The Archbishop of Canterbury recently discovered his father's real identity. Such revelations are inherently surprising, but for the English clergyman, the shock value was tenfold.
Results from prior DNA tests showed that Justin Welby, 60, was not the son of a drunkard who passed away in the 1970s, but the offspring of the late Sir Anthony Montague Browne, Winston Churchill's last close-in secretary.
"This comes as a complete surprise," Welby told CNN. Despite being utterly overwhelmed, the Archbishop of Canterbury upheld a spiritual attitude about his paternity. He said, "I know that I find who I am in Jesus Christ, not in genetics, and my identity in him never changes."
Many religious leaders have since lauded Welby for the way he handled the situation. Maidenhead rabbi Dr. Jonathan Romain shared to Sunday Telegraph via The Guardian that Welby had set a good example for those who are in a similar predicament. Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, had this to say on Twitter:
Prayers for @JustinWelby and his mother. Our life in Christ matters most of all.
— Cardinal Nichols (@CardinalNichols) April 9, 2016
For her part, Jane Williams, Welby's mother, was taken aback by the news. However, she did admit to having a tipsy encounter with Browne before her sudden marriage to Gavin Welby.
"Fueled by a large amount of alcohol on both sides, I went to bed with Anthony Montague Browne," Williams recalled. "It appears that the precautions taken at the time didn't work, and my wonderful son was conceived as a result of this liaison."
According to Daily Mail, Justin Welby had confided a few years back to Norwich bishop Graham James about the possibility of being the lovechild of Sir Anthony Montague Browne. Winston Churchill's last close-in secretary, who passed away in 2013, had also suspected the same thing for years, but avoided ever meeting Welby.
As the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby is the spiritual leader of the Church of England and the global Anglican Communion. He is the overseer of Anglican and Episcopalian churches in over 165 nations.
