News: Archbishop of Canterbury's visit

On Tuesday 2 March 2010, the Archbishop of Canterbury, accompanied by the Bishop of Guildford, Christopher Hill, visited the Diocese of Guildford to focus on the life, ministry and mission within the Diocese. During his visit, he gave an address in the Cathedral on the role of Christ in a pluralist society, and joined Professor Jim Al-Khalili at the University for a conversation on contemporary issues including science and religion.

In his address at the Cathedral titled The Finality of Christ in a Pluralist World, the Archbishop spoke of defending the uniqueness and finality of Christ, and encountering the truth about God and humanity from a moral, political and philosophical perspective. The text of the address can be found here.

The address highlighted the importance of approaching inter faith dialogue with confidence, but also of learning something new: "If our convictions lead us to believe there is no hope for those outside our own faith or with no faith..." there is a danger of "treating others as if they know nothing, and we have nothing to learn". "Belief in the uniqueness and finality of Christ allows us a generous desire to share and a humble desire to learn".

Please click here for full details of the visit including audio files of the talks.

Added Thursday 4th March 2010