Explore every episode of the podcast The Church Uncovered

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 strong adherents of the earlier Councils, and regard Athanasius very much as one of their great saintly forbears. Archbishop Angaelos reflects with Anders on the significance of Nicaea and the Nicene-Constantinopolitan creed for his community today. In its heartland, Egypt, a Muslim majority country today, the Coptic Church has had its struggles and has known real concern. It remains a courageous witness to the Nicene faith.

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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 April, with Lord Chartres, he led a ecumenical pilgrimage to Nicaea, organised by the Anglican and Eastern Churches Association. William poses questions about the Eastern Orthodox perspective on Nicaea, the date of Easter and the contentious subject of the Filioque.

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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 (Father Christmas in popular culture who existed as a reputed Bishop). The debates were serious and lasted over a month in the breezy tranquil imperial resort of Nicaea in the Asian side of the Bosphorus. After intervention from the Emperor himself the Bishops voted for Athanasius’s contention that the Son was “of the same substance” as the Father. The Arian controversy was seemingly ended. However  neither Arianism nor Trinitarian discussions were at an end. They were only just beginning.

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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.

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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. 

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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 Digital Image Archive of Medieval Music at the Faculty of Music, University of Oxford. His book Music and Ceremonial at British Coronations CUP 2013 is one of the key works on Coronation Music.

Dr Grahame Davies CVO

He spent 12 years in the Royal Household from where, as Deputy Private Secretary, he oversaw the music for the Coronation of King Charles III, and the Honours of Scotland ceremony, as well as leading the project to create the Cross of Wales, which led the Coronation procession. He is the author of 19 books in Welsh and English and a winner of the Wales Book of the Year Award. He has a degree in English from Anglia Ruskin University, a doctorate from Cardiff University, honorary doctorates of letters from Anglia Ruskin and Aberdeen Universities and is an honorary Professor of Practice of the University of Wales. Since November 2023 he has been Director of Mission and Strategy for the Church in Wales.

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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 February 2021. Syed is Professor of Politics and International Relations at St Mary’s University, Twickenham. Lord Kamall is a practising Muslim and presented the Armills to HM The King, at the 2023 Coronation. His recent publications include Examining the Commonwealth’s Future Role Journal of Parliaments of the Commonwealth 2023.

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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: Defenders of the Faith – the British Monarchy, Religion and the Next Coronation, published by Hodder and Stoughton 2023 and The British and the Papacy from John Paul II to Francis T&T Clark 2017. She is also a trustee of Bible Society, National Churches Trust and Kaleidoscope Project.

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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 to Serve – was published in 2001. UCL Constitution Unit where Bob works with Professor Robert Hazell on a monarchy project focused on the condition of the European monarchies. The work has produced the Unit reports No 170 The Queen at 90: The Changing Role of the Monarchy, and Future Challenges, published 2016, plus No 180 Swearing in the New King: The Accession Declarations and Coronation Oaths, and No181 Inaugurating a New Reign: Planning the Accession and Coronation, the latter two both published May 2018. Following a March 2019 seminar, an edited book on the eight European monarchies - The Role of Monarchy in Modern Democracy – was published in September 2020.

 Professor Michael Kandiah KCL 

Lecturer in Contemporary British History & Director of OHP, School of Politics & Economics, King’s College London. Currently he is Director of the ICBH Witness Seminar Programme, which seeks to capture oral testimony of British politicians, diplomats, civil servants and other key individuals involved in significant events in recent British history. Contributor to Epilogue: The Rise of the Queen Glencross, M. P., Kandiah, M. D. & Rowbotham, J., 2016, The Windsor Dynasty 1910 to the Present: Long to Reign over us?. Palgrave Macmillan. Michael chaired and hosted two significant seminars in April 2023 and again in December 2023 preparing for and evaluating the King’s Coronation.

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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 published in 2023 as God Save the King), Bradley has written widely on cultural and spiritual matters. He was Head of Religious Broadcasting for BBC Scotland from 1990 to 1993. Ian gave a lecture on the Coronation to the Prayer Book Society’s series in the Spring of 2023. 

