Religion: Enthronement

Chilly, musty, 875-year-old Christ Cathedral, Canterbury, glittered with medieval pageantry. Trumpeters, clad in blue and gold, blew fanfares; bishops paced in scarlet robes. Finally, the two-hour ritual, older than the Tales of Chaucer, reached its solemn climax:

"By virtue of this mandate, I ... do induct, install and enthrone you, Most Reverend Father in God, Geoffrey . . . into the archbishopric and the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury. . . ."

The personage addressed, wearing a miter and a white brocaded cope with gold embroidery, walked slowly to the 700-year-old marble Chair of St. Augustine, sat gingerly down on its red...

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