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Home , Alan Wilson (bishop), Bishop of Dorchester, Crown (British coin), Norman Russell, Robert Grimley, Royal Almonry

OFFICE

FOR

THE ROYAL M AUNDY

CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL OXFORD

MAUNDY THURSDAY

28 TH MARCH 2013 11.00 A.M. The image on the front cover of the order of service shows the emblem of the Royal Almonry, the Great Ship of Cardinal Wolsey, launched in 1512. Wolsey was the founder of the College which became Christ Church, and was also Lord High Almoner from 1509 –1514. Members of the congregation are kindly requested to refrain from using private cameras or sound recording equipment. Please ensure that mobile phones and other electronic devices are switched off.

The Service is sung by the Choirs of Christ Church and of Her Majesty’s , St. James’s Palace, conducted by Dr. Stephen Darlington, Organist of Christ Church, and Dr. Andrew Gant, Organist, Choirmaster and Composer of Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal.

The organ is played by Mr. Clive Driskill-Smith, Sub-Organist of Christ Church.

MUSIC BEFORE THE SERVICE

Played by Mr. Huw Williams, Sub-Organist of Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal:

Prelude and Fugue in A minor (BWV 543 ) Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Minuet and Finale from Symphonie no.4 (Op .32) Louis Vierne (1870-1937)

Played by Mr. Alexander Pott, Junior Organ Scholar of Christ Church:

Sonata in Eb major (BWV 525 ) Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Sonata no .2 in C minor (Op.65) Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) i Grave ii Adagio iii Allegro maestoso vivace iv Fuga

Played by Miss Ghislaine Reece-Trapp, Senior Organ Scholar of Christ Church:

Concerto del Signor Albinoni Johann Gottfried Walther (1684-1748)

Ciacona in D minor Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706)

1 OFFICE FOR THE ROYAL

At 10.35 remain seated as the Choirs of Christ Church Cathedral and Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace enter and take their places.

At 10.40 remain seated as the Diocesan and Ecumenical Procession enters and participants take their places.

THE DIOCESAN AND ECUMENICAL PROCESSION

A Verger

Ecumenical Representatives

Superintendent Minister, Assistant Catholic Chaplain, Oxford Methodist Circuit Dr. Martin Wellings Father Dushan Croos, S.J.

The College of Canons

Honorary, Ecumenical and Lay Canons

The The The Venerable The Venerable

The Acting The Venerable Hedley Ringrose

Honorary Assistant The Right Reverend Dr.

The The Right Reverend

The The Right Reverend Dr.

The The Right Reverend

At 10.45 remain seated as The Queen’s Procession moves from the cloister and lines-up in the Cathedral. Meanwhile, the Royal Almonry Procession enters the Cathedral via the South Transept and lines-up in the South Aisle

A fanfare is sounded. All stand. The Queen and The Duke of arrive at the West Door and are presented with the traditional nosegays. All then sing the hymn, during which The Queen’s Procession moves to places in the Chancel and Sanctuary.

2 THE QUEEN’S PROCESSION Cross and Acolytes

The Canons’ Verger

The Cathedral Registrar Mr. John Briggs

Honorary Chaplain The Very Reverend Robert Grimley

The Diocesan Registrar The Reverend John Rees

The Chancellor of the The Reverend Canon Rupert Bursell

The Precentor of Christ Church The Reverend John Paton

The Canons of Christ Church

The Reverend Canon Angela Tilby Canon Professor Graham Ward

The Reverend Canon Nigel Biggar Canon Professor Sarah Foot

The Sub- of Christ Church The Reverend Canon Edmund Newell

The The Right Reverend

The Bishop’s Chaplain The Reverend Dr. Amanda Bloor

The Dean’s Verger

The The Very Reverend Dr. Christopher Lewis

His Royal Highness HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN The Duke of Edinburgh

The Rt. Hon. Sir Christopher Geidt The Countess of Airlie Private Secretary to The Queen Lady in Waiting

Lieutenant Commander Andrew Canale, R.N. Equerry in Waiting

Mrs. Tim Stevenson Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Oxfordshire Mr. Tim Stevenson

