By Archbishop Flavio Pace & Bishop Anthony Ball*
Four years after her death in 1603, the body of Queen Elizabeth I was moved and re-interred in the same grave as her half-sister, Queen Mary I (Tudor), in London’s Westminster Abbey. United by blood, the two were divided by religious affiliation. A series of Acts of Parliament between 1529 and 1536 had transferred all spiritual and canonical authority over the ‘ecclesia anglicana’ from the papacy to the crown. The 1534 Act of Supremacy declared their father, King Henry VIII, Supreme Head of the Church. This Supremacy was briefly repealed during the reign of the Catholic Mary, but was re-established during the reign of the Protestant Elizabeth.
That the Catholic Queen Mary, whose short reign was marked by such vigorous attempts to reverse the English Supremacy that she became known as ‘Bloody Mary’, and the Protestant Elizabeth, whose long reign saw that Supremacy consolidated, are buried together is remarkable. This powerful sign of longing for the restoration of unity and of hope in the healing power of the paschal mystery of the Lord Jesus is reflected in the extraordinary inscription on their joint tomb: “Regno consortes et urna hic obdormimus Elizabeth et Maria sorores in spe resurrectionis” – “Consorts in realm and tomb, here we sleep, Elizabeth and Mary, sisters in hope of resurrection”.
Sadly, during the centuries that followed, relations between Catholics and Protestants in England and, indeed, between England and Rome were not marked by anything like this sense of fraternal affection. Much blood was shed and there were many martyrs on both sides. Long after the violence ended they remained strangers to one another. When a small group of Roman Catholic and Anglican scholars began exploring the possibility of corporate reunion in 1921, in what were known as the Malines Conversations, the Catholic bishops of England were not at all enthusiastic. On the global level the Catholic Church remained aloof from the ecumenical movement for much of the first half of the twentieth century. It was only in 1960 that the first visit of an Archbishop of Canterbury to Rome in modern times took place, when Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher visited Pope John XXIII. Such was the sensitivity around their meeting that no photography was allowed.
Royal visits to Rome had begun somewhat earlier. Against government advice, King Edward VII visited Pope Leo XIII in 1903 – in a strictly private capacity. Although a British legation to the Holy See was established in 1914, it was not until 1982 that full diplomatic relations were established. King George V and Queen Mary visited Pope Pius XI in 1923, but the next British royal visit to the Vatican did not take place until 1961, when Queen Elizabeth II visited Pope John XXIII. Hers was the first official visit to the Holy See by a British monarch since the Reformation. She later visited Popes John Paul II and Francis and also received Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI during their visits to the United Kingdom.
This gradual warming of relationships between the United Kingdom and the Holy See took place in parallel with growing closeness between the Catholic Church and the Church of England. Speaking of the communions that were separated from Rome as a result of the Reformation, the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism taught that “among those in which Catholic traditions and institutions in part continue to exist, the Anglican Communion occupies a special place”. When Archbishop Michael Ramsey and Pope Paul VI met in 1966, their Common Declaration spoke of “a new stage in the development of fraternal relations, based upon Christian charity, and of sincere efforts to remove the causes of conflict and to re-establish unity”. The Anglican Centre in Rome was inaugurated shortly afterwards. The decision of the Pope and the Archbishop to establish a theological dialogue led to the founding of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC). ARCIC has published fourteen separate documents over the last fifty years. During the canonisation of forty English and Welsh martyrs of the Reformation era in 1970, Pope Paul spoke of looking forward to the day when the Roman Catholic Church “is able to embrace her ever beloved Sister in the one authentic communion of the family of Christ”.
The programmes for previous royal visits to the Holy See did not include religious services. That King Charles III’s visit today includes not only prayer in the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul outside the Walls, but also prayer in the Sistine Chapel, alongside the Pope himself makes this a truly historic occasion. It truly also is historic that a bond between the English Crown and Saint Paul’s that was broken when our churches separated, was re-established today, in a way that is meaningful for our time and which respects the King’s coronation oaths. With the permission of the Pope and the encouragement of the Archpriest, the brothers of the Benedictine Community at the Basilica of Saint Paul have embraced King Charles and named him a royal confrater of the Basilica. The newly-created seat in the Basilica in which the King is installed today will stand as a visible reminder of this gesture of loving hospitality, the significance of which should not be underestimated. It is a recognition, despite many outstanding theological differences, of the depth of the communion between our two traditions. It is significant that the gift of confraternity was offered. It is significant that His Majesty wished to accept it. It is significant too that leaders of the national churches of both England and Scotland are present and participating in the service at Saint Paul’s.
Sadly fulfilment of the hope of which the tomb of Queens Mary and Elizabeth speaks and the embrace in one authentic communion for which Pope Paul VI prayed remain at a distance. Indeed, developments over the years have caused some to wonder if the goal is receding rather than getting closer. Archbishop Justin Welby and Pope Francis addressed this directly in a Common Declaration in 2016: “While, like our predecessors, we ourselves do not yet see solutions to the obstacles before us, we are undeterred. In our trust and joy in the Holy Spirit we are confident that dialogue and engagement with one another will deepen our understanding and help us to discern the mind of Christ for his Church.” The warmth of the welcome to King Charles at the Vatican today and the gestures accompanying it renew that trust and joy and nurture our confidence in the path of dialogue and engagement with one another to which our churches remain wholeheartedly committed. We continue to hope, as Pope Leo has expressed it, for “the re-establishment of full and visible communion”.
*Archbishop Flavio Pace is Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. Bishop Anthony Ball is Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Representative to the Holy See.
