Colston stained glass window replaced

A stained-glass church window dedicated to a trafficker in enslaved Africans, Edward Colston, is to be replaced.
St Mary Redcliffe Church, in Bristol, removed four stained-glass panels dedicated to the memory of the 17th-century enslaver.

Jesus aboard a Bristol ship trafficking in enslaved Africans

Permission for the windows to be replaced has been granted by the Church of England’s court in Bristol. In his judgement Justin Gau, chancellor of the Diocese of Bristol, said: “The Church of England and the historical behaviour of this parish church in excusing the life of Colston have a journey of repentance to make. To excuse or ignore the slave trade is a sin“.

Jesus supporting the Bristol bus boycott of 1963

Edward Colston was a senior figure in the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans. He made his fortune trading in human suffering. Accordingly, the presence of a memorial to Colston has been described by the Chancellor in his judgement as, “not only grotesque but entirely contrary to the Gospel command to love one another”.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph on a migrant boat

Colston was philanthropic towards Bristol but there is no evidence to suggest that his philanthropy arose from any sense of regret or penitence. As a senior official in the Royal African Company from 1680 to 1692, he is estimated to have been involved in the transportation of over 84,000 enslaved Africans from West Africa to the Caribbean and Americas.

“Love thy neighbour as thyself”