Olive oil, fragrant rose and orange blossom: the special “chrism” or sacred oil for the coronation of King Charles III was blessed in the city of Jerusalem.
The ceremony took place this Friday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Christians say Jesus was buried.
“The chrism oil that will be used to anoint His Majesty the King on May 6, 2023 has been consecrated in Jerusalem,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement.
The unique blend was “scented with essential oils” and also contained sesame, jasmine and cinnamon extracts, he added.
This oil is based on the same ingredients used in the oil used at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953, and is based on a formula “that has been used for hundreds of years,” according to the palace.
The oil, which will also be used to anoint Queen Consort Camilla, wife of King Charles III, was consecrated in a special service by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, and the Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem, Hosam Naoum.
The oil, stored in an ornate silver flask, came from the Mount of Olives, the ridge of hills overlooking the walled Old City.
The olives were harvested in two olive groves, the Monastery of the Assumption and the Monastery of Mary Magdalene, where Charles III’s grandmother, Princess Alice of Greece, is buried.
The olives were pressed just outside the Palestinian city of Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, head of the Anglican Church, said the coronation oil reflected Charles III’s “personal family connection to the Holy Land,” the palace statement said.
Welby, who will perform the coronation service, added that the oil signified the “deep historical connection between the coronation, the Bible and the Holy Land.”
“From ancient kings to the present day, monarchs have been anointed with oil from this holy place,” he concluded.
Source: DN
