For the first time ever, female bishops will take part in a Coronation service.
Three of the UK’s highest ranking clerics will play integral parts in the ceremony on May 6th which will see King Charles III and Queen Camilla crowned.
The Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullaly, Bishop of London will have a leading role. So, too, will the Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Bishop of Dover and Bishop in Canterbury – it’s already been announced that she will present Queen Camilla with The Queen Consort’s Rod. Another important role will be undertaken by the Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Rev Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani who will administer the Chalice to The King and Queen during the Eucharist.
At the last Coronation, women still weren’t permitted to seek ordination in the Church of England. They were first allowed to become priests in 1994 and the first female bishops were ordained in 2015.
The Coronation Liturgy has just been revealed. Its theme is ”Called to Serve”.
Another first revealed is that there will be no Homage of the Peers. Instead a ”Homage of the People” will allow everyone watching to participate in a pledge.
King Charles will also be the first Monarch to pray aloud at his Coronation. He will start the service by pronouncing ””In His name, and after His example, I come not to be served but to serve.”
And, for the first time, members of other faiths will play an active role in the Anglican ceremony. The Coronation Regalia will be presented by peers who belong to different faiths including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism.
The service will conclude with The King receiving a spoken greeting, in unison, from members of the Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, Muslim and Buddhist communities.
The Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla takes place on May 6th 2023 at Westminster Abbey.
