13/06/2017
Archbishop Justin Welby personally presented the awards, which recognise outstanding service in different fields, including those of Archbishop Justin’s ministry priorities: prayer and the Religious life; reconciliation; and evangelism and witness.
The present awards, first given in 2016, consist of three existing Lambeth Awards – the Lambeth Cross, the Canterbury Cross and the Cross of St Augustine – and six new awards named after previous holders of the office of Archbishop of Canterbury.
Over 35 people received the awards. Recipients included religious, political and community leaders, musicians and others, from Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Read the citations for the recipients here.
The medals were made from Fairtrade silver by the London firm Cred Jewellery.
Opening the ceremony, the Archbishop explained his wish to give these awards to those who had made “outstanding contributions” to the aims of the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion to know that they were recognised. The awards enabled the Church to show this recognition publicly even though, of course, that recognition had not been sought by any of those receiving the awards.
The Archbishop also wanted the lives and actions of those receiving these awards, which exemplified the Church’s beliefs and values, to be visible to the Church and the wider world.
In his opening remarks at the ceremony, the Archbishop said:
"Firstly, I know only too well that there are good people doing excellent work in support of the Church all over the world. Very often the fruits of their efforts are not apparent to many but they are no less valuable for that. I want to encourage those who dedicate their lives to such work by assuring them that their efforts do not go unseen.
"Secondly, many of us will know that great prayer of St Ignatius of Loyola:
“Teach us, good Lord,
to serve you as you deserve,
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labour and not to ask for any reward,
save that of knowing that we do your will.”
The Archbishop added: “I realise that the people receiving these awards today have worked devotedly and diligently, and in the spirit of that prayer. But I hope that they will allow me to say that we hold them up as examples to others. Those who read their citations will, I hope, be inspired themselves to see what can be achieved when good people work for the coming of the Kingdom.”
The Lambeth Awards will be presented in the spring each year.
The full list of 2017 awards and names of recipients is:
The Lambeth Cross for Ecumenism
- Dr Agnes Abuom
- The Reverend John Glass
- Professor Peter Howdle
- The Most Reverend Dr Antje Jackelén
- Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia
The Canterbury Cross for Services to the Church of England
- Canon Peter Bruinvels
- Mr Paul Dillingham
- Sir William Fittall
- Ms Jane Kennedy
- The Reverend Canon Dr George Lings
- The Right Honourable Sir John Mummery
- The Reverend Canon John Rees
- Sir Andreas Whittam Smith
The Cross of St Augustine for Services to the Anglican Communion
- Dr Sally Thompson
The Alphege Award for Evangelism and Witness
- Mr Philip Fletcher
- The Reverend Bob Hopkins
- Mrs Mary Hopkins
The Dunstan Award for Prayer and the Religious Life
- The Reverend Canon Dr Adrian Chatfield
- Abbot Stuart Burns
The Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation
- The Most Reverend Samuel Azariah
- Dr Jane Clements
- The Right Reverend Dr Bill Musk
- The Right Reverend Tabani PARIDE Kenyi
The Lanfranc Award for Education and Scholarship
- Dr Zoë Bennett
- The Reverend Dr Jeremy Morris
- Mrs Haifa Najjar
- Dr Colin Podmore
The Langton Award for Community Service
- The Reverend Joan Ashton
- Frank Field MP
- Ms Suhaila Tarazi
The Thomas Cranmer Award for Worship
- Mr Ralph Allwood
- Ms Vicky Beeching
- Mr Paul Hale
- Mrs Anne Harrison
- The Reverend Timothy Hughes
- Mr Stuart Townend