Archbishop visits Diocese of Guildford

In his address at Guildford Cathedraltitled The Finality of Christ in a Pluralist World, the Archbishop spoke of defending the uniqueness and finality of Christ, and encountering the truth about God and humanity from a moral, political and philosophical perspective.

The address highlighted the importance of approaching inter faith dialogue with a sense confidence, but also of learning something new.  "If our convictions lead us to believe there is no hope for those outside our own faith or with no faith..." there is a danger of "treating others as if they know nothing, and we have nothing to learn".  "Belief in the uniqueness and finality of Christ allows us a generous desire to share and a humble desire to learn".

The full text of the address can be found here:

http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/2789

This was followed by a question and answer session chaired by the Very Revd. Victor Stock, Dean of Guildford, who praised the Archbishop as "a teacher who is prepared to wrestle with difficult issues in front of us".

The Archbishop took part in 'An evening in conversation' with Jim Al-Khalili, author, broadcaster and Professor of Public Engagement at the University of Surrey.  The two discussed similar experiences of balancing a life of academia with that of being in the public eye.  The conversation covered various topics including prayer, faith and science, and the role of religion in setting moral boundaries.  During the discussion, the Archbishop urged individuals to resist being overwhelmed by the scale of the problems such as poverty and climate change, and to recognise the impact that individual decisions and actions can make in these areas. There was an opportunity for members of the public to submit their own questions for the Archbishop to address after the interview.

Earlier in the day, the Archbishop presided at a Eucharist at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Pyrford, celebrating the feast day of St Chad.  Following this, Dr Williams joined the Rt Revd Christopher Hill, Bishop of Guildford, in hearing about the ' l ife, ministry and mission in the Diocese of Guildford' from local clergy. The Archbishop responded by saying how struck he was by examples of the Church's hidden contribution to society in the diocese.  In particular, the example of 'Street Angels', where Church volunteers work in collaboration with the Council and police force to offer pastoral support to local residents in the town centre.

Podcasts from the visit can be found here:  http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/2781