3 THE ROYAL ALMONRY PROCESSION

The Dean’s Verger of

The Clerk of the Cheque and Adjutant

Messenger Sergeant Major of the

The Yeomen carrying the Dishes bearing the Alms

The Yeomen in Attendance

The Children of the Royal Almonry

Isla Kamau-Rankin Andy Kikmeta Sachin Balu Amy Prosser

The Wandsmen

The Assistant Secretary of the Royal Almonry Mr. Peter Hartley

The Secretary of the Royal Almonry Mr. Paul Leddington Wright

The Keeper of the Closet Mr. Philip Chatwin

The Sub-Almoner The Reverend Prebendary William Scott

The Serjeant of the Vestry of Her Majesty’s Chapels Royal Mr. David Baldwin

The Lord High Almoner The Right Reverend Dr.

4 All sing

THE HYMN

1 RAISE to the holiest in the height, 4 And that a higher gift than grace and in the depth be praise: should flesh and blood refine, Pin all his words most wonderful, God’s presence and his very self, most sure in all his ways. and essence all-divine.

2 O loving wisdom of our God! 5 O generous love! That he, who smote When all was sin and shame, in man for man the foe, a second Adam to the fight the double agony in man and to the rescue came. for man should undergo;

Choir only 3 O wisest love! that flesh and blood , 6 And in the garden secretly, which did in Adam fail, and on the cross on high, should strive afresh against the foe, should teach his brethren, and inspire should strive and should prevail; to suffer and to die.

7 Praise to the holiest in the height, and in the depth be praise: in all his words most wonderful, most sure in all his ways.

Tune: Gerontius John Henry Newman (1801–90) John Bacchus Dykes (1823–76)

When all are in their places the Lord High Almoner, standing at the Nave Altar, says:

ESUS said: I give you a new commandment: Love one another: J As I have loved you, so you are to love one another. John 13: 34

The Precentor of Christ Church and the Choirs sing:

THE VERSICLES

LORD, open thou our lips: O and our mouth shall shew forth thy praise. O God, make speed to save us: O Lord, make haste to help us. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost: As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Praise ye the Lord: The Lord’s Name be praised.

Humphrey Clucas (b. 1941)

5 All sit. The choirs sing: PSALM 138

WILL give thanks unto thee, O Lord, with my whole heart: I even before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy Name, because of thy loving-kindness and truth: for thou hast magnified thy Name and thy word above all things.

When I called upon thee, thou heardest me: and enduedst my soul with much strength.

All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord: for they have heard the words of thy mouth.

Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the Lord: that great is the glory of the Lord.

For though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: as for the proud, he beholdeth them afar off.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, yet shalt thou refresh me: thou shalt stretch forth thy hand upon the furiousness of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.

The Lord shall make good his loving-kindness toward me: yea, thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever; despise not then the works of thine own hands.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen. Chant: Walter Alcock (1861–1947)

All kneel or remain seated. THE PRAYERS led by The Reverend Canon Angela Tilby and the Very Reverend Dr. Christopher Lewis

Our help is in the name of the Lord: Who hath made heaven and earth.

Lord, show us thy mighty work: And prosper the work of thy servants.

Send down thy light and salvation: And teach us thy right judgements.

6 ORD Christ, who, before instituting the Holy Sacrament at thy , washed the feet of thine Apostles: teach us, by thine example, the grace of humility: and so cleanse uLs from all stain of sin that we may worthily partake of thy holy mysteries; who, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, art one God, world without end. Amen.

Blessed are those who fear the Lord: And walk in his way.

Blessed are those who show mercy: Mercy shall be shown to them.

GOD, who dwellest above all heavens, yet hast respect unto the offerings of the children of men, who also hast taught us by thy blessed Son that works of mercy done unto our Obrethren find acceptance in thy sight; bless, we beseech thee, with thy favour our Lady Queen ELIZABETH, and grant that these thy gifts bestowed by her may encourage and hearten those who receive them, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

All stand to sing: THE HYMN

1 OVE Divine, all loves excelling, joy of heaven, to earth come down, Lfix in us thy humble dwelling, all thy faithful mercies . Jesu, thou art all compassion, pure unbounded love thou art; visit us with thy salvation, enter every trembling heart.

