Archbishops pledge church's support for Armed Forces community

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have pledged the Church of England's commitment to support the Armed Forces community.

The Armed Forces Corporate Covenant, signed by Archbishop Justin Welby and Archbishop John Sentamu at Lambeth Palace last night, commits the Church of England to recognise and care for Armed Forces personnel, veterans and families.

The Archbishops were joined by Minister of State for Defence Anna Soubry to sign the covenant, witnessed by service personnel, the Bishops to the Armed Forces and Chaplains General.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, who recently backed a homeless veterans appeal, said: "The privilege of ministering with the people in the Armed Services is absolutely crucial to our understanding of the role of the church.

"Signing this covenant is of great importance to us. It says that we value the Armed Services, we appreciate what they do; the very difficult things they do very often that we don’t know about and don’t see – but for which we pray and for which we are deeply grateful that we have chaplains involved."

Read the Covenant on the Church of England website here.