St John’s College, Durham, and in particular Cranmer Hall, warmly welcome the appointment of the Right Reverend Justin Welby as the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury.
Bishop Justin trained in preparation for ordination at Cranmer Hall between 1989 and 1992 and is remembered as a student with a deep faith, personal warmth, a hard working but humble ordinand of great ability. His return to Durham as our Bishop has been marked by his characteristic wisdom, grace, clarity and ready encouragement.
The Revd Mark Tanner, Warden of Cranmer Hall commented: “We will deeply miss Bishop Justin’s inspiring leadership and his remarkable ability to both support and challenge us in just the right proportions, but we are in no doubt that he is the right appointment to succeed Archbishop Rowan Williams, to whom we also owe a great and lasting debt of gratitude. Justin epitomises so much that is good about Cranmer Hall, combining a first rate mind with a gracious heart and deep personal faith. He is a leader, an entrepreneur, a peace-maker, a teacher, and an often prophetic voice speaking wisdom into broken situations. We will be praying for him and his family as he takes on this new responsibility.”
Revd Professor David Wilkinson, Principal of St John’s College, of which Cranmer Hall is part, said : “We are delighted at the news of this appointment and also want to pledge our support to Bishop Justin and the Church of England at this key time. As one of our former students and our diocesan Bishop, we have had the privilege of experiencing Justin’s creativity, integrity and earthed spirituality. He combines humility with joyful confidence in the gospel”
Justin Welby was a student at Cranmer Hall from 1989 until 1992 during which time he read for a Durham Degree (BA Hons) in Theology and obtained the Cranmer Diploma in Ministerial Studies.
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