2 Come, almighty to deliver, let us all thy life receive; suddenly return, and never, never more thy temples leave. Thee we would be always blessing, serve thee as thy hosts above, pray, and praise thee, without ceasing, glory in thy perfect love.

3 Finish then thy new creation, pure and spotless let us be; let us see thy great salvation, perfectly restored in thee; changed from glory into glory, till in heaven we take our place, till we cast our crowns before thee, lost in wonder, love, and praise! Tune: Blaenwern W. P. Rowlands (1860–1937) Charles Wesley (1707-88)

7 All sit. THE FIRST LESSON read by Canon Professor Sarah Foot Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History

T was before the Passover festival. Jesus knew that his hour had come and he must leave this world and go to the Father. He had always loved his own who were in the world, and now hIe was to show the full extent of his love. The devil had already put it into the mind of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray him. During supper, Jesus, well aware that the Father had entrusted everything to him, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from table, laid aside his garments and taking a towel tied it round him. Then he poured water into a basin, and began to wash his disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel. When it was Simon Peter’s turn, Peter said to him, ‘You, Lord, washing my feet?’ Jesus replied, ‘You do not understand now what I am doing, but one day you will.’ Peter said, ‘I will never let you wash my feet.’ ‘If I do not wash you,’ Jesus replied, ‘you are not in fellowship with me.’ ‘Then, Lord,’ said Simon Peter, ‘not my feet only; wash my hands and head as well!’ Jesus said, ‘A man who has bathed needs no further washing; he is altogether clean; and you are clean, though not every one of you.’ He added the words ‘not every one of you’ because he knew who was going to betray him. After washing their feet and taking his garments again, he sat down. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ he asked. ‘You call me “Master” and “Lord”, and rightly so, for that is what I am. Then if I, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example: you are to do as I have done for you.’ John 13: 1–15

THE FIRST DISTRIBUTION OF MAUNDY GIFTS TO RECIPIENTS IN THE CATHEDRAL

The Congregation stands throughout the Distribution, but the Recipients and their Companions may sit when the Wandsmen so indicate.

During the Distribution the Choirs sing:

LORD make thy servant Elizabeth our Queen to rejoice in thy strength: give her her heart’s desire and deny not the request of her lips; bOut prevent her with thine everlasting blessing, and give her a long life, even for ever and ever. Amen.

William Byrd (1540-1623) Adapted from Psalm 21: 1–4

ORD, for thy tender mercy’s sake, lay not our sins to our charge, but forgive that is past, and give us grace to amend our sinful lives: to decline from sLin, and incline to virtue, that we may walk in a perfect heart before thee now and evermore. Amen. attributed to Richard Farrant (c.1530–80) from Christian Prayers and Holy Meditations 1568

8 OMINE, JESU CHRISTE, qui me creasti, redemisti, et preordinasti ad hoc quod sum; tu scis quid de me facere vis; fac de me secundum Dvoluntatem tuam cum misericordia. Amen.

O Lord Jesus Christ, who hast created and redeemed me and hast foreordained me unto that which now I am; thou knowest what thou wouldst do with me; do with me according to thy will, in thy mercy. Amen.

Henry Ley (1887-1962) A Prayer of King Henry VI

ASH me throughly from my wickedness and forgive me all my sin. WFor I acknowledge my faults and my sin is ever before me. Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810–76) Psalm 51: 2–3

After the Distribution all sit.

