Denzel Washington was baptized and ordained as a minister at the “Kelly Temple Church of God in Christ” in New York on Saturday, December 21, during a service broadcast on Facebook.

“We celebrate the addition of Reverend Denzel Washington to the clergy, who was officially ordained today in the Church of God in Christ, in what was truly a revitalizing moment,” Archbishop Christopher Bryant wrote on Facebook, sharing a photo from the 69-year-old actor’s baptism.

In his remarks at the end of the ceremony, Denzel Washington recalled how his mother once told him, “around the eighth or ninth time I lost an Oscar,” that “man gives the award, God gives the reward.” He went on to share a story about a woman named Ruth Green, known for her gift of prophecy, who predicted when he was 20 years old 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 in the sky. God is always good.”

Washington, whose father was a pastor in the Church of God in Christ, expressed gratitude for everything God has given him over his 70 years, including a “beloved, faithful wife.” His wife, Pauletta Washington, accompanied him to the ceremony. He concluded by stating, “Whatever and everything I can do, I will do” for God.

The “Equalizer” star had previously spoken about his faith in an interview with Esquire in November. In the article, he described the “greatest moment” of his life as a day when he felt “filled with the Holy Spirit” at the West Angeles Church in California.

“God is real. God is love,” Denzel Washington stated in the magazine interview. “God is the only way. God is the true way. God blesses. My job is to lift up God, to glorify Him, to make sure that anyone who speaks to me for the rest of my life understands that He is responsible for me.”

In the interview, Washington also commented that he feels “you can’t say that in this town” because it’s not “trendy” or “sexy” to be religious in Hollywood. However, he added, “I don’t care what anyone thinks.”