Eurobishop

The lands of the Bible, places we know from the stories of the Patriarchs of the Old Testament, and the soil of the Middle East where our Lord Jesus Christ was born and lived and where Christianity first took root, are still ravaged by war, violence and terror. It is hard to imagine what our sisters and brothers in Syria and Iraq, two countries which border on our Diocese in Europe, have witnessed this past year, and most recently the attack on the Coptic Church in Cairo underlines the fragility of life for minority communities across the region. Terrorism has of course also touched our own continent, most recently in Berlin. Nevertheless the celebration of Christ's birth, the Prince of Peace, gives us hope. There are few finer words to summarise this hope than those of a Syrian Teacher of the Faith, St Ephrem the Deacon, (commemorated in the Church of England on 9 June). He died in 373. Here is an extract from one of his Christmas hymns: The feast day of your birth resembl...

500 people attended the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols of St Nicholas's Anglican Church in Helsinki which was held in the Lutheran Cathedral in the centre of the city. The Anglican Carol Service is a major attraction in the Advent season in the Finnish capital, and is well attended by people of all nationalities and church affiliations. In the square below the Cathedral, Helsinki's Christmas Market is held. I am certain that there are also many who attend the carol service, who have been browsing around the market and who are drawn for some reason to enter the Church. Some who may have no formal Christian connection come perhaps for aesthetic reasons to begin with, or who are tentatively exploring the Christian faith, and find at the Carol Service, a warm and welcoming space for that exploration. Our priest at St Nicholas's, the Revd Tuomas Mäkipää, deliberately keeps the format of this service very traditional, even maintaining the scripture readings from the A...

St Paul's in Monaco regularly celebrates Confirmation and usually in the season of Advent. It is an appropriate time of the year to celebrate this sacrament as the Advent message of light shining in the darkness underlines the commitment of the newly confirmed to bear Christ's light in the world. In the confirmation liturgy the candidates receive a lit candle at the conclusion of the rite, and carry that candle out into the world. This year in St Paul's I administered the apostolic rite of Confirmation to another class prepared by the parish priest, the Very Revd Walter Raymond OGS. This latest celebration has brought the number of candidates that Fr Walter has presented to me to 40 in total during his 8 years of ministry in the Principality. The spiritual life of the congregation seems in good heart! The Advent confirmations also frequently coincide with the huge charity bazaar held each year, called the Kermesse . It is a major ecumenical event as well: t...

It was very moving last Wednesday 14 December to join in a prayer vigil led by His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the UK, at the Innocent Victims' Memorial at Westminster Abbey. The prayers were offered in honour and memory of the 25 Coptic Orthodox Christians, mostly women and children, who were killed in the bombing of St Peter's Church in Cairo last weekend. The Reverend Canon Jane Sinclair of the Abbey welcomed all to the prayers. Addresses were given by the Archbishop Justin Welby, Bishop Angaelos and HE Mr Nasser Kamel, the Egyptian Ambassador to the UK. As the names of the victims were read aloud, 25 red roses were laid between 25 lit candles, representing the blood that they shed for their faith, and the light they will continue to represent in the memory of their family, friends, and communities. Bishop Angaelos spoke of the tragedy of families broken apart just before the Feast of the Nativity, and of the need for faith, ...

The Readers and Readers in Training, with the Director of Reader Ministry, the Revd Elaine Labourel, (3rd from left) A  workshop for our lay ministers (Readers) was held recently. It was entitled "Pastoral Principles for Readers". It was very well attended and clearly well received. One of the participants, Simone Yallop, a reader in training in the Anglican Church in Twente, Netherlands, wrote this article: In the weekend of 28-30 October 2016 a group of 22 Readers and Readers-in-Training gathered at St Columba’s House in Woking for a Diocesan workshop on Pastoral Principles. Under the expert leadership of the Revd Elaine Labourel (Diocesan Director of Readers) and Ms Alexandra Wheeler, we learned about what pastoral care really is and how to build pastoral relationships. Using various exercises, generally in groups of two, we discovered what it is that makes a good listener as well as what to do and what not to do during a pastoral visit. Alexandra addresses the ...

From the left: Fr Nigel, Mark Mallet-White, Fr David, the Revds Vivien and Ron Larkin On St. Andrew's Eve, 29th November, the Anglican Church at Puerto Pollença celebrated 30 years of its ministry. St Andrew is the patron of this congregation. Although active for these 30 years, only a couple of years ago, the congregation moved to a new multi-purpose premises, which is well used by this active parish, led by their priest, the Revd Nigel Stimpson. The entrance to St Andrew's multi-purpose building Some parishioners from the congregation in Palma, together with their priest, the Revd David Waller, joined Fr Nigel and two clergy from the Uniting Church in Australia, the Revds Ron and Vivien Larkin, who assist under the provisions of the Ecumenical Canons. After the service good use was made of the multi-purpose building, as we shared lively conversation, lovely food and some excellent wine. Some members of the congregation present that evening had been there at the begi...

Fr Howard at Diocesan Synod 2015 It is with great sadness that I convey the news of the death of the Venerable Fr Howard Levett SSC. He died on Monday 13th December at the Royal Free Hospital in London, where he was admitted last Tuesday the 6th. He was 72. He had battled with cancer a while back and the disease had returned and spread. During his last days, he received many visitors, mostly former parishioners and clergy friends and colleagues. I visited him just hours before his death. He was already unconscious, but I was able to pray for him and for the visitors who were around his bedside, and to anoint him in the sacrament of Holy Unction. Fr Howard has had a rich ministry as a priest. Ordained in 1969, he has served in the Dioceses of Southwark, and London, as well as in Egypt as Archdeacon for 14 years. In our Diocese he was Chaplain of St George's Venice and Christ Church Trieste from 2010 to 2015. He was a member of our Diocesan Synod until his retirement. So many...

Today is the Feast of St Lucy, the young woman martyred in Syracuse in 304 AD during the Diocletian persecution. According to the Julian calendar used in Sweden until 1753, the night between the 12th and the 13th of December was Midwinter, the longest night of the year, when it was believed that extra protection was needed against darkness and evil. Hence in Sweden Sankta Lucia has become a major festival of light celebrated in churches, schools and homes. In the beautiful service St Lucy appears wearing a white gown, a crown of candles and a red ribbon around her waist as a sign of her martydom. She is accompanied by young people singing traditional Swedish songs and carols. Each year in London Swedes and their friends come together for a great celebration of Sankta Lucia , to which I am invited, along with the clergy of Porvoo sister Churches. This year's celebration was in Westminster Roman Catholic Cathedral. We witness the ongoing violence in Syria and Iraq, violent t...

In the Church of England, after ordination, (or after a priest is received into the C of E from a Church not in communion with ours) a second phase of training is compulsory. This is called IME Phase 2. Various themes are covered in this training period which lasts 3 - 4 years, to assist clergy with their great demands in terms of spiritual and parochial leadership. The Director of Ministerial Development, the Revd Canon Ulla Monberg, has recently completed directing another residential training session for our own IME Phase 2 candidates at St Columba's House, Woking. The group focussed on issues to do with observing boundaries in ministry, understanding transference and counter transference, dealing with the shadow self, safeguarding, priorities for ministry, and clergy well-being. One of the resource persons for the sessions was the Revd Canon Philippa Boardman MBE, Canon Treasurer of St Paul's Cathedral. She invited the priests and deacons from across the diocese to b...