THE SECOND LESSON read by The Reverend Canon Edmund Newell Sub-Dean of Christ Church

ESUS said: ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, he will sit in state on his throne, with all the nations gathered before him. He will separate people into tJwo groups, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right hand, “You have my Father’s blessing; come, enter and possess the kingdom that has been ready for you since the world was made. For when I was hungry, you gave me food; when thirsty, you gave me drink; when I was a stranger you took me into your home, when naked you clothed me; when I was ill you came to my help, when in prison you visited me.” Then the righteous will reply, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and fed you, or thirsty and gave you drink, a stranger and took you home, or naked, and clothed you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and come to visit you?” And the King will answer; “I tell you this: anything you did for one of my brothers here, however humble, you did for me.” Then he will say to those on his left hand, “The curse is upon you; go from my sight to the eternal fire that is ready for the devil and his angels. For when I was hungry, you gave me nothing to eat, when thirsty, nothing to drink; when I was a stranger, you gave me no home; when naked, you did not clothe me; when I was ill and in prison you did not come to my help.” And they too will reply, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and did nothing for you?” And he will answer, “I tell you this: anything you did not do for one of these, however humble, you did not do for me.” And they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous will enter eternal life.’

Matthew 25: 31–46

9 THE SECOND DISTRIBUTION OF MAUNDY GIFTS TO RECIPIENTS IN THE CATHEDRAL

The Congregation stands throughout the Distribution, but the Recipients and their Companions may sit when the Wandsmen so indicate.

During the Distribution the Choirs sing:

BI caritas et amor, Deus ibi est. Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor. EUxsultemus, et in ipso jucundemur. Timeamus, et amemus Deum vivum Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero.

Where charity and love are, there is God. We have been gathered together by the love of Christ. Let us exult, and in him let us be glad. Let us fear, and love the living God. And let us cherish him with a sincere heart.

Maurice Duruflé (1902-86) St. Paulinus of Aquileia (c726-802)

ADOK the and Nathan the prophet anointed Solomon King. And all the people rejoiced and said: GZod save the King! Long live the King! God save the King! May the King live for ever. Amen. Hallelujah.

George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) 1 Kings 1: 39–40

After the Distribution all kneel or sit.

The Precentor of Christ Church and the Choirs sing :

THE VERSICLES

The Lord be with you: And with thy spirit.

O Lord save The Queen: Who putteth her trust in thee.

Send her help from thy holy place: And evermore mightily defend her.

Be unto her, O Lord, a strong tower: From the face of her enemies.

Humphrey Clucas (b.1941)

10 THE PRAYERS

The Reverend Dr. Martin Wellings says : LMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, who hast given thy Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins, and hast commanded us to love one another as thou hast loved us: make us, we Abeseech thee, so mindful of the needs and suffering of others, that we may ever be ready to show them compassion and, according to our ability, to relieve their wants; for the sake of the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

Canon Professor Paul Fiddes says: LMIGHTY and everlasting God, who, of thy tender love towards mankind, hast sent thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, to take upon him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the cAross, that all mankind should follow the example of his great humility; mercifully grant, that we may both follow the example of his patience, and also be made partakers of his resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Reverend Dr. Amanda Bloor, says: E thank thee, O Lord, and praise thy Name, that thou hast not only bestowed greatness and majesty upon our Sovereign Lady Queen ELIZABETH, but hast given her a heart also to Wshow mercy. Accept this symbol of self-giving which she pays to thee, the giver of all good things; and stir up the hearts of all those who have received her gifts to be truly thankful for these and all thy mercies and pray for her that, after a long and prosperous reign in this world, she may have a heavenly crown in the world to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The congregation join in saying : LMIGHTY God, Father of all mercies, We, thine unworthy servants, do give thee Amost humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all men. We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but, above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, and that we shew forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives; by giving up ourselves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.

11 All stand to sing: THE HYMN

1 HEN I survey the wondrous Cross, 3 See from his head, his hands, his feet, on which the Prince of glory died, sorrow and love flow mingled down; Wmy richest gain I count but loss, did e’er such love and sorrow meet, and pour contempt on all my pride. or thorns compose so rich a crown?

2 Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast 4 His dying crimson like a robe, save in the death of Christ my God; spreads o’er his body on the tree; all the vain things that charm me most, then am I dead to all the globe, I sacrifice them to his blood. and all the globe is dead to me.

5 Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small; love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.

