Eurobishop

USPG has partnerered with the Diocese in Europe in an appeal for funds to respond to urgent humanitarian needs in Ukraine and refugee needs in neighbouring countries. We have trusted Church-related partner organisations on the ground who are delivering vital aid to the victims of the hostilities. Shelter, food, drinking water, hygiene items and trauma support are among the immediate needs being addressed.  To donate to this appeal, please visit  www.uspg.org.uk/ukraine .  Loving God, may we reach out in solidarity to our brothers and sisters in need, and walk in your ways, so that peace and justice become a reality for the people of Ukraine and for all the world.  Amen.  

  Christ Church, Kyiv We awoke this morning, 24 February, to the news that a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine by Russia has begun. We may have forgotten that there has been conflict in eastern Ukraine for the past 8 years, but now the scourge of full-scale war between nations has returned to Europe.  Ukraine has seen invasions over the centuries, with invaders seeking to control the land, its rich resources and its political system. But in 2022 such an act of aggression upon a democratic nation by Russia not only threatens the people of Ukraine, but dangerously destabilizes the coexistence between nations.   Let us unite in prayer for the avoidance of death and suffering, for the protection of the people of Ukraine, and for the strengthening of all who now face danger. We pray for the leaders of our nations that they may urgently seek every way to return to dialogue, for the immediate withdrawal of Russian military, and a reduction of dangerous international t...

This has been a sad week in the Diocese in Europe. Two great pioneers of our work, one in Finland, and the other in Poland died in the last couple of days.  Mr Geoffrey Phillips receiving the Maundy Money in Westminster Abbey Mr Geoffrey Phillips died on 16 November after a long struggle with cancer. He served the Anglican Church in Finland for many years as a Reader (Licensed Lay Minister) in particular supporting the work of the English speaking congregation in Turku where he lived. He was an enthusiastic promotor of the Porvoo Agreement, and our good relations in Turku are due, in no small measure, to the respect with which he was held by our Church in Finland partners over the 25 years of the Agreement.  He was generous in every way to the Anglican work in Finland, and we thank God for his faithful and loving ministry, and for his kind consideration of the future of our work there. The Chaplain of St Nicholas Helsinki and Area Dean for Finland, the Revd Tuomas Mäkipää...

The ministry of deacon in the Church of England is still not well known nor understood.. Most people assume that being a deacon is simply a stepping stone on the way to the priesthood. It is true that priests must first be ordained deacon but the diaconate is also a distinctive ministry, to which people are called, and part of the three-fold ministry of bishop, priest and deacon that Anglicans teach as being characteristic of minstry in the Holy Catholic Church. The Lambeth Conference as early as 1958 made an attempt to renew the understanding of the diaconate as a distinctive ministry and recommended that "each province of the Anglican Communion...consider whether the office of Deacon shall be restored to its primitive place as a distinctive order in the Church, instead of being regarded as a probationary period for the priesthood". The distinctive diaconate, in my view, still needs to be taken more seriously as a vocational opportnity, within the Church of England. ...

The Revd Canon Malcom Bradshaw, the Chaplain of St George's Venice, continues to lead the chaplaincy forward in its growing ecumenical commitment. Fr Malcolm has sent me this report on an important anniversary of interchurch life celebrated in St George's.   _______________________________________________________________________________ ‘Rejoicing in the work of the Spirit’ was the theme of an ecumenical service compiled and hosted by St George’s Anglican Church in Venice. It was held in the evening of Thursday 24 th May to mark the 25 th anniversary of the founding of the ‘Council of Churches in Venice’. The service took the form of a Liturgy of the Word, including the  reading  the Pentecost narrative  in a variety of languages. Other elements of the liturgy came from the rich and varied traditions of the Christian Churches, in several languages. F or example, the service included a Pentecost Troparion ( liturgical hymn )   from the Roma...

