Wednesday, October 11, 2023

It is the 11th of October, 2023. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org, I’m Dan van Voorhis.

Back in the 1990s, Prince Charles- now King Charles III of England made some news when he suggested that at his coronation, he would alter the royal title from “Defender of the Faith” to “Defender of Faith”- this in line with the pluralism that has come to define the United Kingdom and her commonwealths. Amidst handwringing and critical columns in some corners of the press, the issue was clarified that the future King would be the defender of the Christian faith but of other faiths as well.

When Charles ascended to the throne as Charles III in September 2022, the press picked this story up again, and the question was asked- what would be the official title of the King? It was “His Majesty Charles the Third, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith” and so, “Defender of the Faith” remained (although it was dropped in Canada altogether as it is in most British Commonwealths). This title, with the all-important article, goes back to the 16th century and the Reformation.

It was Pope Leo X- the Pope who excommunicated Martin Luther in January of 1521 who later in that same year, on the 11th of October, declared Henry VIII “Defender of the Faith,” and it was more than a standard title. It was customary for regional rulers in the Renaissance to collect honorary titles that would establish their bone fides. The king of France was called “christianissimus” or “most Christian” by the Pope, and Charles V was Holy Roman Emperor “by the Grace of God.” This signified their connection to the church generally but to the powerful Popes as well.

Henry VIII was a thoroughly modern Renaissance king with a love of literature, the arts, education, and pageantry. (His love of women would later get him into trouble). He was surrounded by Humanists- those modern scholars that included Erasmus of Rotterdam. Erasmus would famously battle with Martin Luther over the nature of Reform (he would stay in the church while the excommunicated Luther would begin his own). And it was Luther’s scathing attack on the Catholic Church- his “on the Babylonian Captivity of the Church” which would grab the attention of Henry VIII. It was in “On the Babylonian Captivity” that Luther took direct aim at the Catholic penitential system- the nature and number of sacraments and the authority of the Pope.

And so Henry, with humanist Thomas More (author of Utopia and friend of Erasmus), published his Assertio Septem Sacramentorum or “Defense of the Seven Sacraments.” It was dedicated to Pope Leo X and earned him the title “Defender of the Faith.” Never one to miss an opportunity in the spotlight, Luther spit back with his “Contra Henricum” or “Against Henry.” This was replied to by Thomas More in the “Responsio Ad Lutherum”- although More did not initially have his name attached to the project as this kind of pamphlet war was seen as below a humanist scholar.

It is worth noting that in Luther’s attack on the penitential system, he lists three sacraments- Communion, Baptism, and Absolution (as the spoken words like the wafer wine and water are external tangible things). Of course, the irony was that within the decade, Henry would break from the Catholic Church over the authority of the Pope. When his Henry’s proposed annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon was denied by the Pope (then Clement VII), Henry claimed the title of “Supreme Head of the Church of England”. The following Pope revoked the title of “Defender of the Faith” for the excommunicated king, and it fell out of use for over a decade. However, in 1543, the English Parliament announced that the King would retain the title “Defender of the Faith,” but this of the Anglican variety with only two sacraments. During the English Civil Wars and the reign of the Cromwells, the title was discarded but then brought back with the Restoration and King Charles II (one of now two King Charles not beheaded).

To this day, you will find on English coinage- and even commemorative coins for the newest King Charles the initials “F.D” for Fidei Defensor- Defender of the Faith, article and all. This is now a tradition 502 years old from the title bestowed on King Henry VIII on this day in 1521.

The last word for today is from the daily lectionary and a bit of prophecy from an unlikely source in John 11:

45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”

49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 11th of October 2023, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by the Defender of Properly roasted and blended coffee at Gillespie.Coffee, he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by the Defender of Baseball's new Pitch Clock- great for the game, I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.