Eurobishop

Today the Church remembers the Martyrs of Uganda, young Africans, of Anglican and Roman Catholic background who were put to death by the Ugandan King Mwanga, who despised people of religious faith.  At this time across the United States of America and even here in London, demonstrations continue protesting the murder of another black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis. As we know he was mercilessly pinned down by the knee of a white police officer, begging to be able to breathe, until he died. Other police officers looked on.  While the world searches for a cure and a vaccine against coronavirus - how we need still to find a cure and a vaccine for the racism that is still so pervasive in our societies.  We Christians believe in the equality  of all peoples  and value the richness that comes with racial and ethnic diversity. Racism is a sin; as such we must oppose it in all its forms.  The Archbishops of Canterbury and York issued this statement con...

I don't often join in protests in Parliament Square but today, 26 July, I did join the Iraqi Christian community whose churches organised a solidarity stand for the victimised Iraqi Christians in their homeland, especially in the area of Mosul, a city in Northern Iraq, near the ancient biblical city of Nineveh. Many signs were being held up with the letter Nun (ن) and the wording, "I am Iraqi; I am Christian". Nun (ن)  is the 14th letter of the Arabic alphabet, equivalent of N in the Roman alphabet. It is the first letter of the word Nasara (نصارى : Nazarenes), which is what ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, have marked on the property of Christians in the areas they now claim as their caliphate. ISIS gave an ultimatum to Christians living in and around Mosul: convert, pay jizya (a protection tax) or be put to death. The region is now left without any Christians, for the first time in close to 2000 years, the last remaining having fled with only the clo...

Image by scottgunn via Flickr After close to 12 hours of debate, on Monday, the draft measure to permit the ordination of women as bishops was approved by the General Synod. It was passed by a sizable majority: 373 in favour; 14 against, 17 abstentions. Earlier in the debate an amendment put forward by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York which would have strengthened provision for those who cannot in conscience accept the ministry of a woman bishop was narrowly defeated, by 5 votes in the house of clergy. Archbishop Rowan remarked that the voting shows the synod is committed to seeing women as bishops while it is also profoundly committed to a "maximum generosity" towards those who cannot in conscience accept this development. The decision taken on Monday leads to the next step in the process: the draft measure is now to be sent to dioceses for discussion and approval by diocesan synods. The Archbishop of Canterbury remarked that this next s...

The Archbishop of York, the Most Revd John Sentamu, has issued a statement urging people to support the Christian Aid appeal for Haiti: "I think at times like this our reaction as Christians must always be one of passionate engagement. As John Donne said 'No one is an island entire of itself. Any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in humanity'. For the lives that are left, we need a response that asks not to understand but to do all we can to change the situation in whatever ways that are open to us. Why not give to Christian Aid today and make a difference? Please support the appeal by visiting this site . I have also received some more news about my friend, the Revd Canon Ogé Beauvoir, the Dean of the seminary in Port-au-Prince, and a former colleague in the Canadian Church. Canon Beauvoir and his wife Serette are safe and providing leadership in a camp set up by the Episcopal diocese for about 3,000 homeless, where they themselves have taken refuge....