The Revd Deacon Christine Saccali Deacon Christine Saccali, assistant curate at St Paul's Athens, had the honour of leading a liturgy of remembrance at the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery to the south of Athens on 10th of May. Not an unusual assignment for one of our clergy - except that this event was part of an official visit of HRH the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. Deacon Christine was presented to Prince Charles who asked her about the location of our Church in Athens. Christine replied "right in the centre of Athens near Syntagma in all the chaos and confusion which is where it needs to be." His Royal Highness then asked, "Do you get a good congregation?", to which Deacon Christine answered, "Yes, as well as visitors and pilgrims in the steps of St Paul." Earlier in the day the Prince of Wales had visited Archbishop Ieronymous of Athens at the Holy Synod. There they talked about Mt Athos, where the Prince has freq...

One of the highlights of the Sacred Three Days I spent with Christ Church Vienna was the Easter Vigil. This liturgy is among the most moving in the Church. It begins dramatically on Holy Saturday evening with the blessing of the new fire, and the lighting of the paschal candle. Thankfully, the rain in Vienna held off until the ceremony of the new fire was completed, and the Deacon, who has the most dangerous job in Holy Week, was able to light the paschal candle without setting himself on fire! The Deacon then processed the paschal candle into the dark Church, symbolising the dark tomb where Christ lay dead. Then with blazing candles held by the assembly, he chanted the ancient Exultet , a magnificent hymn, which with lyric beauty announces the joy and mystery of Easter: "This is the night, when Christ broke the chains of death, and rose triumphant from the grave".  Readings and psalmody helped us meditate on the works of God for his people since the beginning of...

Ecumenical leaders at the interchurch Good Friday service There has been an Anglican priest in Vienna serving the British Ambassador and the British community since the late 17th century. The present building dates from 1877. Today the Church, although still closely affiliated to the British Embassy, serves members from over 25 different countries and is a truly multinational and multicultural community. The chaplain, Canon Patrick Curran, also serves the daughter communities in Klagenfurt, Ljubljana and Zagreb. Fr Patrick is assisted by Fr Mike Waltner, the Assistant Curate, and the Revd Dr Robert Kinney, who assists as parish deacon. One of the parish interns on our Church of England intern scheme (CEMES), Philip Milton, is also on placement at Christ Church. On Good Friday, Christ Church hosted an annual service for English speaking Christians of all traditions in the city. Clergy and lay leaders from the Methodist, Roman Catholic, Community Church, and the Church of Sweden ...

Isten hozott - Welcome! Or more precisely "God brought you here" were the words that greeted me on my recent pastoral visit to St Margaret of Scotland Chaplaincy in Budapest. The Sunday Eucharist, despite heavy snow, was well attended by adults and children. (There is an active Sunday School). Hungary seems to be a country particularly blessed with musical talent, and this is put to good use in the Sunday sung mass. The Revd Dr Frank Frank Hegedűs is the parish priest. Fr Frank was born in the USA and has ministered in Los Angeles, San Diego, Michigan and Minnesota. Of Hungarian and Polish extraction, he is also a citizen of Hungary, and very much at home in our international diocese, and in this international parish with members from Africa, North America, Europe and the UK. Fr Frank is also an Area Dean in the Eastern Archdeaconry. Saint Margaret of Scotland, by the way, was an English princess, born in Hungary in the 11th century, when her family was in exile. She lat...

Fr Frank Hegedűs with Lutheran Bishop Tamás Fabiny in St Stephen's Basilica It was a joy to join Fr Frank Hegedűs at the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity service in the beautiful St Stephen's Basilica in Budapest on Sunday 21st January. Cardinal Péter Erdő presided and representatives of more than ten church communities from across Hungary and the world participated. There was a significant representation of Christians from the Middle East including Bishop William Shomali the Latin Rite Patriarchal Vicar in Jordan, and a very dear friend for many years, Archbishop Paul Sayah, the Vicar General of the Maronite Patriarchate based in Beirut. Archbishop Paul is also one of the IARCCUM bishops-at-large. (IARCCUM is the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission). Archbishop Paul Sayah Most Christians in Hungary are Roman Catholic. The Reformed and the Lutheran Churches are significant minorities. Interestingly the Reformed (Calvinists) in...