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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 Rabbi of the West London (Reform) Synagogue. In 2004 she was made a life-peer, and she now sits as a Crossbencher. Her many publications cover a variety of areas, not least health and social policy, and also, Judaism and issues to do with death and dying. Her 2019 Book Antisemitism What it is. What it isn’t. Why it matters. W&N 2019, was a timely reminder of the “canary down the mine” character of what is happening in society if antisemitism is any way on the increase.

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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 Cathedral. Francis’s work on the Coronation rite includes a scholarly comparison of the  1953 and 2023 rites. 

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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 constitutionally. The very particular nature of the rite, as encompassing matters of Church and State under one umbrella, will mean that religious and constitutional questions will be explored in tandem.

 Editors/Presenters

The Revd Dr Anders Bergquist
Has been the Vicar of St John’s Wood since 2002. Born of Swedish parents and brought up in various parts of Europe and the Middle East, Anders trained as an archaeologist in Cambridge, where he wrote his PhD on the later prehistory of Transylvania. He then studied theology at Oxford, and was ordained in St Albans diocese in 1986. He returned to Cambridge in 1989 to teach at Westcott House Theological College, and served as President of the Cambridge Theological Federation 1995-7. He was a Residentiary Canon at St Alban’s Cathedral, and was responsible for the continuing theological education and professional development of clergy and Readers in St Albans diocese. Outside the parish, Anders is involved at national level in ecumenical work with the Scandinavian and Baltic churches and as Consultant to the Church of England’s Liturgical Commission.

The Revd Canon William Gulliford
Has two jobs. He is Vicar of St Mark’s Regent’s Park, the neighbouring parish to St John’s Wood, and he serves Director of Ordinands for the Diocese in Europe. He is a Canon of Gibraltar Cathedral. He was asked to do commentary for TF1 for the late Queen’s funeral in September 2022, and was asked to return in May 2023, to be part of the commentary team for King Charles III’s Coronation. He prepared a study guide for the 13 other Diocese in Europe clergy who assisted other national broadcasters across Europe for the Coronation. He gave lectures in Oxford and Cambridge in the lead up to the Coronation and wrote an article on the significance of the rite for The Critic in May 2023. Amongst others involved in this project, he contributed to the two conferences at King’s College London, before and after the Coronation, arranged by Dr Michael Kandiah.

 Producer

The Revd Emily Kolltveit
Has had a career in professional music making since childhood, after a training at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts. She was a founder member of a Metal Band as well as a member of Mediaeval Baebes an all women’s musical ensemble. She trained for ministry at Ripon College, Cuddesdon and after serving her curacy at St Mary the Virgin, Primrose Hill, she is now priest in charge of St Jude’s on the Hill Hampstead Garden Suburb. She and her husband Are, produce and edit the podcast from their studio in NW11.

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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 persist. The Archbishop of Canterbury presides over an event of particular holiness. 
 
 Two Anglican clergy will host interviews with specialists in the fields of Biblical Studies and Liturgy, as well as friends from other faith traditions, to explore the significance of this rite in the past and for the present.
 
 Dr Anders Bergquist is a Theologian, Church Historian and Liturgist who is consultant to the Church of England's Liturgical Commission. He is parish priest of St John's Wood. William Gulliford is a parish priest in London and Director of Ordinands for the Diocese in Europe. He will be commentating for French TV Station TF1, on 6 May, for the Coronation of King Charles III. While sharing an interest in this rite and coming from much the same part of the Church of England they have interestingly differing perspectives on the rite. They are looking forward to meeting with their guests and exploring some of the questions which surround this rite in terms of the evolving history and contemporary significance. 

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

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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.

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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.

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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 does what in terms of planning a Coronation and the evolution of the constitutional elements of the rite.

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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 musicians of the Abbey.              

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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.

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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 the Coronation and to what they are looking forward.

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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 and St Margaret’s, Westminster for those who work in Parliament. She looks forward to some of the key elements of what will be seen at the King’s Coronation.

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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 pray for the King, and clergy of the Church of England takes oaths of allegiance to the Sovereign and their successors. Jamie answers questions about his lecture. He reflects on Service, Thanksgiving, The one and the many, and the Environment. He explains the significance of one of the Abbey’s architectural treasures, the Cosmati pavement, upon which will sit the Coronation Chair.

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