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Across the African sub-region and indeed some parts of the world, there have been constant struggles of political instability, corruption, ethnic conflicts and poverty, among others, which continue to shape both social and religious communities. These, therefore, call on Christianity regarding how to faithfully respond to such deep wounds without losing hope. This paper assesses the complex relationship between realism and hope within African Christian expression in a theological dialogue between Augustine of Hippo and Desmond Tutu. The study is centred on the main question: How can African Christianity balance deep woundedness and stable hope by drawing on Augustine’s realism and Tutu’s Ubuntu? Adopting the comparative theological methodology, the study employs key primary texts, including Augustine’s City of God, Letters, and Confessions, alongside Tutu’s writings, such as No Future Without Forgiveness and The Rainbow People of God, to juxtapose theological concepts such as human dignity, justice, unity, coercion and hope. The paper reveals that Augustine’s theological realism finds the limits of justice and the prevalence of sin yet proposes an eschatological hope that is built on patience and perseverance. Tutu’s Ubuntu theology is also founded in African ethics, extending hope for active social healing through forgiveness and reconciliation. This paper concludes that the church in Africa must live ‘between wounds and hope’, where the hostilities of harsh realities are met with empathetic pastoral care, and realism is guided by transformative hope.ContributionThis study offers fresh perspectives on how Christianity in Africa can circumvent the harsh impacts of the social and spiritual predicaments through a dialogue between classical theological ideas and contemporary restorative praxis.

No one should be excluded from our love, our compassion or our concern because of race or gender, faith or ethnicity—or because of their sexual orientation”.10 And he became an outspoken advocate against the exclusion, the stigma, and discrimination faced by people living with HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.11 In the pages of The Lancet12,13 his voice has been heard on the full inclusion of LGBTQ people in all societies, and on the rights of prisoners and detainees to health care, in what are now known as the Nelson Mandela Rules.14 Tutu's vision of radical inclusivity, and his deep grasp of the connections between exclusion and poor health outcomes, were at the core of his calls for the inclusion of all the human family in compassionate care. The International AIDS Society–Lancet Commission on Health and Human Rights has called for a revitalisation of the health and human rights agenda in health contexts, including inequity in the global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.15 Activists have described inadequate vaccine access across Africa as “vaccine apartheid”.16 In the Commission's work, a recurring theme has emerged around universality, a foundational principle of the modern human rights movement which seeks to establish the rights and protections that all human beings share. Tutu extended this concept of interdependence to the climate crisis, which he understood to be the result of a profound moral failure to extend our concern to all creation.18 Among his last public statements was a call to extend COVID-19 vaccination coverage in Africa, and for each of us to accept vaccination not only for our own protection, but also for the protection of others.19 As the world enters the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and inequities in global access to vaccines, diagnostics, antivirals, oxygen, and personal protective equipment continue,20 we need to cherish and uphold Tutu's radical vision of inclusivity more than ever.

In the eyes of many, chairing the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was the crowning contribution of Archbishop Desmond Tutu to his country, and to the world at large. Against the backdrop of his role leading the TRC, chairing the many victims' hearings and guiding the amnesty proceedings, the article focuses on Tutu's views on forgiveness, reconciliation, and justice. The TRC operated within the mandates given to it by the South African parliament, but Tutu with his theological background, strong views, and dynamic personality put his own stamp on the truth and reconciliation process in South Africa. The role of religion in establishing truth and working towards justice, forgiveness, and reconciliation was controversial, but for the former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, it was inconceivable to embark on the journey of reconciliation without faith in Jesus Christ, the ultimate Reconciler.

The core question posed by this article is, 'what are the characteristics of a transgressive rhetoric, as evidenced by preaching in South Africa, in particular in view of the transition to democracy, and as based on the African philosophy of Ubuntu?' Or, the other way around, 'what type of (homiletical) rhetoric was in fact needed to achieve the political transition in South Africa?' Cognisance is taken in particular of the rhetorical structures used in this regard by former Archbishop Desmond Tutu, under the headings of inter-facing, inter-forming and inter-futuring. These rhetorical structures are evaluated in the light of certain rhetorical principles, as expressed in classical Roman oratory. Contribution This article traces elements of historical thought and source interpretation by revisiting the particular historical role that former Archbishop Tutu played in the formation of democracy in South Africa, by means of an interpretation of selected writings, i.e. sermons and speeches by the former Archbishop.

In the eyes of many, chairing the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was the crowning contribution of Archbishop Desmond Tutu to his country, and to the world at large. Against the backdrop of his role leading the TRC, chairing the many victims’ hearings and guiding the amnesty proceedings, the article focuses on Tutu’s views on forgiveness, reconciliation, and justice. The TRC operated within the mandates given to it by the South African parliament, but Tutu with his theological background, strong views, and dynamic personality put his own stamp on the truth and reconciliation process in South Africa. The role of religion in establishing truth and working towards justice, forgiveness, and reconciliation was controversial, but for the former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, it was inconceivable to embark on the journey of reconciliation without faith in Jesus Christ, the ultimate Reconciler.

In the eyes of many, chairing the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was the crowning contribution of Archbishop Desmond Tutu to his country, and to the world at large. Against the backdrop of his role leading the TRC, chairing the many victims’ hearings and guiding the amnesty proceedings, the article focuses on Tutu’s views on forgiveness, reconciliation, and justice. The TRC operated within the mandates given to it by the South African parliament, but Tutu with his theological background, strong views, and dynamic personality put his own stamp on the truth and reconciliation process in South Africa. The role of religion in establishing truth and working towards justice, forgiveness, and reconciliation was controversial, but for the former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, it was inconceivable to embark on the journey of reconciliation without faith in Jesus Christ, the ultimate Reconciler.

Moderated by producer and human rights activist Peggy Callahan, this panel discussion provides insight into the incredible friendship between his holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, featured in the documentary Mission: JOY. The panelists include Doug Abrams, author of the global best-seller The Book of Joy; Dr. Thupten Jinpa Langri, a former Tibetan monk and the principal English translator to H.H. the Dalai Lama; and Dr. Elissa Apel, Professor of psychiatry and Vice Chair at the University of California, San Francisco. Topics discussed include scientifically-proven techniques for bringing joy into our lives, the ways joy has impacted the lives and friendship of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and most importantly, how we can empower ourselves to create and share joy with others, in our everyday lives.

A poem in Afrikaans, English, isiXhosa and Sesotho in honour of Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 1931 – 26 December 2021).