IN MEMORIAM: Archbishop Tutu of Cape Town

On 26 December 2021, we were greeted by the sad news of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s death. A Christian peacebuilder who believed that all people were equally children of God, he helped lead the successful anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. His courage led him to be attacked, tear-gassed and arrested. His belief in forgiveness led him to establish the groundbreaking Truth and Reconciliation Commission for restorative – rather than retributive – justice in a new multiracial democracy. The successes and limits of his ministry remind us of the humility and patience essential to peaceful change.

On 27 December 1989, I found myself seated at a diplomatic dinner in Jerusalem with Archbishop Tutu. I was a long-haired graduate student but he listened carefully to me and encouraged me to continue my studies in the Middle East. After dinner, his host – the Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem – offered me a job at St. George’s College. The events of that night would eventually lead to my own ordination to the priesthood and the creation of Jerusalem Peacebuilders. For Archbishop Tutu’s faith and wisdom, I am forever grateful and the world is a better place. May he rest and peace and rise in his Lord’s Glory,

Peace, שלום ,سلام,

Nicholas Porter+