Society of King Charles the Martyr

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Charles I (1631) by Daniel Mytens.
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Charles I (1631) by Daniel Mytens.
The Eikon Basilike, core text of the Society
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The Eikon Basilike, core text of the Society

The Society of King Charles the Martyr is an Anglican devotional society and one of the Catholic Societies of the Church of England. (It is also active in the Episcopal Church USA and has international members elsewhere). It is dedicated to and under the patronage of King Charles I of England (19 November 1600–30 January 1649), the only person to be canonized by the Church of England after the English Reformation.

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[edit] Charles Stuart as an Anglican Martyr

King Charles, a member of the House of Stuart was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625, until his death.

Charles believed in a sacramental version of the Church of England, called High Anglicanism, with a theology based upon Arminianism, a belief shared by his main political advisor, Archbishop William Laud. Laud was appointed by Charles as the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1633 and started a series of reforms in the Church to make it more ceremonial. This was actively hostile to the Reformist tendencies of many of his English and Scottish subjects. He rejected Calvinism of the Presbyterians, and insisted that the Church of England's liturgy be celebrated with all of the ceremony and vestments called for by the Book of Common Prayer. Many of his subjects thought these policies brought the Church of England too close to Roman Catholicism.

Charles ruled in an era of great religious turmoil in Britain and at the end of the English Civil War he was executed. At his trial, he was charged with attempting to govern as an absolute monach rather than in combination with Parliament; with fighting against his people -he started the Civil Wars by sending his troops to attack Hull before Parliament had an official army; with continuing the war after the defeat of his forces (the continuation is often regarded as the Second English Civil War); with conspiring after defeat to promote yet another continuation; and with encouraging his troops to kill prisoners of war (often called war crimes today). (Robertson ibid ch 10)

Charles is regarded by some members of the Church as a martyr because it is said he was offered his life if he would abandon the historic episcopacy in the Church of England. It is said he refused, however, believing that the Church of England was truly "Catholic" and should maintain the Catholic episcopate. Bishop Mandell Creighton of London wrote "Had Charles been willing to abandon the Church and give up episcopacy, he might have saved his throne and his life. But on this point Charles stood firm: for this he died, and by dying saved it for the future." However he had already made a Covenant with the Scots to introduce Presbyterianism in England in return for the aid of Scots forces in the Second Civil War.

When Charles was beheaded on 30 January 1649, Phillip Henry records that a moan was heard from the assembled crowd, some of whom then dipped their handkerchiefs in his blood, thus starting the cult of the Martyr King. However no other eyewitness source including Samuel Pepys records this. Henry's account was written during the Restoration (i e some 12 years after the event), Henry was 19 when the King was executed and he and his family were Royalist propaganda writers. (See J Rushworth in R Lockyer (ed) The Trial of King Charles I pp133-4)

There is some historical debate over the identity of the man who beheaded the King, who was masked at the scene. It is known the regicides approached Richard Brandon, the common Hangman of London, but that he refused, and contemporary sources do not generally identify him as the King's headsman. Ellis's Historical Inquiries, however, name him as the executioner, stating that he stated so before dying. It is possible he relented and agreed to do the deed, but there are others who have been identified. William Hewlett was tried for the murder after the Restoration and convicted. In 1661, two people identified as "Dayborne and Bickerstaffe" were arrested but then discharged. Henry Walker, a revolutionary journalist, or his brother William, were suspected but never charged. Various local legends around England name local worthies.

It was common practice for the head of a traitor to be held up and exhibited to the crowd with the words "Behold the head of a traitor!"; although Charles' head was exhibited, the words were not used. In an unprecedented gesture, one of the prominent leaders of the revolutionaries, Oliver Cromwell, allowed the King's head to be sewn back on his body so the family could pay its respects. Charles was buried privately and at night on 7 February 1649, in the Henry VIII vault inside St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. The King's son, King Charles II, later planned an elaborate royal mausoleum, but this never eventuated.

When the Church and Monarchy were restored on 19 May, 1660, Canterbury and York, being the two primacies of the Church of England, assembled their convocations and, added his name to the ecclesiastical calendar in the Book of Common Prayer to be celebrated on the day of his death. In the time of Queen Victoria this was however removed upon request by elected representatives of the Commons; now, 30 January is only listed as a "Lesser Festival." There are several Anglican/Episcopal churches dedicated to Charles I as "King and Martyr," in England, Canada, Australia and the United States.

[edit] The Society

Founded in 1894, the Society's stated purpose was "intercessory prayer for the defence of the Church of England against the attacks of her enemies." Since then, the objectives have extended to religious devotion in keeping with the traditions of Anglo-Catholicism.

Today, the Society's stated objectives are:

  • Intercessory prayer for the Church of England and Churches in communion therewith.
  • Promotion of a wider and better observance of the Feastday of St. Charles, 30th January.
  • Work for the reinstatement of the Feast of St. Charles in the Kalendar of The Prayer Book from which it was removed in 1859 without the due consent of the Church as expressed in Convocation; the Feast was restored to the Kalendar in the Alternative Service Book of 1980 and a new collect composed for Common Worship in 2000.
  • The propagation of the true knowledge about the life and times of S. Charles, and winning general recognition of the great debt the Church of England owes to him for his faithfulness unto death in defence of the Church and Her apostolic ministry.
  • The support of efforts to build and equip churches dedicated under the patronage of S.Charles the Martyr (both at home and overseas).

Outside of England, the objectives vary slightly, especially in regard to the Feast of St. Charles, which is widely observed by the church in some places and not in others. It is unclear whether SKCM is currently active in the United States.

The Patrons of the Society are Lord Nicholas Windsor; the Rt Hon Lord St. John of Fawsley; the Rev'd. Fr. J. M. Charles-Roux, I.C.; Sir Leslie Fielding, KCMG; and Rev'd Canon Arthur Middleton.

[edit] Catholic Societies within Anglicanism

Since the time of the Oxford Movement (also known as the "Catholic Revival") in the Church of England (and her sister churches), there have been organizations whose purpose is the propagation of Catholic faith and practice within the Anglican tradition. The Society of King Charles the Martyr is among the most famous of these societies, which include the Society of Mary (Anglican), the Guild of All Souls and the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament.

Each of these societies champions one aspect of Catholic faith and practice which otherwise is not emphasized by the Anglican Churches as a whole. For the Society of King Charles the Martyr, this is the cultus of Saint Charles I of England, King and Martyr.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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