Justin Welby was enthroned as Bishop of Durham on Saturday, passionately challenging Christians to ‘re-convert the region’. Mark Tallentire reports.

‘THE idols of our age have fallen.”

That was the inescapable message of the Right Reverend Justin Portal Welby’s first sermon as Bishop of Durham.

The 55-year-old used the phrase from Durham Cathedral’s pulpit at least three times.

Political and economic idols had been toppled, all the great institutions which people had trusted – including the church – had been left flatfooted and anyone who claimed authority seemed hollow, he thundered.

Britain had moved from a nation state to a market state – and the switch had not worked, he continued.

All this from a man who was born the great-nephew of Conservative deputy prime minister Rab Butler, educated at Cambridge, spent 11 years in the oil industry – rising to become group treasurer of Enterprise Oil plc, one of Britain’s biggest oil exploration and production firms, and will soon be a member of the House of Lords.

Pretty radical stuff.

The long-awaited enthronement of the former Dean of Liverpool as successor to Bishop Tom Wright did contain the expected tradition and symbolism.

Staff in hand, Bishop Welby thumped the cathedral’s door three times to request entry, as his predecessors had done for generations.

He wore the robes, followed the script, made the vows and sat in the throne.

But this installation was anything but conservative.

Leaders of other Christian denominations played key roles, children were involved and modern hymns were sung.

Calling Christians to live “revolutionary” lives which broke every mould, the fatherof- five challenged churchgoers to re-kindle Christian faith in the North-East and “reconvert” the region.

“It will happen,” he declared, assuredly. Of that I am utterly confident. Not because of any skill of ours, let alone mine, but by the faithfulness of God when we turn to Him.

“This is a moment of opportunity, because so many idols have fallen – of prosperity and institution.

“Material regeneration is needed – in this region above all. But for material regeneration to come and mean anything, spiritual regeneration is the essential foundation,” he proclaimed.

The capacity existed, the fields were ripe for harvest and while many were full of fear for the future, Christians were to be fearless harvesters, not ashamed of the Good News and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he said. “Let us get on with His work.”