Denzel Washington just got baptized and became a pastor – and no, it wasn’t in preparation for a film role.

On Saturday, December 21st, it will take place Gladiator II Star, 69, was baptized at the Kelly Temple Church of God in Christ in New York’s Harlem neighborhood. He was also presented with a pastor’s license, which will enable him to be ordained a priest in the future.

During the ceremony, which was broadcast live via Facebook by the First Jurisdiction Church of God in Christ Eastern New York, Denzel – who was dressed casually in a gray T-shirt and black sweatpants – spoke to the congregation about living up to his faith could accept days before his big 70th birthday.

“I’ll be 70 in a week,” he said, according to Archbishop Christopher Bryant, according to Page Six. “It took a while, but I’m here.”

“If (God) can do this for me, there is nothing he cannot do for you. The sky is literally the limit,” he added.

Denzel’s wife, Pauletta Washington, was also present for the special moment and tearfully spoke about her husband’s spiritual journey and how proud she was to witness him take this next step in his faith.

“Forty-six years later, I still stand next to him because only God can do it,” Pauletta said. “That’s why I’m very proud of you. You are the head of our house and have set a great example for our children who are now grown children who know the difference because we showed them the difference.”

Following the ceremony, where Denzel was immersed in baptismal water, the actor also posed for photos with his pastor’s license and baptism certificate.

News of Denzel’s baptism comes just over a month after the Oscar winner spoke about religion in Hollywood in a first-person essay, calling it “unfashionable.” Esquire, published November 19th.

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In the essay, the actor recalled a life-changing first visit he made to the West Angeles Pentecostal Church in Los Angeles at the suggestion of actor and director Robert Townsend. He called the experience “the greatest moment of my life,” when “I was filled with the Holy Spirit.”

The actor also noted that speaking openly about his religion is frowned upon among his colleagues in the entertainment industry.

“Things I used to say about God as a little boy and recite with everyone else in church, I know now. God is real. God is love. God is the only way. God is the true way. God bless.” “It is my job to exalt God, to praise Him, and to make sure that anyone and everyone I speak to for the rest of my life understands that He is responsible for me,” he wrote in his essay.

“When you see me, you see the best I can do with what my Lord and Savior has given me. I’m not afraid. I don’t care what anyone thinks,” he continued. “Look, when we talk about the fear part of it – you can’t talk like that and win Oscars. You can’t talk and celebrate like that. You can’t say that in this city.”

Even though Denzel isn’t an ordained minister yet, he wouldn’t be the first celebrity to become one. According to the Universal Life Church database, there are a variety of Hollywood stars who are ministers, including Adele, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cardi B, Kathy Griffin, Whoopi Goldberg, Dwayne Johnson and Tom Hanks.