Christian Viewpoint: Prince Philip was a more complex and a deeper man than many of us realised
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The outpouring of tributes to Prince Philip in the last couple of weeks reveal him to have been a more complex, deeper man than many of us realised, writes John Dempster.
Christian faith was clearly important to the prince. The tributes make reference to ‘the depth of his faith and his theological knowledge’. He was ‘a believing Christian’; his faith was ‘much more than nominal’.
Baptised as an infant into the Greek Orthodox Church, Philip continued to be inspired by Orthodoxy throughout his life, though he joined the Anglican Communion prior to marrying Princess Elizabeth in 1947.
Ian Bradley of St Andrews University tells us Philip has ‘a wonderful knowledge of the Bible’ and was in the habit of closely questioning ministers whose sermons he had just listened to at Crathie Kirk. Bradley also reveals that Philip encouraged the Queen to talk more openly about her faith in her Christmas broadcasts.
Royal chronicler Robert Lacey reveals that Philip had “a late-life religious awakening”, and that “St George’s House clearly provided the long-needed dimension for which Philip had been searching in his spiritual life”. Philip’s faith story was clearly one of seeking, and of finding.
St George’s House was set up by Philip at Windsor Castle in collaboration with the Dean of Windsor in 1966.
It brought together clergy, politicians and scientists to discuss the interplay of spirituality with key contemporary issues. Philip often attended these discussions, sometimes taking part, sometimes listening attentively showing “his humility before things he knew he did not understand”.
Philip was passionate about global warming and the risk to the environment long before the subject became the pressing issue it is today. We are told that he was the first world leader to understand that the religions of the world (and he was an advocate of inter-faith action) could be natural partners with the conservation movement.
The line Philip took in a sermon – that God had forgiven us for killing his son, but wasn’t going to forgive us for killing the Earth, might not be theologically robust but it certainly revealed the Duke’s passion.
Prince Philip’s faith speaks to us most emphatically in the self-giving it inspired – his commitment to the many organisations who sought his help, to young people through the Duke of Edinburgh Award and above all, his devoted support of the Queen.
For her, he left a naval career and acted as a faithful consort over the last 70 years, as each accepted the roles they had been assigned. As Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby rightly says, Philip “consistently put the interests of others ahead of his own, and in so doing provided an outstanding example of Christian service”.
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