Archbishop Welby offers praise for Ghana’s ‘remarkable’ religious tolerance

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has praised Ghana’s high levels of religious tolerence and collaboration as “remarkable” during a visit to the Anglican Province of West Africa. 

Archbishop Justin met with political, civic and church leaders in the Ghanaian capital of Accra today on the final day of his visit to the Anglican Primate of West Africa, Archbishop Dr Daniel Sarfo.

Archbishop Justin and his wife, Caroline, have spent three days in Ghana at the invitation of Archbishop Daniel. The British High Commissioner to Ghana, Jon Benjamin, has been accompanying them for much of the trip.

The visit marks the final overseas stop on Archbishop Justin’s global visits to fellow Anglican primates. 

Yesterday Archbishop Justin, accompanied by Archbishop Daniel, visited the King of the Ashanti Kingdom, HRM Otumfuo Osei Tutu II. (The King visited Archbishop Justin in London earlier this year.)

The Archbishop then attended the National Inter-faith Dialogue Conference at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. 

In a keynote address on ‘Maintaining Peace in Challenging Times’, the Archbishop praised Ghana’s “remarkable” level of religious and collaboration and said it was an example for others to follow. 

Last night the Archbishop and Mrs Welby attended evening prayer at St Cyprian’s Anglican Cathedral, Kumasi. 

On taking office in March 2013 the Archbishop committed to visiting every Anglican Primate and their Province within 18 months.

The visits, which conclude in Scotland next month, have been about expressing solidarity, building bonds, and understanding the work of Anglican churches in their local context.