Justin Welby ‘sentenced’ as Archbishop of Canterbury

Amidst a controversial House of Commons vote on same sex marriage and after only a year as Bishop of Durham, Justin Welby has been sworn in as Archbishop of Canterbury.

He was selected by the Crown Nominations Committee last year and on Monday swore allegiance to the Queen, her heirs and successors.

The Daily Telegraph reported that Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, swore in  the 57 year old ex-oil executive in front of eight other senior bishops at St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Justin Welby holds the weight of 77 million Anglicans expectations upon his shoulders following his swearing in.

The ancient ceremony, which is a pre-cursor to the official enthroning next month, was a daunting affair for the new Archbishop who was warned that he would need to ‘provide a voice for faith in a developing secularist agenda’ and be a ‘prophetic Christian voice’. In an impassioned sermon, during a service of dedication which followed the legal formalities, the Archbishop of York left the newcomer in no doubt as to the scale of the difficulties he is expected to overcome.

Quoting Ecclesiastes, Dr. John Sentamu painted a damning picture of modern society. The Telegraph reported that the following were amongst his comments.

‘Ours is really the most self-regarding culture in many centuries’ he said.

“We make choices as individuals, we have rights as individuals: if it works for you do it, if it no longer works for you throw it away and go on to the next thing.

“Never was the human universe so large yet so small.

“Never was a culture so written in the first person singular.

“In the words of the late George Harrison, ‘I me, mine’.”

Although Justin Welby has insisted in recent days that he is not ‘on a collision course’ with the government over gay marriage, he has stood by other Bishops in saying that the current government bill is ill-prepared and could have a ‘chilling effect’ on public discussion.

Speaking in a calm and collected manner after having become the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury and leader of the world’s 77 million Anglicans, the former Bishop of Durham pledged to “defend the faith” and “promote unity, peace, and love”.