This week something unexpected happened after I filed my national “On Religion” column, something that I have never seen before in my decades of religion-news work.
What? A retired literature professor responded to my column with a poem.
The topic was easy to predict. Like millions of other people around the world, but especially in Great Britain and the Commonwealth, I have spent many hours watching (primarily on British television) the rites and public drama surrounding the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
I will post the column at GetReligion at the usual time this weekend, after it has run in most newspapers linked to the Universal syndicate. But the podcast team decided to go ahead and use it as the hook for this week’s “Crossroads” (CLICK HERE to tune that in), since so many people are talking about the death of the queen. Here is a short clip from that column:
Throughout her life, Queen Elizabeth II understood the symbolic importance of kneeling, according to former Durham Bishop N.T. Wright. After one Church of England synod, she privately expressed surprise — disappointment, even — that worshippers in Westminster Abbey simply lined up to receive Holy Communion, instead of kneeling.
“Kneeling was important to her,” said the popular author, in a “Premier Christianity” tribute. In his encounters with her, Wright found the queen “very friendly and clearly a very devout, what we would consider ‘old fashioned’ Church of England Christian. I remember thinking during more than one Christmas broadcast, she has just preached the Gospel to the nation in a way that perhaps nobody else could have done.”
In response to the column, a reader raised in Canada — but best known for his work at Baylor University in Texas and at Peking University — wrote a poem and sent it to me.
David Lyle Jeffrey, now a distinguished senior fellow at Baylor’s Institute for Studies in Religion, noted that he has never considered himself a “royalist,” but the queen’s death is certainly a time to explore the “essence of her admirable Christian character and gracious reign.” The former Baylor provost and literature professor entitled the poem “Regina Exemplaris (An exemplary queen).” Here is how it ends:
… She who longest wore the heavy crown
Knew but to kneel before the unseen throne
And plead her people’s cause as for her own,
And there to praise the Lord of All, bowed down,
More conscious of his glory than her high acclaim,
Exemplar thus in worship, in praise more worthy of the Name.
Yes, the rites marking the era of Elizabeth the Great, as some are now calling her, are definitely news, but not ordinary news.
As hundreds of thousands of Brits, and others, queue to view her casket, with most bowing in honor, journalists should be preparing for her funeral in Westminster Abbey. There have been some advance stories, of course. This feature from Harper’s Bazaar promised, “All the details about the Queen's state funeral — From what to expect to who will attend.”
As you would expect, it is packed with details about the schedule, symbolic gestures of honor and the role of royals, politicos and celebrities. And the content of this Church of England worship service? That is not part of “all the details,” other than this:
The state funeral service will be led by the Dean of Westminster. The Prime Minister and the Secretary General of the Commonwealth will perform readings, while the Archbishop of York, the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and the Free Churches Moderator will say prayers. The Sermon will be given by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who will also give the Commendation. The Dean of Westminster will then pronounce the Blessing.
The New York Times did offer a feature that, at first glance, had real potential — especially for someone like me, who has been active in choral music my entire life. The title: “What Music to Expect at Queen Elizabeth II’s Funeral.” Here is the overture:
What is the sound of a monarch’s death — the music and noise that commemorates the end of one regal life in preparation for the one to come?
Music plays an enormous role in British royal ceremonies, particularly funerals, like Queen Elizabeth II’s on Sept. 19, which function as both state and religious rituals. Because the British monarch is also head of the Church of England, the sounds of these events are often tied to the Anglican musical tradition, springing out of the post-English Reformation Church.
Since 1603, much of the royal funeral’s format has stayed the same, while some aspects shift to reflect the time and the monarch. The result is a striking combination of diverse works that tell both the story of the British monarchy and British music.
What follows is a treasure trove of details about royal funerals, composers and, to some degree, the evolution of British choral music.
What is lacking?
Well, I would note that there isn’t a single comment about the CONTENT of the music and what the music might say about the beliefs of the queen who — this is a certainty — played a major role in selecting hymns and anthems that she believed best represented her own beliefs and eternal hopes.
Christian liturgical music does, of course, have doctrinal content. It is almost certain that this service will include statements, of some kind, from Queen Elizabeth II about her own faith. Will that be newsworthy?
Let me end with a hint of what I will be looking for in the rite, as described in a column that I wrote after the death of her husband. The headline: “Orthodox Kontakion of the Departed: A hint at the complex faith history of Prince Philip.” Early in the column I noted:
The complicated history of the royals, past and present, loomed over the short, dignified funeral for Prince Philip in St. George's Chapel, Windsor — with only 30 mourners due to COVID restrictions. The prince's liturgical choices shaped an Anglican rite that stressed images of service, eternal hope and the beauties of God's creation.
The man many Brits called the "grandfather of the nation," was born on the Greek island of Corfu in 1921, the fifth child and only son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice. He was baptized Greek Orthodox, before his life was rocked by wars and revolutions that shattered his family.
In the later years of his life, Philip appears to have explored the roots of his faith, following the example of his mother — who late in life became a nun (it’s complicated) during a tempestuous era in Greek life and faith. She is buried, as she requested, in the Mount of Olives church in Jerusalem, near a beloved relative — the Orthodox St. Elizabeth the New Martyr.
Prince Philip traveled several times to Mount Athos, the Greek peninsula that is the heart of global Orthodox monasticism. This is a journey that the new King Charles III has made, as well, maintaining private ties to one of the mountains eldars.
In worship, Prince Philip made the sign of the cross in the Orthodox manner — from right to left, instead of from left to right as is the Western norm. At the end of his funeral, Prince Philip left instructions for the choir to sing, just before his body was lowered into the Royal Vault, the Kiev setting of the Orthodox Kontakion of the Departed. This is, many would argue, the world’s most beloved piece of Orthodox choral music used in funerals. The text, as noted in the column, includes:
"Give rest, O Christ, to thy servant with thy saints: where sorrow and pain are no more; neither sighing but life everlasting," the singers chanted. "Thou only art immortal, the creator and maker of man: and we are mortal formed from the dust of the earth. … All we go down to the dust; and weeping o'er the grave we make our song: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia."
What choices did Queen Elizabeth make? Will her choices be worthy of note by journalists?
I would pay close attention to the BBC coverage.
Enjoy the column and, please, share it with others.
FIRST IMAGE: Another view of the double rainbow over Buckingham Palace moments after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. There many from which to choose in social media.