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Saturday, April 17, 2021

THE ENGLISH AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND CERTAINLY KNOW HOW TO DO STATE FUNERALS AND WEDDINGS!

 God provided a beautiful English Spring afternoon. The English and the Church of England provided a splendid royal Requiem. Requiescat in Pace.













28 comments:

(your fake name HERE) said...

Did you by any chance read the Mattingly piece at getreligion regarding Prince Philip of Greece's Orthodox roots and how he never left them? His mother donned the habit and had even an Orthodox chapel on the royal estate, and saintly heroics by her and a martyr aunt also a consecrated religious? Great history.

John Nolan said...

Officially the Church of England does not pray for the dead. If you take away the military pomp there was not much left of the funeral rites and the Duke himself ruled out a eulogy.

Yes, it is dignified and the funeral Sentences sung as the coffin was brought in (oddly not attributed) are part of the Anglican patrimony and remind one of the funeral music composed by Henry Purcell for Queen Mary II in 1695.

But compared with Catholic rites for the deceased (before they were largely swept away in the 1960s) there is not much there, certainly not a 'Requiem'.

This morning I viewed on Youtube what my own church (the Oxford Oratory) did for the Duke last evening. Sung Vespers of the Dead, followed by Absolutions at the catafalque. All, of course, in Latin. Note the altar arrangement of black candlesticks and crucifix and unbleached candles.

Requiescat in pace.

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

John can you post the YouTube link? As an aside, southern rednecks in Georgia applaud the pick up truck hearse! Only thing missing was the Confederate battle flag!

John Nolan said...

Fr Allan

Google Oxford Oratory and click on live stream. You can also bring up recordings of the usual Sunday 11 am Mass which is an exemplar of how the OF should be done.

(your fake name HERE) said...

It had the gun racks removed, which never should have been done. Union Jack and a gun rack with his favorite London best grade bespoke gun with hand detachable sidelocks in the rear window. The gun salute should have been done by hunting pals with their bird guns.

Anonymous said...

And Father M. doubtless applauds that the dean and the archbishop were not wearing white vestments! The dean especially wore a nice, elaborate cope. I would have added a third scripture reading (one from the Epistles) and the Apostles' Creed to the service, along with an address/homily of some sort. But then again, I am not and never have been Anglican so not like I influence the order of service over there!

Real English said...

“ Officially the Church of England does not pray for the dead.”

Funny that we saw and heard exactly the opposite then ie prayers fir the dead Prince!

Anonymous said...

Real English Kavanaugh,

The service was better than the typical "Celebration of Life" foisted on modern day Catholics

Anonymous said...

"THE COLLECT

Read by the Dean of Windsor

O Merciful God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the resurrection and the life; in whom whosoever believeth shall live, though he die; and whosoever liveth, and believeth in him, shall not die eternally; who also hath taught us by his Holy Apostle Saint Paul, not to be sorry, as men without hope, for them that sleep in him: We meekly beseech thee, O Father that, when we shall depart this life, we may rest in him, as our hope is this our brother doth; and that, at the general resurrection in the last day, we may be found acceptable in thy sight; and receive that blessing, which thy well-beloved Son shall then pronounce to all that love and fear thee, saying, Come ye blessed children of my Father; receive the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. Grant this we beseech thee, O merciful Father through Jesus Christ, our Mediator and Redeemer. Amen.

"THE PRAYERS

The Archbishop of Canterbury shall say

O ETERNAL God, before whose face the generations rise and pass away, thyself unchanged, abiding, we bless thy holy name for all who have completed their earthly course in thy faith and following, and are now at rest; we remember before thee this day Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, rendering thanks unto thee-for his resolute faith and loyalty, for his high sense of duty and integrity, for his life of service to the Nation and Commonwealth, and for the courage and inspiration of his leadership. To him, with all the faithful departed, grant thy peace; Let light perpetual shine upon them; and in thy loving wisdom and almighty power work in them the good purpose of thy perfect will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

Sounds like a official prayer for HRH Philip to me.

ByzRus said...

It was a nice service, light on ministerial oversight, but, beautiful nonetheless. I particularly appreciated the Kontakion for the Departed.

Honest Enquirer said...

What do you mean by “ministerial oversight”?
I don’t have a clue what you might mean!

Anonymous said...

And the altar looks to be "ad orientum!"

When they say the "dean of Windsor", is he literally dean of the castle? If so, he can't have that big a congregation.

(your fake name HERE) said...

Dear Mr. Quotaholic,

Mr Nolan offered a qualified statement of OFFICIAL, as opposed to as how practiced or believed. The Anglican Church does not hold OFFICIALLY with the doctrine of Purgatory (not any more), hence no prayers FOR the dead to be speedily released from same to the beatific vision.

Anonymous said...

A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy.

St. George Chapel is a "royal peculiar" meaning it is under the authority of the monarch, not the local Anglican bishop.

The head of the chapel, the dean, is appointed by the monarch.

John Nolan said...

The Collect was as per the Book of Common Prayer and does not offer suffrages for the soul of the deceased nor asks pardon for his sins; it also assumes that there will be no judgement before the Last Day.

Over the years it seems that prayers have been added which can have a more 'Catholic' interpretation. For example the Response 'Grant unto him eternal rest. And let light perpetual shine upon him', and, strikingly, the 'Profisiscere' used as a Commendation: 'Go forth upon thy journey from this world, O Christian soul ...'

