Denzel Washington is baptized and receives his priest's license

Denzel Washington is celebrating a big moment for him and his faith.

The Oscar-winning actor, 69, was baptized and received his priest’s license at the Kelly Temple Church of God in Christ in New York on Saturday in a service broadcast on Facebook.

“We celebrate the induction of Minister Denzel Washington into the clergy after he received his priestly license in the Church of God in Christ today in a truly uplifting moment,” Archbishop Christopher Bryant wrote on Facebook, where he shared a photo of Washington’s baptism.

In a speech at the end of the ceremony, Washington recalled his mother telling him, “About the eighth or ninth time I lost an Oscar,” Washington said, “Man gives the award, God gives the reward.” He further recalled that a woman named Ruth Green, who was “known to have the gift of prophecy,” had predicted to him at the age of 20 that he would “travel the world and preach to millions of people.”

“Fifty years later…if (God) can do that for me, there’s nothing he can’t do for you,” he said. “The sky is literally the limit, and there is no limit to the sky. God is always good.”

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Washington, whose father was a pastor at the Church of God in Christ, continued that he was “grateful for everything God has given me over 70 years,” including a “loving, faithful wife.” His wife, Pauletta Washington, accompanied him to the service. He concluded by saying, “Anything and everything I can do, I will do for God.”

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The “Equalizer” star spoke to Esquire about his faith back in November. In the article, he said that the “greatest moment” of his life was a day when he felt “filled with the Holy Spirit” at the West Angeles Church of God in Christ in California.

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“God is real. God is love,” he told the magazine. “God is the only way. God is the true way. God blesses. It is my job to exalt God, praise Him, and make sure that everyone and everyone I speak to for the rest of my life understands that He is responsible for me.”

In the Esquire article, Washington also said that he felt like “you can’t say that in this town” because it’s “not fashionable” and “not sexy” to be religious in Hollywood, but “it I don’t care what anyone thinks.”

Washington is fresh off a promotional tour for Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, which earned him an Oscar for his performance opposite Paul Mescal. In an interview with Australia’s Today show in November, he teased that he might be retiring after a number of upcoming film projects.

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