THE CORONATION SERVICE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 233, 14 October 1901, Page 4

THE CORONATION SERVICE

A 80ENE OF GORGEOUS AND IMPRESSIVE RITUALISM. (" Daily Mail. ") The Bishop of Peterborough, {in his reference in his recent charge to the prob able use of incense at the Corouation of the Sing and Queen, seems to have overlooked the tact that the Abbey has been fumigated with iaoenae at previous Coronations before the service, the structure of which is very interesting. The Sovereign is vested as a deacon, in a dalmatic, with a maniple and ttole worn deaconwise. There are special benedictions of inanimate objects, and more particularly of the euoharistic elements. The holy table is called throughout in the, rubrics of the altar, or the holy altar. The officiating prelates not only wear copes, but put them on in public, as part of the ceremony. There are only eight communicants—the Soverign, the Archbishop, the Dean of Westminister, the Epiatoller, the Gospeller, the preacher, and the two Bishops who sing the latany. The English Church uses unction iu this service only, which has come down from the times of Charlemagne, and is contained in the Liber Regalis, which was certainly not later than 1380 The Bervice, rich, intricate, and expressive, is not sanctioned by any Act of Parliament, and is purely a creation of the Church, which, thus, by immemorial tradition. Consecrates the State in the person of the Sovereign. The Archbishop of Canterbury crowna the King, but we understand the Arcbbiahep of .York will crown the Queen. POINTS OF THE CEREMONY. It may now be of interest to indicate the principal features of the service itself. 1. On the entrance of the Sovereign, the anthem " I was glad when they said wnto me we will go into the House of the Lord " is sung. 2. The Recognition of the Sovereign, who Is presented to the people by the Archbishop, who calls on them to recognise him as lawfully King Wftpufch not crowned. This ia followed by die peoples acclamation " God save the King. " 8, The first oblation, when the Sovereign, kneeling at the Altar, offers a pall of cloth of gold and an ingot of gold of a pound's weight. ' 4. The Litany said by two Bishops, kneeling at a faldstool, with a special suffrage for the occasion. 5. The Office of the Holy Communion. 6. The sermon after the Nicene Creed. 7. The Sovereign's oath, made kneeling at the altar, with the hand laid upon the Bible, open at the Holy Gospel. 8. A special collect of benediction, in which the Archbishop consecrates the ofl by laying bis hand on it, followed by ' the anointing of the King. 9. The oblation of the Regalia. 10. Ihe investing of the Sovereign with the Royal Robe and Orb. 11. The investing with the Ring and Sceptre. 12. The blessing of the Crown by the Archbishop standing before the altar, and then the actual Coronation, 13. The presentation of the Bible to the Sovereign? 14 The benediction and ** Te Deum." 15. The enthronisation accompanied by a remarkable address l , " Stand fast and hold fast from henceforth the seat and state of Royal a d Imperial Majesty, which is this day delivered unto yon in the name and by the authority of Almighty God by the hands of us, tha bishops and servants of God, though un. worthy. " 16. The Office of the Holy Commnn. ion is resumed at the offertory. The Sovereign makes a second oblation of gold, and the Archbishop dedicates the elements.* The Sovereign takes off his Crown before he kneels down to com tnnnicare. 17. Special collects before the blessing. 18. The seavice concludes with a recess or procession into King Henry VlL's Chapel, where part of the Regalia is laid aside. The above brief sketch of an ancient, Intricate, and striking service will give our readers some idea of the grandeur of the ritual performed in the historic Abbey of Westminister, crowded as every inch of space will be by the highest and most illustrious of the King's subjects and by Sovereigns and their representatives from every land.