Archbishop of Canterbury to visit Sri Lanka

COLOMBO: The Most Revd Dr. Rowan Douglas Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan of the Anglican Church of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and the spiritual head of the worldwide Anglican Church comprising more than 70 million members, will be in Sri Lanka from May 7 to 11.

This will be Archbishop Williams' first visit to the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka since his accession to the See of Canterbury. Archbishop Williams was elected Bishop of Monmouth, Wales in 1992 and as Archbishop of Wales in 2000. In 2003, he was enthroned as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury.

During his visit to Sri Lanka, he will preach and preside at Services of the Holy Eucharist at the Kurunegala and Colombo Cathedrals.

The Service at Kurunegala will be on May 8 at 9.00 a.m. and in Colombo on May 9 at 9.30 a.m. He will also address two public meetings - one at Kurunegala on May 8 morning and the other in Colombo on May 10 evening.

Archbishop Williams will also have meetings with political, civil society and other religious leaders, members of Sri Lanka's Anglican community - both clergy and laity. Archbishop Williams holds double doctorate from the University of Oxford.

He has taught theology and has written a number of books on theology and spirituality, as well as two books of poetry.

He is a Fellow of the British Academy.