Canterbury archbishop to visit Kolkata this weekend

KOLKATA: The 105th archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who is the symbolic head of the Anglicans worldwide, will be in the city this weekend.

His visit to the city is part of his countrywide tour as part of an invitation extended by the Church of North India. The CNI was formed in 1970 when a large number of churches, other than the Roman

Catholic Church

, merged.


The Anglican Church, or the Church of England, was among those that merged. The 200-year-old diocese of Kolkata, of the CNI will be hosting the Archbishop here. This is the oldest diocese of the country.

The archbishop will arrive late on Saturday night and will be hosted at a five star address in the city. He will spend the entire Sunday visiting different locations, mostly heritage addresses, associated with the British rule. The day-long programme will start with the archbishop attending a special church service at the St Paul’s Cathedral. He will give his message to the city in this prayer service.

Significantly, this historic 172-year-old church has a direct connect with the 1,400-year-old Church of Canterbury since its first

bishop

was appointed by the then archbishop of Canterbury.

After the service he will be taken to the different stalls on the Cathedral grounds that will exhibit the educational and social services that the diocese of Kolkata extends to the city. The archbishop will also visit the St Paul’s Cathedral Friendship Centre, that has been working with victims of depression and those with suicidal tendencies.

He will then be hosted by the 143-year-old St John’s Diocesan Higher Secondary School. Later, the archbishop will interact with the British Deputy High Commission. Children of La Martiniere for Boys have arranged for live streaming of the visit.