Britain | Definite articles of faith

The Church of England will change less than traditionalists feared

King Charles’s faith is less evident than his mother’s, but he values continuity

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 10: King Charles III speaks during his proclamation as King during the accession council on September 10, 2022 in London, United Kingdom. His Majesty The King is proclaimed at the Accession Council in the State Apartments of St James's Palace, London. The Accession Council, attended by Privy Councillors, is divided into two parts. In part I, the Privy Council, without The King present, proclaims the Sovereign and part II where The King holds the first meeting of His Majesty's Privy Council. The Accession Council is followed by the first public reading of the Principal Proclamation read from the balcony overlooking Friary Court at St James's Palace. The Proclamation is read by the Garter King of Arms, accompanied by the Earl Marshal, other Officers of Arms and the Serjeants-at-Arms. (Photo by Victoria Jones - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

TRUE TO HIS long-running claims about Himself, God has been everywhere over the past week in Britain. From official assurances to the people that it has pleased Him “to call to his mercy our late sovereign lady Queen Elizabeth”, to musical exhortations for Him to save the new king, irreligious bystanders may have been surprised by the extent to which He is woven into every corner of Britain’s famously unwritten constitution.

At the accession of Charles III on September 10th, the new king pledged to “inviolably maintain and preserve the settlement of the true Protestant religion”. And there is more to come. In the coronation expected to take place next year, King Charles will affirm the question, asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury, “Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel?”

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