The Archbishop of Canterbury in England, His Grace Justin Welby, together with his wife, Caroline Welby, visited Manhyia Palace on Saturday, February 11, 2023.

The visit by the ceremonial head of the Anglican Communion is part of a courtesy call and to pay homage to the King of the Asante Kingdom, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who is an Anglican by Christian faith.

The King was presented with the prestigious St. Augustine cross and a citation for his contribution to the Church and Ghana.

Accompanying him were key members and heads of the Anglican Church from across West Africa and Ghana.

Meanwhile, prior to the historic visit, the revered King has been captured in an image online where he is kneeling before the Archbishop of Canterbury during his visit to England in August 2014.

Based on the environment of the image, Otumfuo is seen receiving special prayers in church from the Archbishop of Canterbury in England, Justin Welby.

Background

All across the world, people directly in line with the royal lineage pride themselves on having great reverence, and particularly for kings, queens, and other high-ranking leaders in society, there are various ways through which they show respect and etiquette.

Kneeling in front of the elderly or religious leaders is an example of a reverent act.

In Ghana, the three main religious groups - Christianity, Islam, and Traditional - all have varied forms of showing respect and etiquette.

In the normal sphere of things, kneeling before, for instance, the Asantehene, would have been a normal exhibition of honour to the Asante King.

According to research, the Archbishop welcomed the King of the Ashanti Kingdom in Ghana to Lambeth Palace on August 1, 2014.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who is an Anglican was on a private visit to the United Kingdom and requested an official visit with Archbishop Justin Welby.

The Asante Kingdom has traced the strong ties between the Golden Stool and the Anglican Church – dating back to early 20th Century when the then Asantehene, King Prempeh, got baptized into the Anglican faith whilst in exile in Seychelles.

Since then, the Asante Kingdom has accepted and opened its heart not only to the Anglican Communion but to all churches bearing faith in the omnipotent God.

In this photo, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II, is captured kneeling before the Archbishop. He is clad in beautiful traditional kente and in solemn mood before the man of God.

As scripture will have it in James 5:16; “For the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails.”

See the images and video from 2014 below:







2022 visit to Manhyia Palace by Archbishop Justin Welby and wife
Credit: @ManhyiaPalace on Twitter









MA/BOG