The Coronation Stone, Westminster Abbey, London

The ancients once said that until a time came when "there should not be day and night in their season" (loosely translated, until the Sun and the Moon would no longer be in the sky; no more day, no more night - as we know it )... until that time, there would always be one to reign on the throne over an enduring kingdom. Well, the Sun came out again today, right? So, where's the throne;? In other words, where's the kingdom?

The ancient teacher Ezekiel wrote in a prophecy of this kingdom... An overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall no more overturn, until He comes whose right it is to reign -- Ezekiel 21:27. Three times the kingdom would overturn, and then no more. (By the way, it doesn't say that the Stone of Destiny would only be moved three times. It has had many resting places in its history.) Wouldn't it be interesting if that ancient "throne"...that kingdom with its continuing legacy was still hanging around today?

Well, the most enduring Monarchy to date is the British Royal household. And though it seems archane to our generation, its history (in spite of the current "Royals" who seem to be living up to a legacy no different than the past -- consider Henry the VIII and his ump-teen wives, right?!) has all the makings of a great and curious wonder -- the enduring Monarchy, not the wives, that is.

Until recently, the most sacred relic - The Coronation Stone - reposed in St. Edward's Chapel in Brittain's sacred Abbey of Westminster which has stirred men's imaginations for centuries...

In Jacob's Pillar, E. Raymond Capt writes, "Dean Stanley, one-time custodian of the Stone , in his book Memorials of Westminster Abbey, sums up its historical importance in these words; " It is the one primevel monument which binds together the whole Empire . The iron rings, the battered surface, the crack which has all but rent its solid mass asunder, bear witness of the English Monarchy -- an element of poetic, patriarchal, heathen times... carries back our thoughts ... a link which unites the Throne of England to the traditions of Tara and Iona". Capt (p 53)

A Brief History of the Coronation Stone

IRELAND

The Green Flag, Trad. Irish tune

" The Chronicles of Scotland , Hector Boece (translated into Scottish by John Bellenden, 1531) tells us -- Gathelus, the ancestor of the Scots who came to Egypt when "in this tyme rang [reigned] in Egypt Pharo ye scurge of ye pepill of Israel" was given Scota to wife (Scota was the daughter of a Pharoah). "Lang tyme he landit in ane part of Spayne callit Lusitan" (later called Portugal). After this, he built the city of Brigance and "callit his subdittis [subjects] Scottis in honour and affeccioun of his wyiff." With peace, Gathelus "sittand in his chayr of merbel within his citie."

[By the way, the name Scots is the same as the Hebrew word, Succoth and carries the meaning Wanderers. Scotland means Land of the Wanderers. But we're getting ahead of the story.]

"Ancient Irish records, when referencing an "Eastern king's daugther", also mention an old man, a partriarch and prophet called "Ollam Fodhla" (Hebrew words that mean "revealer" or "prophet") and his scribe "Simon Brug, Brach, Breack, Barech, Berach" according to various spellings. Reportedly, they carried with them many ancient relics. Among these were a harp, an ark or chest, and a stone called, in Gaelic, Lia-Fail, meaning Stone of Destiny.

"The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland, by the Four Masters speaks of Tea Tephi who married Eochaidh, the son of Scoti in Spain and requested "a choice hill as her dower in whatever place she should select it, that she might be buried therein. She chose the Hill Druimcaein, i.e., Teamhair [in Ireland]."

[And did you know, Ireland is a derivative of an earlier name - Iverland, or Iverain. New Iverain was once a colony settled by the Militians from Spain, on the Iberian Peninsula. Iber is the same name as the ancient Hebrew forefather Eber (a name found in Genesis) from whence comes the family - Hebrews! Well, enough of getting side-tracked. I've checked out too many old, spine-crackling books from the Oviatt Library at California State University - Northridge. Too many books sitting on the shelf... that, until I came along, had not been opened except in previous years when the University was formerly named San Fernando Valley State College. I hope you go check it out! But let's get back to the story.]

The Humors of Whisky, Trad. Irish tune

"In the Chronicles of Eri, by Milner, we find Eochaidh, the husband of Tea Tephi, associated with the Stone Lia-Fail. The account is titled, The Story of Lia Fail, and states: 'In the early days it was carried about by priests on the march in the wilderness [hence the much-worn rings still attached to it, one at each end]. Later it was borne by the sea from East to West - "to the extremity of the world of the sun's going" [an expression used by the Romans to describe Britain].'

