Archbishop of Canterbury to visit Sri Lanka

Archbishop of Canterbury, Rt. Rev. Dr. Rowan Douglas Williams, Metropolitan of the Anglican Church of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and the spiritual head of the world-wide Anglican Church comprising more than 70 million members, will pay a brief pastoral visit to Sri Lanka from May 7-11.

This will be Archbishop Williams’ first visit to the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka since his accession to the See of Canterbury.

This pastoral visit is part of the Archbishop’s wider programme of building bridges of trust across communities and cultures.

During his visit to Sri Lanka, he will preach and preside at Services of the Holy Eucharist at the Kurunegala and Colombo Cathedrals. The Service at Kurunegala will be on the 8th morning at 9 a.m. and in Colombo on the 9th morning at 9.30 a.m. He will also address two public meetings – one at Kurunegala on the 8th morning immediately after the service and the other in Colombo on the 10th evening at 5.30 p.m. in the Diocesan Chambers on the Cathedral premises. These events are open to all.

Archbishop Williams will also have meetings with political, civil society and other faith leaders, besides meeting with members of Sri Lanka’s Anglican community – both clergy and laity.

Archbishop Williams was elected Bishop of Monmouth, Wales in 1992 and as Archbishop of Wales in 2000. Three years later in 2003, he was enthroned as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury. He is married to Jane Paul, a lecturer in theology. They have a son and a daughter.

Archbishop Williams holds a double doctorate from the University of Oxford. He has taught theology and has written a number of books on theology and spirituality, as well as two books of poetry. He is a Fellow of the British Academy. His interests include music, fiction and languages.