Updated

Updated · The Archbishop of Canterbury · Jul 29

Archbishop of Canterbury Delivers 1 Homily at Kumasi Evensong as Ghana Visit Highlights Anglican Ties

Updated

Updated · The Archbishop of Canterbury · Jul 29

Archbishop of Canterbury Delivers 1 Homily at Kumasi Evensong as Ghana Visit Highlights Anglican Ties

Q: How does a dark history at Cape Coast Castle transform the Archbishop's message about humanity being the Church's ultimate treasure?

Cape Coast Castle gives the Archbishop’s words a sharper moral meaning: it turns “people are the Church’s true treasure” from a devotional phrase into a rebuke of any system that treats human beings as property. At Lambeth Palace and in her meeting with the Asantehene, the Archbishop spoke about treasures, heritage and stewardship, contrasting material riches with the greater worth of the Anglican Communion’s people. Cape Coast Castle, however, is a place where that truth was historically denied. Its dungeons and the “gate of no return” embody a period when African lives were commodified in the Atlantic slave trade, often through institutions tied to European power, commerce and, indirectly, Christian societies. Against that backdrop, her language about stewardship acquires a deeper restorative force. It suggests that the Church’s task is not merely to preserve artefacts or honour tradition, but to defend human dignity, memory and healing where that dignity was once violently stripped away. The message becomes that the Church’s richest inheritance is not its buildings, libraries or regalia, but the God-given value of every person, especially those whose humanity was historically denied. It also links directly to what she praised in Ghana: girls’ education, nursing, midwifery and community service. In the shadow of Cape Coast Castle, those ministries are more than charity; they are acts of repair and witness, showing a Church that treasures lives by investing in them.

Q: Why did the Archbishop compare the sacred Golden Stool of the Asante to the ancient treasures of Lambeth Palace during her historic visit?

She made the comparison to frame both the Golden Stool and Lambeth Palace’s treasures as sacred inheritances that carry a people’s history, identity and continuity, and to stress that leaders are custodians rather than owners of such gifts. In Kumasi, Archbishop Sarah Mullally said that Lambeth Palace, where archbishops have lived for more than 800 years, contains books, paintings, vestments and other artefacts that tell the story of Anglican heritage. She then drew a parallel with the Asantehene’s guardianship of the Golden Stool and royal regalia, which for the Asante are not just valuables but powerful symbols of nationhood and legacy. The Golden Stool, believed to embody the spirit of the Asante people, made that comparison especially resonant. The point was not to equate the objects materially, but to underline a shared duty of stewardship. Mullally said that, like the Asantehene, she is entrusted with preserving treasures for future generations. From there she widened the message: Christians, too, are “servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” That is why the comparison sat at the heart of her Ghana visit. It honored Asante culture, acknowledged the importance of protecting heritage, and linked those visible treasures to her larger sermon theme that the Church’s greatest wealth is its people and the deeper “treasure” is the kingdom of God and the love of Christ.

3 articles · Updated · The Archbishop of Canterbury · Jul 29

Kumasi hosted the Archbishop of Canterbury at a Manhyia Palace Evensong service, where he preached on Christians as stewards of spiritual treasure and urged worshippers to seek the "riches of God's glory."
Addressing the Asantehene, he linked that message to shared custodianship, comparing his role at Lambeth Palace—home to the archbishop for more than 800 years and to Thomas Cranmer's 1549 Prayer Book—with the king's guardianship of Asante heritage.
Ghana's church ministry also featured in the visit: he said a stop at St Monica's Mampong had shown Anglican work in girls' education and in nurturing nursing and midwifery vocations.
The appearance framed the Anglican Communion's people, rather than its historic artifacts, as its greatest treasure, underscoring fellowship between Canterbury and Ghanaian Anglicans.