In the Roman Ritual this prayer occurs just before the moment of death. It was also used at the funerals of Princess Diana and Lady Thatcher.

The Dean recited the long list of the Duke's honours and titles. It reminded me of the Habsburg custom when the body arrives at Vienna's Capuchin church, with one significant difference. The titles are read out, but the friars refuse admission - 'Wir kennen ihn nicht'. On the third attempt he is announced simply as 'ein armer, sündiger Mensch' (a poor, sinful man) whereupon the doors are opened.

Now that's authentically Catholic.



John Nolan said...

Talking of Royal Peculiars, a few years ago we had a day at the Temple Church in London singing Templar chant, some of which was splendidly martial - 'Saracenos destruere' and the like. We ended the day with Vespers but were not allowed incense as the church was a Royal Peculiar.

Westminster Abbey is also a Royal Peculiar, and uses incense and chasubles but never in the presence of the Queen. Her mother apparently had Catholic leanings and so, it is said, does Prince Charles.

Catholic Emancipation was delayed until 1829 because George III would not go against his Coronation oath. Contrast this with Louis XVI who at his coronation swore to 'extirpate heretics' yet emancipated his Protestant subjects in 1787, two years before the Revolution.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous "You know who" at 2:19 PM,

John Nolan - 1, Anonymous - 0

Anonymous said...

John, when I read modern history many years ago, I think, I recall it was in the late 18th century that the last heretic in Western Europe received the death penalty; a Spanish school teacher I think.
Often a comment on this blog inspires or motivates me to reread a few pages of an old book I’ve hang on to from university days, almost 40 years ago....

BTW I’ve, fairly recently, read 3 biographies of Evelyn Waugh. He died in 1966. At the end of The Council in 1965, Waugh was reported to have said of Fr Kung et al : in more happier times, they would have been burnt at the stake....

Anonymous said...

"We meekly beseech thee, O Father that, when we shall depart this life, we may rest in him, as our hope is this our brother doth;..."

Prayer for our brother asking God to grant him rest.

"To him, with all the faithful departed, grant thy peace;..."

Again, prayer for our brother asking that he be granted peace.

They are prayers for him.

(your fake name HERE) said...

I have said in recent years that the current state of the Vatican is enough to cause a yearning for the days where crowds assembled with pitchforks and torches demanding a REAL pope.

John Nolan said...

Waugh followed the proceedings of the Council and was more prescient than most, albeit pessimistic. In his foreword to the recension of his 'Sword of Honour' trilogy in 1965 he said that when he wrote the novels he was unconsciously writing the obituary of the Catholic Church in England - 'All the rites and most of the opinions are now obsolete.'

Thankfully he was spared the even worse excesses which followed the Council, in particular the destruction of the Roman Rite and the imposition of a tawdry 'new Mass' by Paul VI. Would his faith have survived it? Many other people's didn't.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of the dean, what do you call those diagonal "collars" (for lack of better term) he was wearing yesterday (going at opposite directions). I have never seen those on Catholic clergy.

Anonymous said...

Preaching Tabs
White starched tabs that may be worn over the neck of the cassock, making an inverted “V” shape. They are also known as preaching bands. They may be worn by a preacher who is not the celebrant at the eucharist.

And a little history here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhArJW0doe4

Anonymous said...

Indeed. It is a sad day when the Anglicans do it better than the Romans.

John Nolan said...

Bands are also worn by barristers in court. French clerics wore bands which were black with white edging.

Most Anglican funerals are no better than their Roman equivalents, and there was in the Duke's obsequies a strong element of 'celebration of the life'.

The 'Order for Christian Funerals' which applies in the Novus Ordo of the RC Church is in my opinion a disgrace and I would not countenance it when I go. Fortunately I do not have to, as the older and infinitely better rites are still available.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the explanation of the bands. Come to think of it, also saw the dean of the (Episcopal) Cathedral of the Advent in Birmingham (Alabama, not the United Kingdom!) was wearing those when he preached at Easter (their webcast early Eucharist) a few weeks ago. Queen Elizabeth, rumored to be a "Low Church" Anglican, would have felt right in at the service---at the Eucharist, the celebrant wore no chasuble, just a cassock, surplice and a tibbit (wasn't even wearing a stole with the Easter colors!). No need to ask if any incense was used...

John Nolan said...

A typical Church of England funeral these days involves friends and family coming forward to deliver their own eulogies, sometimes reciting poems which they have composed, or which meant a lot to the deceased. If there is a psalm it will usually be 'The Lord is my Shepherd' and in addition to hymns recorded music is allowed - a favourite is 'My Way'.

I once talked to an Anglican priest who was arranging a crematorium funeral. The middle-aged daughter (not a churchgoer) was asked about hymns and said she remembered one from school called 'Colours of Day'. Note for American readers: this saccharine little ditty with more-or-less meaningless words sometimes crops up in Catholic churches, more's the pity.

The priest suggested that it was perhaps not suitable for a crem sevice. The daughter looked baffled and had to be reminded of the words of the chorus:

'Light up the fire and let the flames burn ...'

The penny dropped.

Pierre said...

John Nolan,

Good one!

ps:

In the US we had our share of terrible hymns, this one prior to Vatican II: The Little White Guest!