Becket: Church and State
Fascinating online discussion from the British Museum discussing why the dispute between Henry II and Becket was important and its relevance today. The fascination of this talk came from the speakers, Rowan Williams, previous Archbishop of Canterbury and Rose Hudson-Wilkin, previous chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons and now Suffragan bishop of Dover ably chaired by Naomi Speakman, Curator of the current British Museum exhibition on Becket. What better placed speakers to talk about church and state in modern Britain as they have lived it most directly. Williams shed light on the nuanced issues of the time and claiming Becket lost the battle but won the war as one of the principles of Magna Carta was “let the church be free”. He also talked about how in current times the church has to follow state law, such as shutting churches during Covid, but that this can be a tension. Hudson-Wilkin talked about being a member of the clergy at the heart of parliament and talked ab...