Today’s service included the enthronement of the child-bishop. In England, the child bishop (originally boy bishop) was elected on the feast of Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children. It was abolished by Henry VIII, revived by Mary I, and abolished again by Elizabeth I only to be revived again, in various guises, across England. It is celebrated in many countries around the world and it is part of a number of services that give a nod to subversion and turning the commonly understood order of things upside down. 

A previous Archbishop of Canterbury once wrote that Advent is the perfect time for adults to grow up and become children. 

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