The Church Uncovered

Episode 3: William interviews His Eminence Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain. He is the leading Eastern Orthodox Bishop in England. Archbishop Nikitas was the son of Greek parents who lived in the US. His ministry has been international, serving for many years in Far East. He has been Archbishop since his election by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in June 2019. In Ap...

Episode 4:  Anders interviews His Eminence Archbishop Angaelos, the Coptic Archbishop of London. The Coptic Church has its metropolitan see in Alexandria, the birthplace of St Athanasius, the key Theologian of the Council, and his Patriarch, Alexander. The Coptic Church is part of a family of Churches which did not subscribe to the doctrines of the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD. But Copts are str...

Anders and William explore the world of the early 4 th century AD and examine the background. The Emperor Constantine saw his reign as that of a new Augustus and longed for a strong and unified empire but doctrinal ructions in Alexandria threatened this new age. Support the show

The decision is made to call a Council to find a doctrinal formulation about the person of Jesus Christ which all might unite around was Constantine’s aim. The Bishops gathered at  Nicaea to debate the proposals. The choices were between the the teachings of the popular and enticing Arius and the serious but little known deacon, Athanasius. Amongst those in attendance were St Nicholas of Myra (Fat...

Welcome to the 3rd Season of the Church Uncovered Nicaea Uncovered The history of the Council of Nicaea is fascinating. In this season William and Anders tackle this important happening with an array of special guests.  Hosts: William Gulliford & Anders Bergquist  Produced by: Emily Kolltveit.  Support the show

Episode 7 Music and the Coronation  Dr Matthias Range  Has published widely in both history and music, with the focus of his interdisciplinary research being sacred music and religious culture since the sixteenth century. An area of particular interest is the history of the British monarchy, which is the topic of his major book publications. He currently works as a post-doctoral researcher for the...

Episode 6 Syed, Lord Kamall  Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport between 20 September 2022 and 28 October 2022. He was previously Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Technology, Innovation and Life Sciences at the Department of Health and Social Care between 17 September 2021 and 20 September 2022. He was made a life peer on 11 Febr...

Episode 5  Ecumenical Developments in 2023 Catherine Pepinster Roman Catholic Journalist, author and broadcaster. Editor of The Tablet 2004-2017. Contributor to The Times, The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Observer, and for specialist sites. Catherine has been a contributor to Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme for 19 years. Her publications include: Defend...

Episode 4  Constitutional Implications The Oath and Homage & Who was there and who was not; and why it matters?  Dr Bob Morris - UCL Constitution Unit Career in the Home Office. He acted as a locum Secretary for Public Affairs to the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace, and was secretary to the Hurd inquiry on the See of Canterbury and role of the Archbishop whose report – To Lead and t...

Episode 3  An overview of the Day itself – Religious and Media Perspectives The Revd Prof Ian Bradley  Emeritus Professor of Cultural and Spiritual History at the University of St Andrews, where he was Principal of St Mary's College, the Faculty and School of Divinity, and honorary Church of Scotland Chaplain. The author of over 35 books, including God Save the Queen DLT 2003 (updated and pub...

Episode 2  Biblical Perspectives on the Rite  For the Podcast: Rabbi Baroness (Julia) Neuberger DBE A regular broadcaster, on BBC Radio 2 and Radio 4, Julia was the first woman Rabbi to have her own Synagogue. Following studies in Cambridge and Leo Baeck College, she then taught at Len Baeck from 1977-1997. She was Chief Executive of the King’s Fund from 1997-2004. From 2011 to 2020 she was Senior...

Episode 1 - The Rite and its evolution in 2023 Canon Dr Francis Young Respected authority on the religious history of Britain and the Baltic region. He published several keys  articles about the Coronation in The Critic, The Spectator and The House in May 2023, as well as his own  detailed studies different Coronation Rites. He is a Reader in the Church of England, a Lay Canon of St Edmundsbury Ca...

Coming on the 6th of May .... This season of the Podcast will concentrate on what has been learned from the 2023 Coronation. We are interested in what is of value in the rite, and what do contributors consider needs to be held on to? There will be discussion of what not included in 2023, which was integral to the 1953 rite, and what the significance of that might be liturgically and constitutional...

A Podcast for those interested in the religious significance and history of the English Coronation Service. Produced by Emily Kolltveit     The English Coronation Rite is the only remaining anointing ritual of a Christian monarch. The ceremonies which attend the crowning of English Kings date from before the Norman Conquest, and despite huge changes in society, the state and the Church, they persi...

William Gulliford and Anders Bergquist introduce the Coronation Rite and explore the themes which will be discussed in forthcoming episodes Support the show

Rabbi Baroness (Julia) Neuberger DBE cross-bench peer, former Senior Rabbi at the West London Synagogue, discusses the background to issues of Kingship and anointing in the Hebrew Bible, and matters of interfaith representation at the Coronation today. Julia responds to questions about Establishment and the King’s Role vis a vis the Church of England. Support the show

The Revd Dr Mark Scarlata and the Revd Dr Matthias Grebe teach at St Mellitus, the largest of the Church of England’s Theological Colleges. Mark teaches the Hebrew Bible, and Matthias studied Barth and teaches Doctrine. Together they develop some of the issues raised in the preceding episode about Kingship and Anointing, and explore the Messiahship of Jesus. Support the show

Bob Morris had a career as a Senior Civil Servant in the Home Office, specialising in Constitutional matters. On retirement he became one of the early Honorary Research Associates at the Constitution Unit at University College London, which has published a range of articles about the Coronation and the legal status of the Monarchy today. Bob discusses matters relating to the Coronation Oath, who d...

The Revd Peter Peter McGeary is the Vicar of St Mary’s Cable Street, and is a Priest Vicar of Westminster Abbey, where he deputises for the Minor Canons. As a professional Church musician, Peter is well qualified to describe and discuss the musical inheritance of Coronation and to discuss the significance of the English Choral tradition as it has been inherited and exemplified by the choir and mus...

Theo Hobson is a lay Theologian and Marcus Walker is Vicar of St Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield. They both write opinion pieces regularly for different publications. Marcus chairs Save the Parish. Both discuss some of the key features of the Coronation rite, not least anointing, and questions relating to Establishment. Support the show

Mitzi James and Emily Kolltveit (the series’ producer) are coming to the end of their curacies in the Diocese of London. They trained respectively at Mirfield and Cuddesdon and have been serving in Liberal Catholic parishes. As part of the next generation of clergy they speak about how they reacted to the death of the late Queen and how they foresee those amongst whom they minister responding to t...

The Revd & Rt Honourable Baroness (Maeve) Sherlock is the Shadow Minister for Work and Pensions in the House of Lords. She is also Assistant Priest of St Nicholas’s, Durham. Maeve discusses the significance of the Crown in Parliament, what it means to be a Priest in full-time politics, and the workings of the House of Lords. As a Priest-Vicar of the Abbey, she reflects on the role of the Abbey...

Canon Dr Jamie Hawkey is Canon Theologian of Westminster Abbey. On 27 February 2023 he gave a seminal lecture in Westminster Abbey entitled A Theology of Monarchy for the  21st c. Moving beyond consideration of what might take place in the Coronation itself, Jamie’s proposed a framework for considering a Theology of monarchy. His proposal rests on the reality that in the Church we are enjoined to...