The Most Rev. Michael Curry, presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church, will preach at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Saturday, May 19, in St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will officiate.
As presiding bishop and primate, Curry is the head of The Episcopal Church, which is the United States-based province (member church) of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Episcopal Church has dioceses in the United States, Taiwan, Micronesia, the Caribbean, Central and South America, as well as the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe and the Navajoland Area Mission. Read more about The Episcopal Church.
As archbishop of Canterbury, Welby is the Primate of All England and the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. He has authority only over The Church of England.
The title “primate” in the context of the Anglican Communion denotes the chief archbishop or bishop of a province of the Anglican Episcopal family of churches.
Curry is the first African American to be elected presiding bishop. He was elected in 2015 and followed Katharine Jefferts Schori, the first woman elected presiding bishop.
The wedding ceremony begins at noon in England, which is 8 a.m. central time in the U.S. News coverage will begin as early as 5 am, so check listings for the outlet you choose. Take a 360 degree tour of St. George’s Chapel.
The Order of Service is available for download as a PDF and is also available for mobile-friendly viewing from CNN and perhaps other news sites. You may wish to follow along with the service from the Church of England Book of Common Prayer. News stories in the week before the wedding have indicated the couple has chosen Series One from the Church of England prayer book, but in fact the wedding uses the most recent liturgical text available in the Church of England – Common Worship.
Curry is a renowned preacher, full of energy and the Spirit. While you listen to the sermon, have some fun with Michael Curry Bingo and a top-ten list of things you might hear in his sermon. Number one on that list: “If it’s not about love, it’s not about God.”
Curry spent three days in our diocese last spring, a visit that culminated in a celebratory worship service at University Christian Church. You can watch his sermon from that service to get some idea of his preaching style.
If you want to see more of his preaching, here are some recent sermons.
Learn more about the Sacrament of Marriage in The Episcopal Church.
Episcopal Churches – North Region of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas