King Charles is “Defender of the Faith”. This one of the historic titles of the monarch. It was originally granted to King Henry VIII by the Pope when Henry wrote a book defending the Roman Catholic faith against the charges brought by the Protestant reformers. A few years later, when Henry fell out with the Pope and established the Church of England as the national reformed church, Parliament bestowed the title on him, I imagine to make a point to Rome. Recently I have rumours that this title has been changed to become “defender of faiths”. This is not true. I suspect it is an internet lie spread by those who seek to stir up religious tensions in this country. King Charles remains Defender of the Faith, technically that espoused by the Church of England as the “established” church in England. But to see what the King actually defends as head of the established church, it is worth reading words spoken by his mother, our late Queen Elizabeth II in 2012.
“The concept of our established Church is occasionally misunderstood and, I believe, commonly under-appreciated. Its role is not to defend Anglicanism to the exclusion of other religions. Instead, the Church has a duty to protect the free practice of all faiths in this country. It certainly provides an identity and spiritual dimension for its own many adherents. But also, gently and assuredly, the Church of England has created an environment for other faith communities and indeed people of no faith to live freely.”
Amen, may it always be so.
Rev David Poyner