whom all authority comes. It is our new identity, and it will propel us to the future with energy and grace.

I end with words of her majesty on her 21st birthday. She has, throughout her reign and in her person, embodied the anointing which connects us to the past and propels us to the future. Speaking from South Africa, she said, "I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service”

For this, and for 70 remarkable years of service, we pray our national prayer, “God Save the Queen.”