"There are many other variations of the story of the Stone being brought from Egypt to Ireland, which when added together present us with a rather confused story.... each of these, written in a tongue difficult to translate, gives its own aspect of the one great story. However, they all agreed in the following: The Stone, known as the Stone of Destiny, came from Spain, and before that, from Egypt. It came in the company of an aged guardian, who was called "Ollam Folla", Eochaidh (Eremhon) with his Queen Tea Tephi was crowned King of Ireland upon the Stone which remained at the Palace of Team-hair Breagh. It was the Coronation Stone of every "Ard-Righ" (High King) of "Eireann" for a period of about 1040 years.

"Archaeological excavations on the mounds at Tara have also revealed that ancient Tara was not only the Royal Seat or Capital of the Celtic Kings, that came from Spain, but it was also the nerve center of the country. Five great artries or roads radiated from Tara to the various parts of the country. Bards and Epic Poems extoll the beauty and grandeur of Tara.

"The great Ollam Fodhla and the Daughter of Royalty were buried at Tara Hill." Capt (p 30-35)

SCOTLAND

Scotland, the Brave

About A.D. 500 some imigrants led by Fergus Mor McErc (the Great), from the Irish Gaelic Kingdom of Dalriada, invaded the Western coasts of Scotland, the land of the Picts. After invading Scotland and returning home victorious, the Scots confirmed the Kingdom to him and his posterity by an oath. Fergus desired that he be crowned upon The Stone.

"Andrew of Wyntown (1400A.D.) in his ancient Chronykil of Scotland, gives the following account of the Stone of Destiny: 'A gret stane this kying then had - That fore this kynyes gete war made - And haldyne were a gret Jowal - Wyhthiin the kynrky of Spayne hale - This kyng bad this Simon ta - That stane and in-tye ga, - A wny that land and occupy - And halde that stane perpetually.... - As every ne rechn and man may see - Broucht this stane wytht-in Scotland...

"For a time Dalriada appears to have been dependent upon Irish Dalriada, but about 575 A.D. Aidan (son of Gabran, king of Dalriada) secured its independence and was crowned King of Scotland upon the Stone Lia Fail. For this occasion, the Stone was taken to Iona (a tiny island of the Inner Hebrides), Scotland by St. Columba, the missionary grandson of Fergus the Great. Iona is where Columba founded his first Scottish monastery. It was famous as a center of Celtic Christianity from where missionaries were dispatched for the conversion of the pagan tribes in Scotland and Northern England.

"Aidan was crowned King of Scotland in a coronation rite that has been used ever since by the succeeding monarchs of Scotland and England.... On Iona, the Stone Lia Fail continued to be used as the Coronation Stone of the Dalriadic kings until its removal to Dunstaffnage, on the mainland of Scotland just east of Iona... Tradition has it that the Clan Mac Dougall was made custodian of the Stone at Dunstaffnage till its removal to Scone, Scotland.

"In 843 A.D., Kenneth Mac Alpin was crowned on the Stone Lia Fail as the first King of the United Kingdom of the Picts and the Scots. One of his first acts as King was to found a church at Scone (near Perth, Scotland) because it was there that he had gained his principal victory over the Picts.

"King Kenneth II (d.995 A.D.) had the Stone placed on a wooden pedestal in front of the high altar of the Abbey of Scone.... The ancient Abbey of Scone was destroyed in 1559 A.D. at the time of the Reformation. Today... on Moot Hill stands a stone chapel, marking the place where the Stone of Destiny had rested and where the kings of Scotland presided over their Parliaments until Edward I of England removed the Stone to Westminster Abbey in 1296 A.D." Capt (p 43-50)

ENGLAND

God Save the Queen

"John Harding, the English rhyming chronicler who wrote before A.D. 1465, says of Edward's removal of the Stone: "And as he came home by Skoon away,.. The regal there of Scotland than he brought,.. And sent it forthe to Westmynstre for ay,.. To ben ther ynnne a chayer clenly wrought,.. For masse prestes to sitte yn whan hem ought, .. Whiche yit it there stondyng besides the shryne,.. In a chayer of olde tyme made ful fyne".

