The Archbishop of Canterbury called for an end to “violence and destruction” in the Middle East during her first Easter sermon as leader of the Church of England, as the US-Israel war against Iran enters its sixth week.
Speaking from Canterbury Cathedral, Dame Sarah Mullally called “with renewed urgency” for an end to the escalating conflict in the region and for all people of the Middle East and the Gulf to “receive the peace, justice and freedom they long for”.
The ongoing war has already claimed thousands of lives and triggered significant global repercussions, including a surge in fuel prices due to a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital international shipping route.
In a swear-laden rant on Sunday, Donald Trump told Iran to “open the f***in’ Strait” or face “living in hell”, with his deadline to make a deal by Monday afternoon closing in rapidly. He also threatened to hit Iranian power plants if his demands are not met by 2pm GMT on Monday.
Dame Sarah used her Easter sermon, which was just shy of a fortnight after her installation as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury, to call for peace.
She told the cathedral’s congregation: “This week our gaze and our prayers have been turned towards the land where Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead.
“Today, as we shout with joy that Christ is risen, let us pray and call with renewed urgency for an end to the violence and destruction in the Middle East and the Gulf.
“May our Christian sisters and brothers know and celebrate the hope of the empty tomb – and may all people of the region receive the peace, justice and freedom they long for.”
She also prayed for people dealing with personal struggles, from unemployment to bereavement.
She said: “Perhaps you are here today standing in your own version of the dark, perhaps with your own heart shattered… If you have been knocked off course by illness, bereavement, unemployment or any other human crisis – I pray you know that God walks with you through that darkness.”
Dame Sarah, a former chief nurse in England, gave special mention to those caring for others in society.
She said: “Last night, in hospitals around the country, nurses tended to those who struggled to sleep.
“In hospices, carers and loved ones will have held someone’s hand, letting them know they are not alone. Parents will have cradled their babies to sleep. This vigil of care is the work of remaining – of staying present in the quiet and the dark.”
Dame Sarah, who was named one of 50 influential women on The Independent’s International Women’s Day list, made history when she was named as the first female archbishop of Canterbury at the start of this year. She will be leading a global church with deepening divisions over issues such as sexuality and female leadership, and has vowed to talk openly about misogyny in a sphere that has long been seen as exclusively a male domain.
While the King is technically head of the Church, Dame Sarah is the most senior bishop and the spiritual leader of the Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion.
She is the Church’s first female Archbishop of Canterbury and was enthroned at a ceremony attended by the Prince and Princess of Wales last month.
Meanwhile, the leader of Catholics in England and Wales spoke of a humanity “scarred by warfare”.
Delivering his first Easter sermon since becoming Archbishop of Westminster, Richard Moth said: “In our present times the world is so often confusing and conflicted, subject to ever-changing and often illusory demands and attractions.
“Humanity is marked, scarred, by warfare and injustice, often instigated by greed and misguided power, bringing harm and death to so many and so often the most vulnerable.”
Speaking at the Saturday vigil mass in Westminster Cathedral, he called on people to share the “irresistible light, this all-embracing love and peace of the Risen Lord across our communities and beyond, even to the ends of the Earth”.
Pope Leo also celebrated his first Easter Mass as pontiff with a call on Sunday to exercise hope against “the violence of war that kills and destroys”, adding “we need this song of hope today” as conflicts spread around the world.
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