Archbishop of York calls Iran war a 'literally pointless conflict' in Easter Sermon

Speaking at York Minister today on Easter Sunday, Stephen Cottrell urged “peace between warring nations”, before referencing the Middle East war.

In the sermon, likened the “thirst” of Jesus Christ on the cross, to the things people thirst for in the modern day.

Mr Cottrell said: “We thirst for peace between the warring nations of the world and on this Easter morning cry out for an end to the literally pointless conflict consuming the Middle East at the moment.

“We thirst for justice in a world where norms of international law are eroded and ignored, where basic human rights are denied.

“We thirst for unity within the church of Jesus Christ, itself so painfully divided by the conflicts of the past and an easy acceptance of a scandalous status quo in the present.”

The archbishop delivered his Easter Sermon as the war, launched by the US and Israel on Iran at the end of February, enters its sixth week.

The conflict has already killed thousands and a path to peace still appears unclear.

In its missile strikes, the US appears to have accidentally hit an Iranian girls school with a Tomahawk missile.

Meanwhile, the conflict has widened with Israel attacking Lebanon. Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for oil coming from the Gulf, has caused soaring fuel prices across the world.

Early this morning, Donald Trump announced that the US had rescued a pilot that had been missing in Iran.

The airman’s extraction followed a frantic US search-and-rescue operation after the crash of the F-15E Strike Eagle on Friday, as Iran promised a reward for anyone who turned in an “enemy pilot”.

The fighter jet was the first US aircraft to crash in Iranian territory since the start of the war.

Continuing his Easter Sermon, Mr Cottrell referenced the “siloes and echo chambers” of social media and the need to acknowledge “our common humanity”, before turning to focus on his own congregation.

“We need this in our communities here in Yorkshire and across the north of England, where so many people feel left behind and where so many young people grow up with little hope of a better future,” he said.

Mr Cottrell, who became the 98th Archbishop of York in 2020, ended the sermon on a lighter note of celebration.

He said: “Which is also why this Easter day we must quench other thirsts as well. Open the beer. Crack open the champagne. Make that margarita.

“Pop another olive in your martini, or if it is your thing, just do that very English thing, and put the kettle on.”

Meanwhile, the leader of Catholics in England and Wales spoke of a humanity “scarred by warfare”.

Delivering his first Easter Sermon since becoming Archbishop of Westminster, Richard Moth said: “In our present times the world is so often confusing and conflicted, subject to ever-changing and often illusory demands and attractions.

“Humanity is marked, scarred, by warfare and injustice, often instigated by greed and misguided power, bringing harm and death to so many and so often the most vulnerable.”