The UWI, Regional Headquarters, Jamaica. Wednesday, July 17, 2024. The Most Reverend Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, is set to receive an honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) degree from The University of the West Indies (The UWI) during a special convocation on Saturday, July 20. This ceremony will coincide with his visit to Jamaica from July 18-21 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of Jamaica and The Cayman Islands. It will be held at the E. Nigel Harris Council Room at The UWI Regional Headquarters in Kingston from 4:00 p.m. local time, 5:00 p.m. Eastern Caribbean/AST. UWItv will broadcast the proceedings live via its website www.uwitv.global, Facebook page www.facebook.com/UWItv and cable tv Channels on Flow.

Archbishop Welby, the symbol and unifying head of the Anglican Community located across 165 nations worldwide, has played a key role in leading the Church of England and the Anglican Communion in engaging in discourses of social justice as a theological practice.  He has spoken and written about the Church facing up to its past.  He has called for affirmative action that seeks to address slavery as a crime against humanity.  Importantly, he is an advocate of the need for promoting healing, empowerment, and reconciliation. 

The Most Reverend Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury

In this regard, he is described as a contributor to the long tradition of liberation theology that promotes equality and fairness for all.  Archbishop Welby was ordained in 1992. His first 15 years were spent serving in the Coventry diocese, often in areas with significant deprivation. In 2002, he was ordained a Canon of Coventry Cathedral, which led his work in international reconciliation. As part of this time, he worked extensively in Africa and the Middle East. He has publicly addressed the Transatlantic Slave Trade, stating that the underlying mindsets and attitudes that led to Transatlantic Chattel Slavery still exist today. These mindsets include the belief that it is acceptable to commodify, exploit, and harm people in order for a few to benefit. According to Archbishop Justin, these attitudes continue to negatively impact the lives of millions of people of African descent as well as people from other communities and ethnicities around the world.

Commenting on the conferral, Archbishop Welby said, “It is such a privilege to receive this honour at The University of the West Indies during my visit to Jamaica. As a university with social justice as part of its core mission, UWI is at the forefront of the global reparatory justice movement – and I am humbled to be awarded this Honorary Doctorate. As a church we stand on the shoulders of giants in this field, and much of the credit must go to the researchers, academics and the independent Oversight Group, who have helped to inform our approach and guide us to this point in time. Transatlantic Chattel Slavery was and has always been blasphemy, and I pray that we will continue our work to create a fairer future in the spirit of deep repentance for this egregious wrong. I thank Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, along with the faculty and staff at The University of the West Indies for hosting us, and look forward to learning more about the invaluable work they are doing in this field.”