FORMER Dean of Belfast Rev John Mann has been awarded the Lambeth Cross for Ecumenism for "courageous and visionary leadership" during his time in the city.
The award was presented by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby at a ceremony at Lambeth Palace in London.
Rev Mann was based at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast from 2011 until September last year, when he left to take up a post at a parish in England.
The citation states that he provided "courageous and visionary leadership which affirmed diversity, fostered healing and made Belfast Cathedral a place of welcome as a sacred, civic space at the heart of a divided city".
In 2016 Fr Edward O'Donnell, parish priest of St Brigid's in Belfast, was installed as an ecumenical canon, becoming the first Catholic priest to serve on the Church of Ireland cathedral's governing chapter.
During his tenure, Rev Mann also raised more than a million pounds for charity through his annual Black Santa sit-out in the lead-up to Christmas.
