wfn.org | ANGLICAN CHURCH LEADERS MOURN THE DEATH of Princess of Wales

[Audrey Whitefield <a.whitefield@quest.org.uk>]

Sept. 2, 1997
ANGLICAN COMMUNION NEWS SERVICE
Canon James Rosenthal, Director of Communications, 
Anglican Communion Office
London, England

ACC 1311 

ANGLICAN CHURCH LEADERS MOURN THE DEATH OF DIANA PRINCESS OF WALES;

ARCHBISHOP CAREY-"WE LEAVE HER IN THE ARMS OF ALMIGHTY GOD"

(ACNS, London)31 August 1997

Anglican Church leaders from around the Communion have expressed shock
and sadness over the news of the tragic death of Diana, Princess of
Wales. Prayers were offered for the repose of her soul in parishes
around the world and thanksgiving offered for her life and work in
Britain and around the world. Of utmost concern to Church leaders was
the welfare of her surviving sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.

The Ven Martin Draper, Vicar of St Georges Anglican Church, Paris,
rushed to the hospital in Paris to pray the traditional Prayer Book
Commendation for the dying. He was present with Prince Charles as the
body of Diana was taken to the airport for the journey back to England.
One of the Royal Chaplains was present at Northolt as the body of Diana
arrived back in England. The body will be placed in the Chapel Royal, St
James's Palace, London.
 
In a television interview the Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Revd Michael
Scott-Joynt, said Diana "clearly lived out a Christian understanding of
compassion".  Speaking from his local church, an emotion filled Prime
Minister Tony Blair, called Diana "the people's princess".

Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey spoke to the nation from
Manchester Cathedral, where he lit a candle and read the 23rd Psalm.  At
the time of the Archbishop's enthronemnet, Diana was the member of the
Royal Family to attend the service.  The Archbishop said, "I was
shattered to hear that this vibrant person had lost her life. It is a
terrible tragedy for everybody.

"She seized the imagination of young and old alike. This beautiful woman
was also a very vulnerable human being and out of that vulnerability and
weakness, if you like, came lots of strength her passion and her
commitment to people.

"I think there's a sense in which we are all grieving, because she
expressed something that we all valued and loved. I knew her as someone
who loved life.  She was deeply committed to people, to issues, to
causes. I found her a very interesting person who was very committed to
people. We are reminded that death is only inches away from each one of
us. Perhaps it will help us all to focus on the really important things
in life, human love and relationships, and faith in God.

"She had faith in God although she wasn't the kind of person who wore
religion on her sleeves. There was a deep faith there.  

"The word passion seems to sum her up. There was a commitment, to
issues, to causes.

"She was a deeply religious person in the sense that she cared about
people.... There was faith in her whole personality. Certainly she
believed in God and certainly she believed in the power of love.

"As a Christian, I want to say, we leave her in the arms of Almighty
God."

The Archbishop of York, the Most Rev David Hope said, "I am totally
numbed by the news. When I was Bishop of London I met her at
many charity functions and what struck me always was her enormous
vitality and vibrancy and straight- forwardness. She had a compassionate
heart for those who experienced tragedy in their own lives.

"There seems to me to have been a real growth and maturity in Diana,
particularly in the way she acted as mother to the two sons who are in
everybody's thoughts at this time.

"There is deep sadness at the tragic ending of a life but now she is
received into God's gracious keeping together with the others killed."

Lord Runcie, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, who conducted the
royal wedding said, "Diana had a great sense of eagerness to be up to
the challenge of being Princess of Wales. She had a real, tender desire
to be what everybody expected her to be. I treasure some of the
heartfelt and sincere letters she wrote at that time. She was very
tender. She needed assistance."

The Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres said, " I am
distressed and stunned by the news of the death of Diana, Princess of
Wales. Having confirmed Prince William recently, her children will be
particularly in my prayers as well as Prince Charles, her family and the
relatives of all those involved in this tragic accident."
 
At the Anglican Communion Office in London, Canon John L. Peterson made
the following statement: "We remember before God, Diana, Princess of
Wales, who died in Paris this morning following a car crash. This sudden
and tragic death of this lively and caring person, loved by so many, 
saddens us all immensely. 

"Diana's ministry of compassion and care will be her legacy, and we are
indeed grateful to have had her as part of our Anglican family.  Already
tributes are being received from Archbishops, Bishops, clergy and lay
people of our church around the globe. 

