LONDON: Fragments said to be from the cross on which Jesus was crucified will be put in a freshly built Cross of Wales used at the coronation of King Charlse in Westminster Abbey next month.
According to the BBC, Pope Francis bestowed the relics of the True Cross on King Charles as a coronation gift. The cross comprises Welsh elements such as slate, recycled wood, and silver from the Royal Mint in Llantrisant.
The hallmark was hammered into the silver used in the cross by King Charles. The introduction of the new cross serves as a reminder that, in addition to the pomp and splendor, the coronation on May 6 will be a religious ceremony.
The cross, created by silversmith Michael Lloyd, bears the words of St David, the patron saint of Wales. It was a gift from the King to the Welsh Church. The coronation will be an Anglican event, but the significantinclusion of a gift from the head of the Roman Catholic church illustrates how other churches and faiths will be represented. Two little wooden shards from what is said to be the crucifixion on which Jesus was crucified will be set into the silver cross.
Pilgrimages have been undertaken to churches where such relics of the True Cross have been housed for centuries.
There has also long been skepticism concerning the quantity and validity of such relics, as well as whether they could all have come from a single cross.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who would preside at the coronation on May 6, has emphasised how the coronation is fundamentally a religious ritual, comparing it to the ordination of a priest. The archbishop writes in a newly issued official souvenir program that amid all the “magnificence and pomp,” there is a time of “stillness and simplicity” when the King is anointed with holy oil.
The archbishop says the King will be anointed in a modest white shirt rather than “robes of status,” He believes the King will be “fully aware that the task is difficult and he requires assistance.” This moment was not publicly seen previously and did not appear on television during the late Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953.
There has been debate regarding whether or not it will be visible during the coronation ceremony next month. Still, current predictions indicate that it will remain a private moment in the proceedings.
Along with some anti-monarchy groups’ resistance to the coronation, a study released on Tuesday expressed concerns about the amount of support for public funding of the event. A coronation is a state event, yet a YouGov poll of 4,000 respondents found that 51% opposed the government paying for it, 32% supported it, and the rest said they “didn’t know.” 62% of 18-24-year-olds believed the government should not pay for the coronation.
The amount it will cost the government will not be revealed until after the event.