"British, Scotch and Irish records of the Stone of Destiny locate it at Tara, Ireland in circa 500 B.C., from where it was transported to Scotland in circa A.D. 498 by Fergus the Great. From there it was taken to Iona circa A.D. 563; then to Bunstaffnage from where it was removed to Scone, near Perth, Scotland. Finally it was moved, by Edward I, to Westminster Abbey, London in A.D.1296. Thus, from Tara to Westminster, covering over 1800 years of history, it was never carried to any appreciable extent. The mere removal from these places could not account for the wearing away of the Stone that was evidently caused by the friction of a pole used in constant carrying." Capt (p 55-59)

The Coronation Stone

A particularly interesting study is the heraldry of the Scarlet, Blue, and White nations (the Caucasian peoples who trace their ancestry back to the Caucasus Mountains in the Middle East, the mountains between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea) in world history.

Regarding the Stone, "Professor Odlum, a geologist -- Ontario University, was "intrigued with the idea that perhaps its source could be found in Palestine, as suggested by the ancient records of Ireland. Odlum discovered a stratum of sandstone near the Red Sea at Bethel in Palestine geologically the same as the Coronation Stone. British Royal geneology traces its heritage to all the Royal households throughout Europe from the Spanish Monarchy to the last Royals of Russia and the Danes, Swedes and nearly every monarch in between.

"One of the most significant facts about the Coronation Stone is that no similar rock formation exists in the British Isles. Professor Totten -- Science, Yale University, after making a thorough examination of the Stone made the following statement: "The analysis of the Stone shows that there are absolutely no quarries in Scone or Iona where-from a block so constituted could possibly have come, nor yet from Tara." The sandstone in Scotland and Ireland is dissimilar to the Stone.

The Stone, weighing over 300 pounds, is rectangular being about 26 inches; in length; 16 inches; in width; and, 10.5 inches; in depth. Across its surface runs a crack and some chisel-marks are still visible on one or two sides. There are two large iron rings (or some rust resistant alloy), one at each end of the Stone which hang loosely from eyes, made of similar metal let into the Stone. Capt (p 58-59)

Until recent months, the Stone, after three overturnings of the kingdom, laid cradled in the lower portion of the St. Edward's Chair (the British Coronation Chair) where it had rested for nearly 800 years. Today, it is in Scottish possession by decree of the Queen with the stipulation that it will be returned for the Coronation ceremony of the next Monarch.

It's a well-known fact that as London was being bombed by German Luftwaffe during World War II, contingency safety plans were written up to protect the Stone. Only until the 1950's was it revealed that the then Prime Minister of Canada was the only person outside a group numbering no more than 10 men, caretakers of the Relics at Westminister Abbey who knew where the Stone was hid on the Abbey grounds. NO similar plans had been made to secret away the Crown Jewels.

The Coronation Ceremony

"After having been invested with the emblems and insignia of royal dignity, the King (seated over the Stone of Destiny) receives the Crown. The St. Edward's Crown is full of symbolism: Four arches = the "four corners" of the Earth bend or bow in allegiance to the central cross and orb. There are the Kingdom colors of Red, White, and Blue dating back thousands of years. The Imperial Crown replaces the St. Edwards Crown after the King submits to the King of kings. Only after this pledge of allegiance, does the King then rise to take his kingdom. Arches in the Imperial Crown rise in symbolism." Capt (p 75-77)

Other Names for The Coronation Stone:

The Regal of Scotland

Lia Fail

The Stone of Scone

The Stone of Destiny

The Stone of Fortune

Jacob's Pillar

"From the time of King Edward I onward, all the Monarchs of England have been crowned on the Stone of Destiny and the Coronation Chair with the exception of Mary I (known as Bloody Mary).

"One final note: In the Scottish National Library there is a Gaelic manuscript (by Dugald the Scot, son of McPhail, in A.D. 1467) containing the complete genealogies of the Scottish Kings, showing their descent through the Irish Kings by way of Judah, Jacob and Isaac back to Abraham. In Windsor Castle there is also a genealogical table showing the descent of the British kings from David through the Irish and Scottish lines. Thus the Monarchy existed long before there was a British Nation." Capt (p 55)

The Sun has set, and the Moon has risen one more time. And again, I wonder could this Stone of Destiny point to that enduring kingdom promised by GOD? It's exciting, isn't it?

All Excerpts taken from: Jacob's Pillar, E. Raymond Capt

A footnote to the Stone of Destiny: In recent days, the Stone of Scone has been returned to Scotland. It is interesting to note that: 1. the kingdom has not overturned; and, 2. being the possession of the monarchy, the Queen of England has stipulated that it will be returned to the St. Edward's Chair for the next Coronation.

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