And in a letter to the Diocese of Barbados, who also held its 200th Anniversary Thanksgiving service on Sunday, he lamented the “Church of England’s history of complicity in the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade.”
The Thanksgiving Service was held at the National Arena in Kingston, Jamaica. In his sermon, Archbishop Justin said: “I cannot speak for the government of the United Kingdom, but I can speak from my own heart and represent what we say in England now. We are deeply deeply deeply sorry. We sinned against your ancestors.”
He spoke about how parts of the Church of England and an Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Secker, owned slaves. He said: “And even for those in the Church who did not actively participate in transatlantic chattel enslavement, the silence of the Church of England was a collusion, an agreement with slavery. The votes of the bishops in Parliament were a support for slavery and their receiving of compensation for freeing the slaves was a profit from slavery.”
In his welcome, at the start of the service, the Archbishop of the Province of the West Indies and Bishop of the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, Howard Gregory, addressed Archbishop Justin. He said: “I want to use the opportunity to assure you sir of our ongoing support as a diocese and a province to the maintenance of the unity of our Anglican Communion. We respect diversity and acknowledge that our mission is to be one in Christ and not to divide the church because of personal or supposed theological or biblical differences. Be assured of our continuing support for the unity of our Communion.”
He welcomed all those present and online, including the Bishop of the Diocese of Belize, Philip Wright, who assisted in the service. In his welcome, Archbishop Howard said that his presence is of particular significance as Belize was “part of the Diocese of Jamaica when it was established two hundred years ago.” Other guests included the British High Commissioner to Jamaica, Judith Slater, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Kingston, Kenneth Richards, United States Ambassador to Jamaica, Nick Perry and Leader of the Jamaican Opposition Party, Mark Golding. Archbishop Howard also welcomed the Bishop of Oxford, Dr Steven Croft, clergy and laity who were watching online. The two dioceses recently became companion link dioceses. He gave a special acknowledgement to the communities in southern Jamaica who were affected recently by Hurricane Beryl. He said: “we pray for you as you work at the recovery from the experience, and we promise and assure you that we will do all we can to support you through the appropriate channels which have been communicated to the clergy across the diocese.”
The three-hour service was a lively celebration of the Jamaican and Caribbean Church and culture which included a steel pan band welcoming the congregation and African drumming accompanying the archbishops’ procession to the altar. The Gospel was read in the Jamaican language and the choir wore traditional Jamaican bandana material as shawls.
The Bishop of Southwark in the Church of England, Christopher Chessun, who is in Barbados for the Thanksgiving Service with the Bishop of Croydon, Dr Rosemarie Mallett, read out a letter of congratulations from the Archbishop of Canterbury. He said: “It is wonderful that the Diocese of Barbados has been ministering to the people of this extraordinary island for two centuries. Such a significant milestone could not have been achieved without the dedication of its clergy, the commitment of its lay people and above all the faithfulness of God. It is therefore a great pleasure to send my sincere congratulations to you on this momentous occasion. As Archbishop of Canterbury, one of the great joys of my role is to see churches flourish and to witness God at work around our Anglican Communion and Barbados is no exception.”
He continued: “It is important for me to recognise and lament the Church of England’s history of complicity in the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade. The work of Bishop Coleridge allowed Barbados to move towards advocacy for the ending of enslavement and the education of people -precious bearers of God’s image - who have been enslaved. However, two hundred years on, Barbados still bears profoundly scars of the past and I am grateful to all those who continue to strive relentlessly for justice.”
The Diocese of Southwark and the Diocese of Barbados became companion link dioceses recently. In his letter Archbishop Justin said: “It is also my prayer that greater links with the Diocese of Southwark will be fruitful, and that God will bless your partnerships.”
The Bishop of the Diocese of Barbados, the Rt Revd Michael Maxwell, said: “I am very glad that Bishop Christopher and Bishop Rosemarie have come to Barbados for the 200th anniversary of the Diocese and we have already started to discuss the exciting possibilities and opportunities of our new companion link. This will give a framework to the long existing friendship and partnership in the Gospel between our dioceses.”
Guests at the service included the President of Barbados, Dame Sandra Mason, the Prime Minister Mia Mottley and the sermon was preached by Archbishop Emeritus of the Church in the Province of the West Indies and Bishop of the Diocese of the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands, Drexel W. Gomez.