King Charles is supposed to be “the Defender of the Faith” of the Anglican Church. He’s always seen religion as more of a buffet though – for years, he’s legitimately done a lot of interfaith dialogue, and he’s always been pretty respectful of Britain’s multifaith society. So imagine my surprise at this story. Apparently, back in the 1990s, Charles was concerned about political correctness run amok in many Christian sects, and he thought the Orthodox Church was the only sect not corrupted by wokeism. Oh, Charles is like THAT??
The King once praised the Orthodox Church as the only Christians who are “not corrupted by loathsome political correctness”, a newly uncovered letter has revealed. In private correspondence from 1998, the then Prince of Wales admitted he felt more drawn to the “timeless traditions” of the Orthodox Church as he grew older.
Writing to his friend Dudley Poplak, the late interior designer who worked closely with the Royal family, the King said: “Personally, the older I get, the more I am drawn to the great, timeless traditions of the Orthodox Church.” He added: “They are the only ones that have not been corrupted by loathsome political correctness.”
The King, who became Supreme Governor of the Church of England upon ascending the throne like his mother before him, has always had strong ties to the Greek Orthodox Church. His father, the late Prince Philip, was baptised a Greek Orthodox, although he later converted to Anglicanism before marrying Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen. To mark his paternal heritage, the monarch had a choir perform Psalm 71 in Greek at his Coronation last May. He has also been seeking support and spiritual advice from Archimandrite Ephraim, a Greek Orthodox monk, in the wake of his cancer diagnosis earlier this year.
In 2004, it was claimed that he was so enamoured with the Orthodox faith that he adorned a section of his Highgrove home with prized Byzantine icons, many said to originate from the Mount – the Orthodox world’s holiest site. Greek Orthodox Church worship focuses more on traditional sacrament and sacred scriptures as opposed to preaching and prayer.
The newly uncovered letter comes as the Church of England has faced accusations of being consumed by political correctness and failing to stand up for Christian values over the past 20 years. The Church has come under criticism for its diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives and, last year, faced scrutiny for the establishment of a £100 million fund to “address past wrongs of slavery” during a time of financial crisis among parishes.
Imagine being mad about the Anglican Church’s DEI policies. Jesus preached DEI, how woke!! As for Charles’s love of the Orthodox Church… I suspect that he gets all of that from his father. Again, it wouldn’t be a big deal – I certainly wouldn’t give a sh-t – if this was Chuck Battenberg, random German-British guy. But it looks more and more like the Windsors have no interest in the Anglican Church anymore. The king would prefer Orthodoxy and the heir isn’t religious whatsoever.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red.