The sun., 1896-02-09
W0RSHIppING ST. CHARLES.
now KING CHARLES OF ENGLAND
COMES TO ne .tDORED IN AMERICA.

His Enrolment on the Prayer Book Cnlcn-
dnr Considered nm Act or Cnnonizntion.
ma It Was Done ny Convocat,on As lie
WAS Martyr for the Episcopal Church.
His Intcrcrssion q. ASkcd In IL. II ,hair-
Miracles Attributed to the ssn,ut-Four
Churches Dedicated 10 Him In England.
Tho announcement. In the nccount of tho
services held In tho Church of st, Mary the
Virgin on Jan. 80 in memory OF Charles l.,
that the martyrcl King was the ''only saint
officially enrolled in her calendar by the
Church of England since the Reformation" :"
has startled pcuplc who thought that the Pope
WAS the sole source Of canOnt2ntion. and we're
unaware that the English Church claim nu.
thority TO cnuonizc. The Introduction into
this free country OF the coinmemor.lticn of n
monarch 90 generally deemed foe to freedom
Is, at first view, perhaps. even more startling
thnn Baby tharlcs's" being rcput.d n saint.
Those who delight to honor Charles !. in this
capacity. however, prove his canonizaton to
bc valid. To their own satisfaction, at least, and
also give apparently good grounds for lcicvng
that person may be better EpisCopalan
and none the less an American in celebrating
King Charlcs's day. The argument for Charles
LIS snintship Is this:
In l00l king Charles, Martyr" was en-.
tcrcdo on the Prayer Book calendar at Jan. 80,
tho day of the mOnarch's execution. This
was done by Convccation, the clergy, lords, and
commons uniting with Charles ii. thus to com
mcmoratc his father. Tho Prayer Book itself
is founded on no better authority than the act
placing in Its calendar king Charles. Mar.
tyr" says Blunt in his Annotated Book Of
Common Prayer"
Now the word Martyr" when thus used
IN an ecclesiastical calendar. includes Saint.
In placing Charles Oh the Prayer Book caicn.
dar us martyr, Convocation Canonizcd hin.
This use of the word martyr is not strained
one. and applied only to Charles. No one
dreams Of calling anything but saint the other
personuges designated in tho Prayer Book cal
endar as martyrs. The greater includes the
less. martyr for his faith as the High Church
folk regard Charles. necessarily is q saint.
What better proof could he give of his sanctity
than to die for his church? Tint Charles did
die for the tnurch is founded on the belief that
his lite would have been spared had he CON
sentod to accept the proposition of the prcsby-
'eria'l Parliament to abolish episcOpacy. His
acccptance, however, would have resulted in
the surrender of his royal authority. for the
lnritnns were determined to abolish not only
he suffered for sins political do not believe. Of
sH"rcnT htsvd ,he sSnops The 'n@Ists how
we'll as his title 10 martyr, and. consequently,
his ,snntship., is based on this belief.
The poet. John kcblc. wns evidently among
those who believed that Charles died for the
Church, and was entitled. consequently to tho
designation of Saint. One of his hymns begins:
our own our Royal Saint
True son OF our dear mother, early taught
with her to worship and FOR her to die,
Nurs'd in her aisles to more than kingly thought,
OFT in her solemn hours we dream thee nigh
Miracles are attributed to st. Charles. Not
only. it is said, did he touch those afflicted
suits performed
The handkerchief which was dipped in hi.
blood Mt his execution also was supposed to
possess miraculous powers. Riuulistic
clergyman told the writer that he was among
those believing in the miracles Of Charles l. in
his life and OF the handkerchief after his
death. He implied that his fellow believers
While ihe devotccs Of tho White King, ns
prove that Charles through being placed on
the Prayer Book calendar by Convocation. is
ssa ak @ they 'ss to- be OF TO h
argument that his removal from tho calendar
in 500 must have abolished his title to saint.
that this was done, not by Convention. or the
clergy. lords. and commons combined. but by
Sonc 1t was th"resore % they i%~e c"nte1a e
gal. and of no effect. Jan. 80. thcrcfor" Is
still devoted rightfuliy TO the, commemoration
less the removal from the calendar is sane
toned ny tcnNorhuon, an unlikely Cnntin-
Cunm"Inoratiun decrecd to him by con>oCu-
ton in 1881.
Charles |, having died for his church, natu,
lions Tor the welfare of that church are offered.
II ison this ground that the Society of King
Ghar.Ss The Martyr was organized In London on
VILE Nuccnt was the founder of the society. and
1t numbers among its members mnn$ persons of
rank among the High Church folk of England.
The object of the society, as set forth in the
pcosnestus is: ,"lnteressSory p'ayer for .he
a,saks as Of hs, 1 GnSs Of st ns
1T is now more than ESQ years since the be,
Church Of England which eliminated In the
tragedy Of Whitehall. In that strange deCara-
ton OF universal liberation from which 'Popery
and l'rclacy were alone cXCcp ed, and IN eleven
years OF desolatun OF the altar and the throne.
Had King Charles consented To destroy the
Church by the abolition Of episcopacy, lie would,
beyond doubt have saved his life and his crow II.
Thus it was tla he died n true martyr for those
principles which dit'crentiate the Church OF
Reformation gave birth. and for that which
unitcs her with the other historic chur hes
Church. 1t is for this reason that it has seemed
appropriate to dedicate 10 King Charles the
Martyr. soricty which has, for its object the
protection, of The Church Of England against
tile attacks, Of her enemies, whose present
methods and objects bear n remarkable resent
blanre to those Of their predecessors in the davS
OF lac great rebellion The sU"icty is cmphntI.
cnlly n"n.poii,ical II Is I" The church in her
wUrld-that It's attention l. principally direct
ed, though il Is prepared also to resist any thing
that may tend to Impair the usefulness of the
Church in the world. Those who Join the
,icty do not, however. pledge themselves TO
more than the weekly use Of the annexed
prayers uhc first OF Will h. heinz adapted from
III. Eikon Basilke, may be regarded ~ til"
words of King Charles himself. and 10 IL" uh-
errvaucc In some why OF the 10th OF january,
tn" day of tLc Kings death (which will hc the
anniversary o" tine sorirtyl. c>pccallr by nt-
tending. when possible. IN any church where
they have hccn revived. the services formerly
appointed for the day III the Book of Common
Prayer "
Here is the PRAYER. taken from N" Irikon
BaSiiikG which, as is seen, is believed To bc the
work of st. Charles.
o. Thou Cod Of ordcr and truth, In Thy good
time ibat" the rage and ConfuG:i all tho iliS
ChlrNuu- devices Of Thy Church, "n. mics. Ir".
blessings which Thy rroNr!unCr hnl; bc,Iuwci tor
Thy Elor.. that We and all inti l"N" !iS church,
may sing praises Ia l!,'r amt rN"r i'agHiIy !hr
salvation Through J"su, Christ, our lnri Amen.
There Is not room here to enter iuto the con
trovcrsy respecting the authorize Ul ,llr EikOn
Basilikt. but unprciuhiCrd "uthoThir~ agree i'll
nttrhuting it to DR.. GuId"us and not TO
Charles !.
The other prayers mentioned in he pr -p"ctus
were IN the Original services iur Jn. 80, aS pub
llshrl in 1861. The one upplylnE Particularly