The Archbishop of York has told a UN gathering of people of African descent that he acknowledges the Church of England’s “historic complicity” in the slave trade.

The United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent is an event co-hosted by Kenya and the Anglican Communion with a panel representing Barbados, Jamaica and Ghana.

Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell opened with a Ghanaian proverb: “Until the lion has told his story, the hunter will always be the hero.” 

Reflecting on the Church Commissioner’s 2019 report into the church’s historical involvement with slavery, he said he was “humbled” to discover that the Church had invested in the South Sea company, and produced ‘slave Bibles’ omitting verses about freedom and equality in the eyes of God and the entire book of Exodus.

Referring to the Church’s past, Cottrell said: “We the hunters, we the slave traders, we the twisters of Christian tradition, have also been set free by the truth [of Jesus].

“It gives us a narrative about what it is to be human, how we belong to one another, and how we inhabit this world together; the very values that are at the heart of the United Nations.”

The Church’s response to its past has been a £100m investment programme, chaired by the Rt Revd Rosemarie Mallett, Bishop of Croydon.

“The dialogue at the UN represents a new phase of engagement and commitment from the Church of England,” said Bishop Rosemarie, “one rooted in the hope that—even after deep historical failure—reconciliation and justice are still possible.”

Previously, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Church Commissioners have apologised for the Church’s ties to the slave trade. The Church says its official position is one of “penitence, partnership, and purpose.”