The life of the late retired Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, and formidable leader in the struggle against Apartheid, the Most Rev. Desmond Tutu, will be commemorated at a Service to be held on Sunday, March 20 at the historic Kingston Parish Church at 10.30 am.
The Most Rev. Howard Gregory, Archbishop of the West Indies and Bishop of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, will deliver the Sermon at the Service, which will be attended by representatives of the State, the diplomatic corps, as well as clergy and members from across the Diocese. The officiating priest will be the Rev. Louis Hurst, Rector of the Parish Church where Archbishop Tutu preached when he visited Jamaica in 1986 as guest of the Government. The Service will be streamed live.
The Governor General, His Excellency Sir Patrick Allen, who is unable to join the dignitaries, will read the first lesson on the virtual platform; and the second lesson will be read by Senator The Hon. Kamina Johnson-Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, representing the Prime Minister. The Hon. Alando Terrelonge, Minister of State, representing the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, The Hon. Olivia Grange, will deliver the Tribute from the Government of Jamaica. The Remembrance will be presented by the High Commissioner of South Africa, Her Excellency Mrs. L.E. Yegeni.
Archbishop Tutu, who died on December 26, 2021, came to prominence internationally when he was consecrated as the first black Bishop of Johannesburg in 1985; and during his tenure, he publicly endorsed an economic boycott of South Africa and a campaign of civil disobedience in an effort to dismantle Apartheid. In 1986, he was translated to become Bishop of Cape Town and Archbishop of the Church in the Province of South Africa – another first for a black man.
He is described by Archbishop Gregory as: “a disciple of Jesus Christ and a Priest and Bishop to his people, who spoke truth to power, and who understood that there is no sphere of life which the Christian faith does not engage in order to bring dignity, freedom and wholeness to the life of people.”
The late prelate also served as a member of the Primates Meeting, one of the highest deliberative bodies in the worldwide Anglican Communion.