Charles, King and Martyr

If I hadn't heard it with my own ears I wouldn't have believed it. Breakfast conversation in this house for retired clergy, church workers, and widows. One resident says to another "Why honour him in this way and not any other monarch? It couldn't be for his Christian faith could it?"

Why We Honour King Charles I as a Saint

King Charles the Martyr was the last saint to be canonised by the Church of England.
He is honoured as a martyr because he died for the Church. He was offered his life if he would abandon episcopacy but he refused for this would have taken the Church of England away from being part of 'the one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church’ and made Her into a sect.
So we venerate him for his sacrifice and see in it inspiration for us today.
In the words of Dr. Mandell Creighton, Bishop of London 1897-1901 and a noted ecclesiastical historian: ‘Had Charles been willing to abandon the Church and give up episcopacy, he might have saved his throne and his life. But on this point Charles stood firm: for this he died, and by dying saved it for the future.’
Immediately upon the Restoration of Church and King on 19th May, 1660, the Convocation of Canterbury and York, now being free to assemble and act, canonised King Charles and added his name to the Kalendar of Saints at the revision of The Prayer Book It came into use with the authority of Church and State in 1662 and since that time parish churches and chapels have been dedicated under the title of S.Charles (often as King Charles the Martyr).
S.Charles is also honoured for his strong personal piety and for his protection and patronage of the Church.
His reign saw the beginning of a revival of the Religious Life in the Church of England and the first attempt at Community Life (after the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII), which began at Little Gidding and was encouraged by S.Charles.
He oversaw many schemes for the Church: the restoration and adornment of churches and cathedrals, the founding and advancement of charities, the improvement of the liturgy and the re-introduction of the episcopacy in Scotland. His reign witnessed, albeit briefly, a Golden Age for Anglicanism especially in spiritual and devotional writing which is still much appreciated today.

There is a great need again today to claim the catholic heritage of the Church of England against its erosion by protestants and liberals. May God grant the church priests and laity ready to do just that whatever the personal costs involved.

The Society of King Charles the Martyr is an Anglican devotional society and one of the Catholic Societies of the Church of England. (It is also active in the Episcopal Church USA and has international members elsewhere). It is dedicated to and under the patronage of King Charles I of England (19 November 1600–30 January 1649), the only person to be canonized by the Church of England after the English Reformation.

It was common practice for the head of a traitor to be held up and exhibited to the crowd with the words "Behold the head of a traitor!"; although Charles' head was exhibited, the words were not used. In an unprecedented gesture, one of the prominent leaders of the revolutionaries, Oliver Cromwell, allowed the King's head to be sewn back on his body so the family could pay its respects. Charles was buried privately and at night on 7 February 1649, in the Henry VIII vault inside St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. The King's son, King Charles II, later planned an elaborate royal mausoleum, but this never eventuated.
When the Church and Monarchy were restored on 19 May, 1660, Canterbury and York, being the two primacies of the Church of England, assembled their convocations and, added his name to the ecclesiastical calendar in the Book of Common Prayer to be celebrated on the day of his death. In the time of Queen Victoria this was however removed upon request by elected representatives of the Commons; now, 30 January is only listed as a "Lesser Festival." There are several Anglican/Episcopal churches dedicated to Charles I as "King and Martyr," in England, Canada, Australia and the United States.