Tune: Rockingham Isaac Watts (1674–1748) adapted by Edward Miller (1735–1807)

While all remain standing the Precentor leads the Prayers :

Precentor Lord, have mercy upon us. All Christ, have mercy upon us. Precentor Lord, have mercy upon us.

All UR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bOread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Precentor says:

GOD , our Creator, who revealed thyself in Jesus Christ as infinite self-giving love: grant us the same spirit of humble service we see in him, and make us ambassadors of thy love tOo all the world; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

THE NATIONAL ANTHEM

OD save our gracious Queen, Thy choicest gifts in store Long live our noble Queen, On her be pleased to pour, . Long may she reign. Send her victorious, May she defend our laws Happy and glorious, And ever give us cause Long to reign over us: To sing with heart and voice, God save The Queen. God save The Queen.

12 All remain standing as the Blessing is given from the High Altar.

THE BLESSING said by The Right Reverend John Pritchard Bishop of Oxford

OD grant to the living, grace; to the departed, rest; to the Church, The Queen, the Commonwealth, and all mankind peace and concord, and to us sinners, life everlasting; aGnd the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be among you and remain with you always. Amen.

All remain standing as the Processions move through the Cathedral .

Prelude and Fugue in E flat (BWV 552) Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)

THE QUEEN’S PROCESSION

Cross and Acolytes The Canons’ Verger The Cathedral Registrar Honorary Chaplain The Diocesan Registrar The Chancellor of the Diocese of Oxford The Precentor of Christ Church The Canons of Christ Church The Sub-Dean of Christ Church The Bishop of Oxford The Bishop’s Chaplain The Dean’s Verger The Dean of Christ Church

His Royal Highness HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN The Duke of Edinburgh

The Rt. Hon. Sir Christopher Geidt The Countess of Airlie

Lieutenant Commander Andrew Canale, R.N.

Mrs. Tim Stevenson Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Oxfordshire

13 THE ROYAL ALMONRY PROCESSION

The Dean’s Verger of Westminster Abbey The Serjeant of the Vestry of Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal The Lord High Almoner The Keeper of the Closet The Sub-Almoner The Secretary of the Royal Almonry The Assistant Secretary of the Royal Almonry The Children of the Royal Almonry The Clerk of the Cheque and Adjutant of the Yeomen of the Guard Messenger Sergeant Major of the Yeomen of the Guard The Yeomen in Attendance

THE DIOCESAN AND ECUMENICAL PROCESSION

A Verger

Ecumenical Representatives Superintendent Minister, Assistant Catholic Chaplain, Oxford Methodist Circuit University of Oxford

The College of Canons Honorary, Ecumenical and Lay Canons The Archdeacon of Berkshire The Archdeacon of Buckingham The Acting Archdeacon of Oxford Honorary Assistant Bishop The Bishop of Reading The Bishop of Buckingham The Bishop of Dorchester

The Choirs of Christ Church Cathedral and Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace, leave the Cathedral

The bells of the Cathedral are rung.

Members of the Congregation are requested to remain in their places whilst the Recipients and Companions are escorted from the Cathedral . The Stewards will then invite the congregation to leave.

