A BRITISH Coptic Bishop, the former chair of the House of Laity in the General Synod, and the worship leader Matt Redman are among 40 people to be presented with Lambeth Awards by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
On Monday, the third anniversary of Archbishop Welby’s installation, he announced the latest recipients of the three existing Lambeth Awards, as well as six new accolades, all named after his predecessors in the Chair of St Augustine.
Archbishop Welby said: “It will be a huge honour and joy to confer these awards upon such an extraordinary and diverse group of people. The recipients come from many walks of life and many parts of the world, but all have served in their fields with distinction and self-sacrificial service, going beyond the call of duty.”
The General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the UK, Bishop Angaelos, will be among those given the Lambeth Cross for Ecumenism, at the ceremony next week.
Dr Philip Giddings, who stood down as chairman of the House of Laity, and from the Synod last year, has been awarded the Canterbury Cross for Services to the Church of England.
The third traditional Lambeth Award, the Cross of St Augustine for Services to the Anglican Communion, will be presented to six recipients this year.
The awards created by Archbishop Welby, and presented this year for the first time, are the Dunstan Award for Prayer and the Religious Life, the Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Co-operation, the Alphege Award for Evangelism and Witness, the Lanfranc Award for Education and Scholarship, the Langton Award for Community Service, and the Cranmer Award for Worship.
Notable figures among the other recipients include Fr Laurent Fabre CCN, the founder and superior general of the Chemin Neuf community. Some members of the community have lived at Lambeth Palace since 2013 (News, 18 November 2013).
Pastor Agu Irukwu, who leads both the influential Jesus House church in north London and the UK branch of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, a fast-growing Nigerian Pentecostal Church, will be one of six to receive the first Alphege Award for Evangelism and Witness.
The Langton Award for Community Service will be given to six people, including Sir Tony Baldry, the former Second Church Estates Commissioner and chair of the Church Buildings Council, and Sir Hector Sants, the former banker who led Archbishop Welby’s task force on credit unions and financial inclusion. The worship leader Matt Redman is among four to be awarded the Cranmer Award for Worship.
All the awards will be handed out at a ceremony at Lambeth Palace on 31 March, and are made of Fairtrade silver.
The Lambeth Cross for Ecumenism
His Grace, Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the UK
His Eminence Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira and Great Britain
Canon Simon Stephens
The Canterbury Cross for Services to the Church of England
Peter Beesley
Dr Philip Giddings
Dr Sarah Horsman
Carl Lee
Canon Bob Mackintosh
Cross of St Augustine for Services to the Anglican Communion
Professor Salvatore Bordonali
Canon James Callaway
The Revd Hamdy Daoud
Bishop Omindo Hilkiah Deya
Professor Fabiano Di Prima
Phyllis Richardson
The Dunstan Award for Prayer and the Religious Life
Fr Laurent Fabre CCN
Brother Samuel SSF
The Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation
Bill Marsh
Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra
Sir Andrew Pocock
Rabbi Dr David Rosen
The Revd Martin Turner
The Alphege Award for Evangelism and Witness
Chrysogon Bamber
The Revd John Coles
The Revd Pamela Cooper
Deaconess Susan C. Essam
Pastor Agu Irukwu
Tim Royle
The Lanfranc Award for Education and Scholarship
David Day
Maureen Hogarth
Dr Eeva John
The Langton Award for Community Service
Sir Tony Baldry
Bishop Geoffrey Davies
The Revd Joel Edwards
The Ven. Duncan Green
The Ven. Arthur Hawes
Sir Hector Sants
The Cranmer Award for Worship
James Lancelot
Philip Moore
Matt Redman
Michael Williams