The Rt. Rev. Mouneer Anis, Bishop of Egypt, has been honored for what the Archbishop of Canterbury called his invaluable contribution to the work of peace and reconciliation.
He received the Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Inter Faith Cooperation on Feb. 21 during a meeting of the Anglican Interfaith Commission. The Most Rev. Josiah Idowu-Fearon, secretary general of the Anglican Communion, presented the award on behalf of Archbishop Justin Welby at Cairo Cathedral.
The award recognizes the bishop’s relationship with the grand imam of al-Azhar, the leading Islamic mosque and educational institution in Alexandria. It says the bishop “has made a unique contribution and example through his ability to establish deep relationships; this is largely because of his openness, creativity, and ambition to move people towards reconciliation. At times, this inevitably makes him a countercultural voice within his setting.”
“I am greatly honored that Archbishop Justin would award me with this distinguished recognition,” the bishop said. “It was a real pleasure to receive it in the context of the first meeting of the Anglican Interfaith Commission from Archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon. I feel I don’t deserve this great honor.”
The Hubert Walter Award is one of the new official Lambeth honors that Archbishop Justin Welby established in 2016. It is named after the 12th-century Archbishop of Canterbury who led negotiations with Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt and Syria, on behalf of King Richard the Lionheart during the Third Crusade. Its design incorporates a scarab beetle, a motif favored by Archbishop Walter, which some scholars believe may have denoted the resurrection.
Adapted from ACNS
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
