Archbishop Williams lays cornerstone of Anglican church on Jordan’s banks

Bethany Beyond the Jordan, Jordan // Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, laid the cornerstone of an Anglican church yesterday on the eastern bank of the Jordan river as part of a four-day pilgrimage tour to the Holy land.

“This place is set apart for prayers for honouring the name of John the Baptist, the prophet of Bethany and for the praise of the most holy name of our Lord,” he said in prayers as a congregation of around 600 Anglican worshippers in Jordan gathered around him.

Once built, John the Baptist church will be one of eight different Christian churches and monasteries under construction at the site, which was discovered in 1996. The site already boasts remnants of more than 20 churches, caves and baptismal pools dating from the Byzantine period.

Jordan hopes to turn the site ”“ at which John the Baptist baptised Jesus Christ ”“ into a global pilgrimage destination.

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Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, * International News & Commentary, Archbishop of Canterbury, Jordan, Middle East