Deacon Christine engaging with the students from the University of Athens Every year groups of students from the University of Athens are welcomed to a Sunday morning service at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in that city.  They are studying History, Theology or Comparative Religion and are eager to learn about the Church of England, its roots and its place in the world today. As the service progresses the differences between an Orthodox service and an Anglican one become apparent. As well as the architecture and interior design of the church, they are particularly interested in such aspects as the role played by women in the service as lay assistants, readers or sides-persons, the broad mix of nationalities represented within the congregation and, perhaps most striking, the preparation of the sacrament at an altar which is in full view of the congregation. Another striking difference, they say, is the strong participation of the congregation through words and song and they also ...

In our parish of St Nicolas, Ankara, there are a number of members from Iran. These members have often faced great hardship because of their religion. The priests and people of St Nicholas offer pastoral care, counsel, and fellowship in a warm Christian community in this parish situated at the crossroads between East and West. Three Iranian women parishioners recently painted a mural for St Nicolas, as a gift to the community which has welcomed them and supported them. The mural which depicts the Resurrection in Eastern style is pictured above. The women have written this comment about their work: We are three Iranian sisters who live in Cankiri, a city in Turkey. We are interested in art and painting. We used to paint portraits and landscapes, but were always searching for our own style. On the day we were born again and received Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we knew that we were to paint the word of God . We believe that people can turn to God through painting, just as w...

Fr Malcolm at Greenbelt. Photo: Leah Gordon, USPG It was a year ago today that the photos of three year old Alan Kurdi, dead on a Turkish beach, triggered a grass roots wave of conscience that moved governments and international agencies to take action on the refugee crisis. The refugee crossings from Turkey to Greece have reduced considerably this year due to the EU-Turkey migration deal. (However, that the numbers risking their lives to cross from North Africa to Italy and Malta are not reduced). But now over 57,000 asylum seekers are trapped in Greece, held in squalid conditions, despairing of their future. Only about 5,000 refugees in Greece have been relocated to other EU countries, out of a total of over 66,000 promised such resettlement. Our Anglican Church in Greece, headed by Senior Chaplain, the Revd Canon Malcolm Bradshaw MBE, has been active in motivating ecumenical partners and agencies to coordinate activities and share resources to address the complex changing situ...

"The attempted coup has failed but the aftermath is not over". This statement from contacts in Turkey seems to summarise the situation today after a night of upheaval, violence, gunfire, explosions and political and military action. The attempted coup was bloody. A couple of hundred people killed and over 1,000 injured, military and civilians. I was in contact with our clergy in Turkey late into Friday night. They are all safe and there are no reports of casualties from among our parishioners. But all are keeping vigilant. We pray for wisdom for the authorities and for understanding, restraint and a way forward that is just and serves the good of all the citizens of the country. Grant O God your help to the people of Turkey. May there be justice and peace throughout the land. May those who rule and govern make wise decisions for the well-being of the country, protecting the rights of all and breaking down walls of hatred and distrust. Give eternal rest to those kille...

Under some shade in the patio of St Paul's Church in Athens, where the temperature was in the mid-30s, the solemn declarations and oaths required of those entering Holy Orders were taken by Christine Saccali on Sunday 3 July, the day of her ordination to the diaconate. Archdeacon of the East, the Venerable Colin Williams, was on hand to witness to these legal preliminaries to the ordination rite itself. The lessons at the ordination service were read by parish Reader Sherri and British Ambassador to Greece, HE John Kittmer. Deacon Frances Hiller, my chaplain, was the preacher for the occasion and the deacon of the mass, a most appropriate role as Frances, like Christine, was a Reader before her calling to the distinctive diaconate became clear. The heart of the ordination liturgy is the laying on of hands with prayer. But just before this moment the ordinand lies prostrate before the altar. Prostration is an ancient biblical sign of humility, attested to in ...