Defender of the Faith
April 21st, 2005Justin Tomlinson and I took part in an election debateat the Elim Pentecostal Church in Osborne Street. We were joined bycandidates from other parties. Questions ranged from screen violence to the nature of the Coronation Oath. We were asked whether the next monarch should be a "Defender of the Faith" or a "Defender of Faiths". This question was really about whether the Church of England should be disestablished. I do not believe in disestablishment, for reasons which at this stage I shall not bore you with.
The most important religious title held by the monarch is, in fact, Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Ironically, the title "Defender of the Faith" was awarded to Henry VIII by the Pope. If I remember it correctly, the Pope had been pleased by a religious treatise that the King had written.
The title was retained, despite the King’s divorce and the subsequentReformation, appearing as "FD" on our coinage. It is, therefore, a Roman Catholic title. In any event, I would hope and expect that any prejorative references to Roman Catholicism will be removed from the next Coronation Service.
This is all getting rather tedious, so I shall sign off…
