Apartheid’s most determined white opponent, Archbishop Trevor Huddleston — described as a Christian giant and one of the most courageous Anglican clergymen of his generation — died April 20 at the age of 85.
On hearing of his death, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu said: “The world is a better place for having had a Trevor Huddleston. Thanks be to God for this incredible stalwart.”
Archbishop Huddleston became a member of the Community of the Resurrection in England in 1939 and, two years later, was posted to South Africa.
There, he quickly became active in the struggle against apartheid and formed close friendships with African leaders such as Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela.
He wrote his experiences in a little book, Naught For Your Comfort, which became an overnight best-seller.
Together with Julius Nyerere, he addressed the founding meeting of the Anti-Apartheid Movement in London in 1959. A year later, he became Bishop of Masai in southern Tanganyika and, in 1968, Bishop of Stepney, in London.