14 THE The distribution of alms and the washing of the feet on the Thursday of Holy Week are of great antiquity. The Royal Maundy can be traced back in England with certainty to the thirteenth century, and there are continuous records of the Distribution having been made on from the reign of King Edward I. The first recorded Royal Distribution was at Knaresborough, North Yorkshire by King John in 1210. The Service derives its name from the Latin word ‘mandatum’, meaning a commandment, and its opening words are, ‘Jesus said: “I give you a new commandment” ’. From the fifteenth century, the number of recipients has been related to the years of the Sovereign’s life. At one time recipients were required to be of the same sex as the Sovereign, but since the eighteenth century they have numbered as many men and women as the Sovereign has years of age. Recipients are now pensioners selected because of the Christian service they have rendered to the Church and the community. The Distribution is in two parts and the gifts which are handed to the recipients are symbolic . The red purse contains a nominal allowance for clothing and provisions, formerly given in kind and a payment for the redemption of the royal gown. The white purse contains, in Maundy coins, , twopences, threepences and fourpences, as many pence as the Sovereign has years of age. Maundy coins are and, when the changed to decimal in 1971, the face value of a set of four coins became 10 new pence. The six alms dishes used for the Distribution date from the reign of King Charles II. The traditional Maundy Dish is part of the Regalia, and bears the cipher of William and Mary. The pair of Dishes known as the Fish Dishes, one seawater the other freshwater, were once part of the Chapel Royal Plate. The Fish Dishes were first used in a Maundy service at Tewkesbury in 1971. The fourth dish was first used at Bristol in 1999 and has a crowned rose in the centre and a wide border within a flower and a leafage motif, a horse, a bull, a boar and a stag. The fifth dish, used for the first time at Canterbury in 2002 has a central sun motif engraved with the Royal Stuart Arms in garter motto with a Prince’s coronet at the top. The sixth dish, used for the first time at Guildford, comes from The Royal Collection and is by John Bodington and engraved I.H.S. This year the four Children of the Royal Almonry have all been selected from schools in the Diocese of Oxford. The Chapel Royal Choir which takes part in this Service has a notable musical history and remains a distinctive part of the Royal establishment. It sang at Agincourt and was present at “The Field of Cloth of Gold”, indicating the place it took in the Royal entourage. Though the act of washing the feet seems to have been discontinued in about 1730, the Lord High Almoner and his assistants are still girded with linen towels in remembrance, and carry the traditional nosegays of sweet herbs. Some of the linen towels worn at this Service date from 1883, with new towels made in 1993 and 2003. New linen towels for the Children of the Royal Almonry were made at Buckingham Palace in 2011. The Queen’s Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard also plays an important part in the Service. This is the oldest Military Corps now existing, having been created in 1485 by King Henry VII. In earlier times the Ceremony was observed wherever the Sovereign was in residence. For many years the Maundy Gifts were distributed in the old Chapel Royal (now the Banqueting Hall) in Whitehall, but from 1890 to 1952 the Service was held at Westminster Abbey, except during the Coronation year in 1937 when the Service took place at St. Paul’s Cathedral. During the present reign, the service has been held at Westminster Abbey on sixteen occasions. In the intervening years, it has been held in the following cathedrals and abbeys: 1953 St Paul’s 1975 Peterborough 1989 Birmingham 2003 Gloucester 1955 Southwark 1976 Hereford 1990 Newcastle-upon -Tyne 2004 Liverpool 1957 St Albans 1978 Carlisle 1992 Chester 2005 1959 Windsor 1979 Winchester 1993 Wells 2006 Guildford 1961 Rochester 1980 Worcester 1994 Truro 2007 Manchester 1963 Chelmsford 1982 St David’s 1995 Coventry 2008 Armagh, NI 1965 Canterbury 1983 Exeter 1996 Norwich 2009 Bury St Edmunds 1967 Durham 1984 Southwell 1997 Bradford 2010 Derby 1969 Selby 1985 Ripon 1998 Portsmouth 2012 1971 Tewkesbury 1986 Chichester 1999 Bristol 1972 York 1987 Ely 2000 Lincoln 1974 Salisbury 1988 Lichfield 2002 Canterbury Paul Leddington Wright Secretary of the Royal Almonry

15 THE DIOCESE OF OXFORD

AN HISTORICAL NOTE

The Diocese of Oxford is the administrative area of the that, broadly speaking, covers the three counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

It was created in 1542 by Henry VIII, who carved it out of the then vast Diocese of Lincoln. The county of Berkshire (as it then was) was transferred from the Diocese of Salisbury in 1836 and Buckinghamshire from the Diocese of Lincoln in 1845.

Today, the Diocese has an estimated population of 2.2 million and covers 2,200 square miles – much the same area as Thames Valley Police. Sitting between the Cotswolds in the west and London to the east, the Diocese extends from tiny rural communities to the vastly different cities of Oxford and Milton Keynes. From Chipping Norton to Slough, from west Berkshire to Newport Pagnell, the Diocese includes villages and market towns, suburbs and urban areas, organized into 626 parishes or 302 benefices.

