Archbishop of Canterbury to launch annual lecture series

On Sept. 28, Anglicans and people around the world will have a chance to watch via webcast the inaugural address of an annual international lecture series honouring the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.

Archbishop Williams, who will retire at the end of the year, will launch the series with an address that will look into the nature and role of Anglican institutions of higher learning.

The event will be webcast live beginning 9:15 a.m. EST (14:15 BST) here. Users of iPhones and iPads can download a free app from the same site.  The address will also be available for on-demand viewing on the site immediately after the event.

Sponsored by the Colleges and Universities of the Anglican Communion (CUAC), the annual lecture commemorates Williams’ 10 years as the 104^th Archbishop of Canterbury, the symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Williams was chosen as the first lecturer for various reasons, including the fact that he serves as Chancellor of Canterbury Christ Church University, said a press statement from CUAC. A patron of CUAC, Williams has “long held that higher education within the context of an Anglican identity provides benefits that are both universal and particular …,” it added.

The annual CUAC lecture will later rotate among various regions and will be hosted by CUAC member colleges and universities. This will provide “a global voice seeking the commonalities of Anglican higher education that take shape in such diverse cultures,” said a pres statement by the Rev. Canon James Callaway, general secretary of CUAC.

The lecture will also help strengthen the identity of Anglican universities worldwide, said a statement by Bishop Henry Parsley, the 10th bishop of the diocese of Alabama in The U.S. Episcopal Church.

CUAC describes itself as a worldwide association of more than 130 colleges and universities that were founded by and have existing ties with members of the Anglican Communion. A network of the Anglican Communion, CUAC helps promote “cross-cultural contacts for the exchange of ideas and the joint development of educational programs among member institutions,” said its website [INSERT LINK: www.cuac.org]