The celebrated and Oscar-winning actor, Denzel Washington, surprised everyone by getting baptized on Saturday, December 21. In a heartfelt ceremony filled with tears, where he also received a minister's license, Washington talked about his faith alongside his wife, Pauletta Washington.
Washington was baptized at the Kelly Temple of God in Christ in Harlem, New York City. By receiving a minister's license, according to PEOPLE, Washington can potentially become ordained in the future. "It took a while, but I'm finally here," Washington said, according to Page Six. "If [God] can do this for me, there's nothing He can't do for you. The sky literally is the limit."
The ceremony,
streamed via Facebook, saw Washington being submerged into the waters of baptism. He was wearing a grey T-shirt and some sweatpants. As soon as he emerges from the waters, the Gladiator II star raises both of his hands in the air, praising the Lord, ecstatic. He would then break down in tears as praise music was performed by the church's band in the background.
His wife, Pauletta, also had some encouraging words for her husband, who was listening, still emotional. "Forty-six years later, here I'm still standing next to him as only God will have it," Pauletta said. "So, I'm very proud of you. You are the head of our house and you have set a great example for our children, who are now adult children who know the difference because we have shown them the difference."
A Newly-Discovered Faith
One month before his baptism took place, in a first-person written article in Esquire, Denzel Washington talked about his newly-found faith, stating that he fully believes in God. "Things I said about God when I was a little boy, just reciting them in church along with everybody else, I know now," Washington said. He would then call God "real," "love, and the "only and true way."
"When you see me, you see the best I could do with what I've been given by my lord and savior," Washington continued. "I'm unafraid. I don't care what anyone thinks." He would complement this by saying that believing is considered "not fashionable" and "not sexy," but that, even if he is a Hollywood actor, it doesn't mean he is incapable of believing in God.
"What does that even mean? That to me means a street called Hollywood Boulevard," Washington said. "It's not like we all meet somewhere and discuss what we believe. So I don't know how many other actors have faith. I didn't do no poll."