There are 815 churches in our Diocese – more than any other diocese in the Church of England. Eighty per cent of these are listed buildings. In many ways the best description of the Diocese of Oxford is that it is the family of the 55,000 or so regular worshippers in these churches.

The Diocese’s unique combination of buildings, volunteers, voluntary giving and involvement in the lives of the community make it the largest self-funded voluntary organisation in the Thames Valley.

Our vision as a Diocese is ‘Living Faith for the Future’. Our purpose is to join with God in creating a caring, sustainable and growing Christian presence in every part of the Diocese, enabling every Christian and every Christian community to live and share the love of God seen in the life of Jesus Christ.

The central strands of the Living Faith vision are holistic mission and sustaining spirituality. We have five priorities: • Sustaining the sacred centre • Making disciples • Making a difference in the world • Creating vibrant Christian communities • Shaping confident, collaborative leadership.

To find out more about the Diocese of Oxford and the Living Faith vision, please see our website: www.oxford.anglican.org

16 CHRIST CHURCH OXFORD – A BRIEF HISTORY

Christ Church is an unique institution, combining an Anglican cathedral with a college of the University of Oxford. Originally founded as Cardinal College by in 1525, it was re-established by King Henry VIII in 1546 as both the Cathedral Church of the newly-created Diocese of Oxford and an academic college, for which the Cathedral served as Chapel.

The Cathedral is the oldest part of the foundation, dating back to the twelfth century and the establishment of a community of regular (Augustinian) canons dedicated to St. Frideswide. Their patron, Frideswide, was a pious, chaste Saxon noblewoman. She reputedly established a nunnery on the site of the future cathedral for herself and twelve other virgin young women, despite having been pursued by Algar, Prince of Leicester, who wanted to marry her. Only when she caused him to be blinded, did Algar abandon his desires and leave the nun to her devotions. Frideswide died in 727AD and her shrine rapidly became a place of pilgrimage. The Church dedicated to her memory was burnt down in 1002 but rebuilt soon after with a royal donation as a community of secular canons; their presence in Oxford was recorded in the Great Domesday Book of 1087. After its refoundation as an Augustinian Priory in 1122, the church was rebuilt in the Norman (Romanesque) style. Pilgrims continued to visit the Church to venerate Frideswide’s relics, preserved in an ornate shrine. Although that was destroyed at the Reformation, the shrine has since been reconstructed in the Latin Chapel in the north-eastern corner of the Cathedral. The Byrne-Jones east window in that chapel tells the saint’s story.

The Priory was suppressed in 1524, during the reign of King Henry VIII; in 1525 Henry’s , Cardinal Wolsey, began to build a college for the University on the site. Tom Quad, containing the Great Hall, lies at the heart of Wolsey’s great project, originally called Cardinal College. But Wolsey fell out of favour with the king in 1529 and died before his College could be completed. Had he lived, the College would have had a vast new chapel on the north side of Tom Quad to replace the old priory church, which Wolsey had intended to be only a temporary chapel.

After Wolsey’s fall and death, King Henry VIII took over the fabric and endowments of Wolsey’s foundation in 1531 and re-designated them ‘King Henry VIII’s College’ in 1532. Then in 1546, he converted the Priory Church into the Cathedral Church of a new Diocese of Oxford, renaming College and Cathedral together: Christ Church. Not only one of the smallest cathedrals in England, this is also the only one of which the diocesan bishop is not Visitor; that role is taken by the reigning monarch. Her Majesty The Queen is thus the current Visitor of Christ Church. The Cathedral today is a thriving centre of worship serving the City, the Shire and the wider Diocese, but still a College Chapel as well. Spanning 1300 years of history, the site that Christ Church occupies has seen an Anglo-Saxon nunnery, a medieval priory, a Tudor college and a cathedral church. It remains both an ancient and a very contemporary part of Oxford life.

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