City welcomes Archbishop of Canterbury

The chilly morning failed to deter Lily Philip, in her late 50s, from attending the service at the St Mark’s Cathedral. The occasion, too, warranted it. After all, the opportunity to interact with the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams comes only once in a lifetime.

“It is a once in a life term opportunity for believers like me to interact with someone who coronates the Queen of Britain,” says Lily. “His visit has boosted our faith,” she adds.
Nearly 1,000 believers like Lily from various parts of Karnataka thronged the St Mark’s Cathedral to be part of the prayer session by the Archbishop.

On Thursday, the head of the head of the Church of England talked about renewal of the belief among followers of Christ. The session was based on three lessons from Old Testament, Epistle as well as Gospel. The two-hour session was attended by believers, clergies as well as women presbyters from various churches. “The memory of the archbishop’s visit will stay in our minds for many more years. I still remember the visit of the previous archbishop 25 years ago,” adds Sukumar Jacob.

The Archbishop’s visit to the City was part of his 16-day visit to India from Oct 9 to 24. The itinerary covers various cities like Kolkata, Ranchi, Nagpur, New Delhi, Chennai, Vellore, Bangalore and Thiruvananthapuram.