Eurobishop

In the confirmation service there is a very important line in the liturgy when the bishop asks the candidates "will you seek and serve Christ in all people, loving your neighbour as yourself?" One young member of St Peter's, the Anglican congregation in the Northern Athens suburbs, has been recognised for her leadership, which stems from her Christian commitment. Greater Athens Chaplain, Fr Malcolm Bradshaw has written this brief report: At the end of this academic year Nefeli Stamatelatos received a unique certificate at the Moriatis School in Athens where she is pupil. Last October she was responsible for initiating a programme of voluntary community work for the senior pupils. Her focus was the ‘Church in the Street’ soup kitchen which the Chaplaincy in Athens has helped to provide for over the past six years. The certificate was in recognition of this. Nefeli with other pupils helped with the distribution of the meals.  Nefeli was confirmed in 2012 after receiv...

On Saturday 25th July a special service took place in St James's Church, Porto. It was both the patronal festival of the parish, the Feast of St James the Apostle, and the 200th anniversary of the commencement of the present church building. 200 years is a good stretch for a church, but the Anglican community in Porto in fact dates from long before 1815. The first priest to serve the British community was appointed in 1671. Porto, like several of our older Diocese in Europe parishes,and along with the likes of Bordeaux, Málaga, Madeira, Marsala, was founded in a place associated with wine! The British merchants who established the church in Porto were engaged in the exporting of wine to England and the importing of dried cod – the basis of the Portuguese specialty bacalhao –   from the seas off the British Colony of Newfoundland and Labrador. So it was from the start a very happy mutually beneficial arrangement for both Portugal and England. Following the festiv...

I am taking a couple of weeks leave, beginning Saturday 3 July, so there may be few blog posts during this time. Deacon Frances Hiller is able to reach me, if there are any urgent matters. I am inspired by very wise words that the Revd Darren McCallig recently wrote to his parishioners: (Fr Darren is the Chaplain of St Alban's Copenhagen). I think that taking time away from the incessant demands of phones, emails and social media might be one of the most counter-cultural things that people of faith can do in today’s world. The practice of “switching-off” is, when you think about it, a beautiful act of trust and witness. It testifies to the conviction that God is able to act in the world apart from our human efforts or achievements — it is not all up to us! Thank you Fr Darren!

Photo by Philly boy92, via Wikimedia Commons Europe is the world's richest continent. Yet we in Europe cannot seem to find a creative way to assist the struggling members of our own family in their time of need. The policies of our institutions, as well as the prescriptions of the IMF seem, inadvertently, to be punishing the entire population of a country. I speak, of course, of Greece. Yes, it seems clear that Greece cannot pay its debts. Yes, it was likely that in the past Greek governments were not entirely transparent about their financial situation. Yes, there was a huge degree of overspending when there was little in the coffers but borrowed money anyway. Yes, there was likely no culture or consistent enforcement of tax collection. A litany of mistakes could go on. But it was not the hard-hit pensioners and workers (those that still have jobs) that negotiated huge bailout loans, for which there now seems to be a ruthless demand for repayment. Our priests, lay minister...

St Catherine's Church On Sunday 28 June, in the ancient parish church of St Catherine on a hilltop in the remote village of Limeuil in the Dordogne, over 150 people gathered for a historic and moving service, the ordination of Charlotte Sullivan to the diaconate. The church is not easily accessible by car, and there is virtually no parkng at the top, so a shuttle service ferried parishioners from the Anglican Chaplaincy of Aquitaine from the bottom of the hill to fill the church to overflow. Several local French people from the village attended, including the Mayor and his wife, and the former Mayor and his wife. St Catherine's Church has been given over for Church of England sole use by kind agreement of the Mayor and the local Bishop. Charlotte is presented by the Archdeacon of France and the Director of Ordinands 8 of the priests who serve the parish attended, as well as 4 of the parish Readers. This was virtually the last official function of the Chaplain o...

Anglican worship in Berne, the Swiss capital, dates back to about 1832. The present church building St Ursula's was built in 1906. It holds 100 comfortably, but on Sunday 21 June, over 200 squeezed in (and spilt outside) for a festive service of Christian initiation. It certainly does not feel like the Church of England in Europe is on the decline! Candidates for Holy Baptism an Confirmation from Berne were joined by others from Christ Church Lausanne and the Anglican Church in Neuchâtel. The chaplain of St Ursula's is the Venerable Peter Potter, who is also the Archdeacon of Switzerland and Acting Archdeacon of Germany and Northern Europe. He is assisted by the Revd Linda Bissig. The Revd Adele Kelham accompanied her candidates from her two Churches in Lausanne and Neuchâtel. A moving part of the confirmation rite itself was when each sponsor presented their candidate to me, mentioning a couple of biographical details. It is humbling to take part of the lives of su...

French ARC and other leaders of the Anglican and RC Churches at Evensong at the French Bishops' Conference Chapel The members of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Committee of France (French ARC) presented the fruit of their work of the past five years last Wednesday 17 June, when they launched their study of the Daily Office, or Liturgy of the Hours, of the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches. The document, available in both French and English, is entitled “O Lord, open our lips” or “ Seigneur, ouvre nos lèvres ”. It points out the convergence between the Anglican and Roman Catholic liturgies for the daily office, and promotes common prayer between communities of both traditions. (There are over 80 Anglican congregations in France, served by about 35 priests. Many of these congregations use Roman Catholic buildings for their services). A range of practical suggestions are offered in the document to encourage a rediscovery of this common tradition and to how such common prayer can...