Why our monarch is defender of the faith

THERE was no CCTV to record the Easter rising or scene which greeted the visitors and witnesses at ‘The Empty Tomb’. Neither did the Magi (wise men from the East) leave behind any stamped passports offering a window into their journey

to Nazareth. Christmas and Easter do much less well than Pentecost

when it comes to collateral evidence tests. But the spiritual root of

Pentecost has largely been lost sight of in the modern UK, where the masses are more drawn to celebrate the Whit bank holiday Monday.

Roman, Greek, and Jewish authors documented – ‘the spreading flame’– growth of the early church in various ancient manuscripts. Archaeological experts have also found inscription of the

strange new cult which grabbed the Mediterranean world’s attention. Modern sceptics often dismiss the message of the church because it

sounds so manifestly absurd, a fairenough point at one level, but they fail to follow through with a teasing question which must inevitably follow: why has such an oddsounding amalgam of far-fetched spiritual and supernatural claims survived or even thrived for so long? A church father wrote: ‘It is true because it is impossible’.

This Pentecost, as the UK celebrates the Platinum Jubilee, we have reason to contemplate or deliberate upon the world view which has sustained our monarch through decades of faithful service. Many members of the Royal dynasty (distant and more recent) have disgraced or defiled its reputation.

But does our Queen uniquely deserve those letters –’FD’ – we see printed on coins: Defender of the

Faith?

J T Hardy by email