The new Archbishop of York took a stroll down Shambles today (Thursday).
Stephen Cottrell was confirmed as 98th Archbishop of York via a Zoom video conference this morning, due to the Covid-19 restrictions.
The service included music from York Minster Choir and Manor Church of England Academy, York.
The archbishop then made a short walk of pilgrimage to the shrine of St Margaret Clitherow.
Welcomed by the Rt Revd Terence Drainey, Roman Catholic Bishop of Middlesbrough, Stephen Cottrell spent time in private prayers, before taking a walk down York’s most famous street.
Smiling broadly, the Archbishop was surrounded by photographers and video operators as his first day in the job was documented from all angles.
Then he returned to York Minster to take up his crozier in front of a small, socially-distanced gathering drawn from his immediate staff representing the Archbishop’s Leadership Team, Bishopthorpe Palace and the Minster itself.
Video service
During the video service the Archbishop of Canterbury said being a Christian in the Church of England means living with “baggage” which includes “saints and slave-traders”.
Justin Welby said: “They are part of us, of our inheritance, to be reformed, to be repented of, to be imitated.”
In the Minster the new Archbishop of York knocked three times on the inside of the West Door which was then opened to the world. This reversal of the usual symbolism was intended to signify the openness of the Church to the world.
Mr Cottrell, who has been Bishop of Chelmsford, succeeded Dr John Sentamu as the second most senior cleric in the Church of England, after the legal proceedings were completed during the service.
The new archbishop was born in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, in 1958 and is married to Rebecca, a potter.
They have three sons.
Gallery
