“Jesus was Middle Eastern, not white”, Says Bishop of Canterbury

It’s the tweet that has got everyone talking. It’s the pictures attached to said tweet and the person who’s sent the tweet

On Saturday, Archbishop of Canterbury, Most Rev Justin Welby tweeted his favourite images of Christ from around the world, all depicting him with dark skin.

“Jesus was Middle Eastern, not white. It’s important we remember this”, his tweet said

This comes off the back of an interview he had with BBC Radio 4 where he said Jesus was not depicted as white in many churches around the world  

“You see a black Jesus, a Chinese Jesus, a Middle-Eastern Jesus – which is, of course, the most accurate – you see a Fijian Jesus,” Archbishop Justin said. 

“Jesus is portrayed in as many ways as there are cultures, languages and understandings. 

“And I don’t think that throwing out everything we’ve got in the past is the way to do it but I do think saying: ‘That’s not the Jesus who exists, that’s not who we worship,’ it is a reminder of the universality of the God who became fully human.”

This is in line with the Archbishop’s response to the rise of Black Live Matter protests around the Uk and the world following the death of George Floyd of which he says the Church of England would need to  “set its house in order” on racism

At his interview with BBC Radio 4, he also said statues and memorials in churches should be reviewed and put “in context”.