King Charles III made his Coronation oath on the Holy Bible before being anointed with sacred oil blessed in Jerusalem at the service at the Westminster Abbey in London. The King said: “God of compassion and mercy whose Son was sent not to be served but to serve, give grace that I may find in thy service perfect freedom and in that freedom knowledge of thy truth.” Moments before, he had sworn his Coronation oath on the Holy Bible.
King Charles was then anointed with Holy oil, blessed in Jerusalem. Then he was presented with ceremonial items, each one representing a kingly virtue and responsibilities of the monarch. Significantly, the sword had with it these words: “With this sword do justice, stop the growth of iniquity, protect the holy Church of God and all people of goodwill, help and defend widows and orphans, restore the things that are gone to decay, maintain the things that are restored, punish and reform what is amiss, and confirm what is in good order: that doing these things you may be glorious in all virtue; and so faithfully serve our Lord Jesus Christ in this life, that you may reign for ever with him in the life which is to come. Amen.”
