London: Welby begins his ministry as Archbishop of Canterbury

Welby during his enthronement ceremony

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby's public ministry began today with his enthronement in Canterbury Cathedral. “I look forward to meeting you,” was Pope Francis’ message to him

MARIA TERESA PONTARA PEDERIVA The Church of England website took great care to stress that although “inauguration” is the modern term to use, “enthronement” is more appropriate in the case of the Archbishop of Canterbury who was this afternoon was ‘installed’ on the chair of St. Augustine, the seat Primates of the Church of England have used for over 700 years inside the London cathedral.
 
The throne in question is in fact made up of two seats: one represents Canterbury, the oldest Episcopal seat in the United Kingdom and the other is the seat is where the Primate of All England and spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion is installed.
 
Justin Welby (56) will be the 105^th Primate to be installed on the throne on 21 March, just two days after the start of the Catholic Pope’s ministry. He was elected last November following the resignation of his predecessor Rowan Williams. The Primate of the Church of England is primus inter pares, and is not infallible: he is a sort of “chaplain of the Nation”, the successor of Thomas Cranmer, who backed Henry VIII’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon which led to the schism with Rome. The liturgical commemoration of Cranmer’s martyrdom in 1556 at the hands of the Catholics is on 21 March.
 
According to the solemn century-old rite, a letter from the Queen, Supreme Governor of the Church of England, will be read out inside the Cathedral, after which, the Archbishop will be greeted by the Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, Robert Willis and the Archdeacon, Sheila Watson. Welby will then be asked to swear an oath of faithfulness to the statutes of the Church of England and an oath of faithfulness to the Queen of England, the Church’s head.
 
The new Archbishop of Canterbury will then be enthroned on his two seats and will pronounce his first sermon as Primate of England. The new Archbishop of Canterbury has chosen to wear the blue and violet and blue robes worn by the late Bishop of Peterborough, Ian Cundy. The colours represent the water that is turned into wine and the robes “were bought as a gift for Ian from the students and staff at Cranmer Hall, Durham where the Archbishop was a student. Archbishop Justin wears them in gratitude to a teacher and bishop who had a formative impact on his ministry,” the Church of England website explains.
 
There will be various religious and civil figures attending the ceremony, headed by the Prince of Wales, Charles, and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall and Prime Minister David Cameron. Numerous bishops representing the Anglican Communion as a whole will also be present, as well as representatives of other faiths.

Today Pope Francis sent a message to the new Archbishop on the occasion of his enthronement. The text reads:
 
"May grace and peace be multiplied to you" (1 Pet 1:2b)
I thank you for the kind words contained in your message to me at my election, and I wish in turn to offer my greetings and best wishes on the occasion of your Enthronement at Canterbury Cathedral.
The pastoral ministry is a call to walk in fidelity to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Please be assured of my prayers as you take up your new responsibilities, and I ask you to pray for me as I respond to the new call that the Lord has addressed to me.
I look forward to meeting you in the near future, and to continuing the warm fraternal relations that our predecessors enjoyed.
 
The message was simply signed, “Francis”.
Source:  Vatican Insider