Eurobishop

On Saturday 16th October the Revd Fr Howard Levitt SSC was licensed by Archdeacon of Italy and Malta, the Venerable Jonathan Boardman, as Chaplain of St George's Venice with St Anthony the Abbot, Padua and Christ Church, Trieste. Fr Howard comes to this diocese from the diocese of London where he was vicar of St Alban the Martyr, Holborn, a famous Anglo-Catholic shrine in the capital. We welcome Fr Howard to the Diocese in Europe. The photo below was taken after the service, with some of the visiting clergy and the Curate of the parish, the Revd Sampson Ajuka. The chaplaincy website is here .

At the annual Friends of the Diocese in Europe Eucharist on 27 October in St Matthew's Westminster, 5 new canons of the diocese were collated by Bishop Geoffrey. They are pictured above, from left to right: Christopher Jage-Bowler, Ian Hutchinson-Cervantes, Ulla Monberg, Trevor Whitfield and John Wilkinson. The canons of the diocese form, with the Bishops, Dean, Archdeacons and Chancellors, the Cathedral Chapter of the diocese. The principal function of the chapter is to support the Bishop by prayer and counsel. Normally there is only one cathedral in a diocese. It is the place where the bishop's cathedra or chair is located, as a sign of the bishop's ministry as guardian and teacher of the faith. Thus the cathedral is a physical sign of the unity of the people of the diocese with their bishop and with one another in that faith. The size of our diocese and its history have led to the granting of the status of pro-cathedral to two other churches. Each canon is assigned t...

On Monday 25 October the Revd Kevin O'Brien was instituted and inducted into the parish of St John the Evangelist, Burgess Hill, in the Diocese of Chichester. Fr Kevin had served as Bishop Geoffrey's Chaplain and Office Manager for over 4 years. As the service was to take place during the time of our Bishop's Staff Meeting, we managed to field a good representation of archdeacons and bishops from our Diocese in Europe to support Fr Kevin and support him with our prayers as he undertakes this new ministry. Fr Kevin is pictured above, 4th from the right, in the back row, surrounded by his close former colleagues, the archdeacons of the diocese, Bishop Geoffrey, Deacon Frances and myself. Bishop Mark Sowerby of Horsham who presided at the service is pictured in the back row with his crozier. The Revd John-Henry Bowden, formerly chaplain of St George's Venice, with Padua and Trieste, is presently working as interim chaplain to Bishop Geoffrey until a permanent successor...

On 12th October, the Revd Canon Dr Robert Innes took part in a consultation of Belgian church leaders with their Prime Minister Yves Leterme. The one hour meeting took place under the Lisbon Treaty provisions for dialogue between political and religious leaders. Canon Innes is 3rd from the right in the above picture. Canon Innes, besides being Chancellor and Senior Chaplain of Holy Trinity Pro-Cathedral in Brussels, is the President of the Central Committee of the Anglican Church in Belgium. Other Belgian religious leaders involved in the consultation included the Roman Catholic Bishop Harpigny and the head of the Belgian Protestant Council Dr Guy Liagre. The discussion was wide-ranging, including themes of globalisation, poverty and ecology as well as the specific topic of the persecution of Christian believers in countries where the EU under its Belgian Presidency may be able to exert influence. The Lisbon Treaty in Article 17 calls for the EU to "maintain an open, transp...

It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of the Revd Canon Nigel Elbourne who died of a heart attach on 29th September at his home in Normandy, 20 days after his 40th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. He leaves his wife Christine and a daughter, son and grandchildren. Canon Elbourne retired to France from Chester Diocese and was active in giving support to our congregation in Caen, for which he had Permission to Officiate. Fr Nigel was committed to ecumenism throughout his priestly ministry. In retirement he continued his devotion to Christian unity and considerably strengthened ecumenical relations in Normandy. Right up until his death he was a frequent representative of our Church at regional ecumenical meetings, and had built up personal links with Roman Catholics, Reformed, Adventists, Russian Orthodox and others. Fr Nigel was a frequent worshipper at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Sées, where he had been given personal permission to receive commu...

The Revd Canon Ben Eaton retired as Priest-in-Charge of St John's, St Raphael, France on Sunday 26th September. Fr Ben has served 8 years in this Riviera parish, and has a long and very distinguished ministry in this diocese. Prior to St Raphel, he served for many years in St George's Barcelona, then later in Holy Trinity, Maisons Laffitte. Fr Ben was born in South Carolina, studied in Lebanon, trained for the priesthood in Puerto Rico, was ordained for the diocese of Ecuador and served parishes in Exeter and Southwark. He is a truly international priest who has brought a richness of experience and a warm pastoral heart to his ministry. On his penultimate Sunday, 19th September I was able to be present in St John's to share in the warm and moving tribute paid by the parish to Ben and his wife Anne. We also managed to squeeze in a moment for quiet refreshment and contemplation, pictured below! We wish Ben and Anne a happy and blessed retirement.

On 3 October, the Reverend Hazel Door, formerly Priest-in-Charge of the Anglican Church of Christ Church, Brittany, was licensed as Assistant Chaplain of the Anglican Church of Christ the Good Shepherd, Poitou-Charentes. The Chaplain, the Revd Michael Hepper, conducted the service as commissary of the Bishop for this occasion. The addition of Hazel to the ministry team of Poitou-Charentes is much welcome. Regular services are held in 10 different locations throughout this huge pastoral area. In addition to Hazel, Fr Michael is assisted by several retired priests with Permission to Officiate and 10 Readers. The parish website is here . Hazel's own vocation to the priesthood was discerned in this parish and her curacy served here before her appointment as Priest-in-Charge of Christ Church Brittany several years ago. We pray for God's blessings as she settles into a new ministry back in her "home turf".