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Saturday, April 30, 2011

A ghost at the royal wedding


I'm not a monarchist, but I am a liturgy buff. So when I watched a recap of the royal wedding, I was struck by the fact that, except for the omission of a promise by the bride to obey her husband, the language of the vows and the archbishop's exhortations was old-school, from the Book of Common Prayer, not some newfangled order of service.

I was especially interested in the reference to the third person of the Trinity as "Holy Ghost," not "Holy Spirit." Holy Ghost is how he (it?) was introduced to me in Catholic school and there was much levity about whether the Holy Ghost knew Casper the Friendly Ghost. (Years later, one of my college professors told us a mouldy joke about the way a beatnik (!) referred to the Trinity: Daddio, Laddio and Spook.)

To read more, click here.

Related article: A modern service for a modern girl... straightforward, safe and tasteful

1 comment:

  1. Leaving out the promise of a bride to obey her husband is leaving out one of the foundations of Christian marriage. It may seem traditional, but it's still 21st Century DIY religion.

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