I know I speak for millions of Anglican Christians around the world
today as we express our deep sorrow and pray especially for her sons,
Prince William and Prince Harry, in this great loss of their mother. 
May she rest in peace and rise in glory."

>From Worcester, Bishop Peter Selby, said, "It is not often that we as a
society can see in a person a vision of care for others and compassion
in action. For now we pray for her and those who died with her: God
grant them rest and peace."

The Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd Njongonkulu Ndungane, said
from Southern Africa, "Princess Diana was a person who cared for the
vulnerable and marginalised in a world in which a lot of such people
often goes uncared for. We knew her as someone who would be with the
sick and the dying in their time of need. She endeared herself to
millions in the region covered by the Anglican Church in Southern Africa
because of her work in two areas that directly affect us most - amongst
the victims of AIDS and those who continue to suffer the dreadful
consequences of landmines that were laid in recent wars. Her witness
will be missed."

The Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Revd Robin Eames said, "The shock and
disbelief which has been expressed from all parts of the world testifies
in some way to the uniqueness the Princess of Wales brought to so many
lives. It is a human tragedy that a young life of beauty and willingness
to reach out to those in real need has been so abruptly brought to an
end. Our hearts and prayers reach out to the Princes William and Harry,
themselves on the threshold of their lives, to Prince Charles and to her
loved ones at this time of such sorrow.  Something of the human touch
has disappeared from our national life."

The Bishop of Aotearoa, The Rt Revd Whakahuihui Vercoe, has extended the
condolences of Anglicans in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands to the
friends and family of  the Princess of Wales, and asks for `God's
healing grace' on her children at this traumatic time.

 On behalf of the Senior Bishops, Bishops and people of the Anglican
Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand & Polynesia, Bishop Vercoe said, "It is
with great sadness that we have learnt of the tragic death of the
Princess of Wales. All our  people, Maori, Pakeha and Polynesian, extend
our sincere condolences to her friends and family. Our thoughts and
prayers are with them all, and especially to Her Majesty, the Queen, and
the whole of the Royal Family. May God's healing grace and patience be
with her two sons in this traumatic moment in their lives."

St Pauls Cathedral, London, held a special service on Sunday evening,
broadcast by BBC-TV. Thousands filled the cathedral to, as Dean John
Moses said,  "hold her in our prayers".   The Dean spoke of "sharing the
grief" and the "deep distress" of Diana's tragic death. He said, "we
give thanks for her life, work and vitality and her concern for those on
the margins of life". The service began with the choir singing the text
from Wisdom, "the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God". The
congregation sang the hymns "Love Divine" and "The Lord's My Shepherd"
with many in tears. The choir also sang Psalm 130 and a portion of the
Requiem by Faure.   In the prayers the Precentor thanked God for "all
that she came to be".  The Dean mentioned the Royal Wedding that had
taken place at St Pauls. He spoke of Diana's life as "the story unfolds
with its dimensions of tragedy and terrible conclusion".

At Westminster Abbey, the music of the regular Evensong service was
changed to mark the solemnity of the day. The Revd Jonathan Goodall
offered prayers for all who died in the crash and for Diana's family. 
The Revd John Gaskell obviously put aside his prepared sermon to ask the
congregation to be "silent" and pray. He spoke of resurrection faith and
promise in the midst of such shock and tragedy.  

In Balmoral, the Royal Family, including Prince William and Prince
Harry, attended Church of Scotland Presbyterian services on Sunday, as
is their custom when in Scotland. No mention of Diana's death was made
in the "normal Sunday worship".  However in Oban, Scotland,  Diana's
mother Mrs Shand Kydd, a devout Roman Catholic, asked for Masses to be
said for her daughter in St Columba's Cathedral and this was done by
Father Sean MacAuley. Mother Teresa, speaking from Calcutta said of her
friend Diana, "She was very concerned about the poor and her attitude
towards the poor was good."

At Buckingham Palace hundreds of floral tributes were placed at the main
gate, with people in tears, while others seemed to be in stunned
silence. Prayers, poems, and photos were affixed to the flowers.   

PHOTOS AVAILABLE

Diana Princess of Wales at St Matthews Anglican Church, London.
The flower tributes outside Buckingham Palace.

(J M Rosenthal)