Senior officials with a historic Protestant fraternal group based in Northern Ireland fired off complaint letters to King Charles III for having prayed with Pope Leo XIV last month, which the group alleged was a violation of his coronation oath.
The Grand Masters of Ireland, England and Scotland in the Orange Order — founded in 1795 by Ulster Protestants in County Armagh, Northern Ireland — each wrote to the king privately “to encourage him to reflect upon the solemn commitments of his Coronation oath and the promises he made before God,” according to The Orange Standard, the organization’s flagship newspaper.
On Oct. 23, King Charles III participated in an ecumenical worship service with Pope Leo XIV in the Sistine Chapel, marking the first time a reigning British monarch has attended such a service since the English Reformation nearly five centuries ago.
Acknowledging that “Henry VIII’s motivations to break from Rome are well documented as being largely a means to meet his own personal needs,” the Orange Standard noted that the Protestant Reformed faith has nevertheless become intrinsic to England, and that the king took a solemn oath in 2023 to “maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant Reformed religion established by law.”
“As Orangemen and women, [we] should not be discouraged or deflected from our solid foundations which are rooted in the truths of the Reformation. In October 1555, [Hugh] Latimer and [Nicholas] Ridley were burned at the stake for their beliefs,” the outlet continued.
“Winds of change will always blow, they have done so down through the centuries, and will no doubt continue. Nevertheless, it is important to remain steadfast in the Reformed faith, even in the face of opposition.”
In addition to the private letters from the grand masters, the secretary of an Orange Lodge in Markethill, Northern Ireland, sent an open letter rebuking King Charles III for his appeasement of both Roman Catholicism and Islam, according to a local County Armagh outlet.
“His Majesty took a Coronation Oath to be Defender of the Protestant Faith. There was a time when an Englishman’s word was his bond, but sadly we have seen that oath watered down, first in his appeasement of Islam and now with bending the knee to the head of a church whose heretical priests ‘absolved the sins’ of those who murdered members of our Institution, our friends and family,” the lodge wrote in part.
The lodge contrasted the king’s behavior with the staunch Protestantism of his late mother, implying that he embodies the general spiritual decline of the United Kingdom, where rates of Christianity have cratered in recent decades.
“Sadly, the United Kingdom, whose strong Protestant Faith witnessed by Her Majesty [Queen Elizabeth II], once a beacon to the world, has become a country the world no longer respects. We cannot understand why His Majesty wishes to alienate further those still loyal to the Crown as he seeks to be a defender of all faiths and not promote the one true Faith,” the letter continued.
Noting that neglecting to affirm the exclusivity of Jesus Christ is the behavior of “a weak king,” the lodge added, “We will pray that the King of Kings will not only continue to bless the monarchy but will particularly pray that God will indeed save the King, from himself.”
Named after King William III, also known as William of Orange, the Loyal Orange Lodges are local branches of a fraternal organization rooted in Reformed Protestantism and committed to maintaining Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom.
The group, which boasts tens of thousands of members, annually commemorates the victory of King William III’s Protestant forces against the Catholic forces of the deposed King James II during the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to jon.brown@christianpost.com
