Michaelmas Ordination in Padova - The Revd Sampson Ajuka

On 4 October the Revd Sampson Ajuka was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Geoffrey Rowell. Fr Sampson is assistant curate of St Anthony of Egypt, Padova, which is within the chaplaincy of St George's Venice. The congregation of St Anthony of Egypt was started by Fr Sampson some 5 years ago and has grown in numbers and in extent of ministry. There is now a flourishing Mothers' Union branch and two Readers, Michael Udeagbara and Charles Onwukwe, were recently admitted and licensed, having completed their three years of study. Funds raised by Fr Sampson on the occasion of his ordination have been donated to construct a well for his home village in Nigeria. Under the supervision of the Archdeacon of Italy and Malta, Fr Sampson also provides pastoral care to other communities of Nigerian Anglicans in Italy.
There is more information about St Anthony of Egypt, Padova here.

Diocese in Europe and the Meissen Commission

The Meissen Commission met last month in England from 17th to 21st September. The Commission carries forward the work of the 1988 Meissen Agreement between the Church of England and the Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland (the Evangelical Church in Germany or "EKD"). The Diocese in Europe is represented on the Commission by the Revd Simon Hobbs, the chaplain of St Boniface Bonn and All Saints Cologne. He brings a vital perspective from Germany itself where our Anglican clergy and congregations enjoy excellent ecumenical relations with our EKD neighbours. (The Agreement provides for mutual eucharistic hospitality but not an inter-changeable ministry due to lack of agreement on the historic episcopal succession).

It was the last meeting for the EKD co-chairman, Bishop Jürgen Johannesdotter of Schaumburg-Lippe (pictured left) who retiries shortly after a destinguished ecumenical career. He will be succeeded in the chair by the Bishop of Braunschweig, Dr Friedrich Weber. The Anglican co-chairman is Bishop Nicholas Baines of Croydon.

Links between the EKD Churches and Church of England dioceses and parishes have grown in recent years to around 44 formal partnership links. One of the tasks of the next years will be to promote more exchanges from the C of E to the EKD Churches. The Commission discussed a number of themes including the challenges and opportunities of working with Muslims, and looked forward to the 100th anniversary of the first World Missionary Conference at Edinburgh in 2010.

Church of Sweden Approves Marriage of Same Sex Couples

It has been quite a week for ecumenical news. First the announcement of the Apostolic Constitution from Rome last Tuesday. Then last Thursday the General Synod of the Church of Sweden voted 176 to 73, to allow same-sex church weddings.
The Church of Sweden, the established Church until 2000, has about 7 million members or 75% of the national population. It has been offering blessings of same-sex registered partnerships since 1995 and in 2007 approved a special liturgy for this. However, Swedish marriage law changed on 1 May, and registered partnerships were abolished in favour of gender-neutral marriage. The Church was thus faced with a decision about what the change means for its understanding of marriage. Earlier this year, two Church of England Bishops, Christopher Hill and John Hind, who chair the Council for Christian Unity and the Faith and Order Advisory Group, respectively, wrote to Archbishop Anders Wejryd of Uppsala (pictured above), pointing out that a decision to expand the theology of marriage to include same-sex couples risked creating immediate and negative consequences for ecumenical relations.
The Church of England is in communion with the Church of Sweden through the Porvoo Agreement which brings the British and Irish Anglican Churches into communion with 6 Lutheran Churches in the Nordic and Baltic countries. Our Diocese in Europe has major congregations in Stockholm and Gothenburg and 6 other smaller congregations throughout Sweden. In addition, the Diocese in Europe is twinned with the Swedish diocese of Visby.
Like the Church of Sweden (and other Porvoo Churches), the Church of England is facing a complex set of challenges with regard to issues in human sexuality. We are trying to find ways to balance a pastoral response to changes in society and in civil law while remaining faithful to the Bible and our received teaching about Christian anthropology and holy matrimony. Furthermore we are aware of our mutual accountability to those around the world with whom we live in sacramental communion. For these reasons the Swedish Church's decision is not one that the Church of England would feel able to make. Our Church of England clergy in Sweden are in a key position. On the one hand they know their Swedish colleagues well and seek to understand more fully the particular contextual challenges faced by a sister Church. On the other hand, they are well aware of the ecumenical and theological difficulties raised by the decision just made and are able to present and interpret the distinct view of the Church of England.
The Porvoo Agreement commits the signatory Churches to appropriate forms of consultation on significant matters of faith and order, life and work. However, such a consultation has not happened on the matter of gender-neutral marriage.
Both civil law and the Church of Sweden decision provide that no individual priest will be obliged to act against his or her conscience.

Bishop Pierre Whalon Updates the Diocese in Europe Bishop's Council on the US Episcopal Church

Bishop Pierre Whalon, the Bishop in Charge of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, and an Honorary Assistant Bishop in the Diocese in Europe, was a special guest at a recent session of the Bishop's Council. (The Convocation was formerly known as the Convocation of American Churches in Europe. We in the Diocese in Europe were unaware of this name change which Bishop Pierre pointed out was needed since many members of his congregations are not Americans, and that there are other American churches in Europe).

The Convocation website lists 8 parishes and 7 mission congregations, and is constitutionally part of the Episcopal Church, the United States based Province of the Anglican Communion. The Convocation sends 4 clergy and 4 laity (along with its bishop) to the triennial General Convention in the USA.

Reflecting on the General Convention which met this year in Anaheim California, Bishop Pierre stated that the Episcopal Church's mind on blessing gay unions and on ordaining partnered gay people is divided. Despite what was widely reported, according to the bishop the General Convention did not end the moratoria on same-sex blessings and ordinations of homosexual, non-celibate, bishops. However it did approve an open process for the consideration of theological and liturgical resources for the blessing of same sex relationships and encouraged a “generous pastoral provision”.

Apostolic Constitution: Ecumenical Reflections

The announcement that Pope Benedict XVI has approved, by Apostolic Constitution, a canonical structure, “Personal Ordinariates”, to allow former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Roman Catholic Church, has been received by some Anglicans with a degree of surprise. Cardinal William Levada, of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), has explained that this provision is in response to requests which have come from Anglicans and Anglican groups in different parts of the world. The text of the Apostolic Constitution itself has not been made public as yet, so it not possible to comment on the details of this provision. However, as the former Anglican co-secretary of our international bilateral dialogue, ARCIC (the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission) as well as a consultant to the more recent IARCCUM Commission (International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission on Mission and Unity) I offer below some initial reflections on the ecumenical implications of the announcement on 20 October from the Vatican. 

1. The provision appears to be directed to those of Anglican tradition who have left the Anglican Communion, (such as the members of the Traditional Anglican Communion, TAC) as well as those who are presently still part of the Anglican Communion.

2. It is clear that the significant convergence which has emerged over 40 years of international official dialogue – ARCIC – on matters thought to divide Anglicans and Roman Catholics, has permitted the consideration of such a pastoral provision.

3. It is important to understand that this recent development is not the primary goal of the international dialogue nor is it the principal way in which the Roman Catholic Church is responding to our dialogue. While the ARCIC agreements may have created a climate for serious consideration of a response to requests from individual or groups of Anglicans or former Anglicans to be received into the Roman Catholic Church, the Apostolic Constitution in establishing Personal Ordinariates is a pastoral response to some particular requests made to the Holy See, and not the completion of the articulated goal of our international dialogue.

4. It is interesting that a Personal Ordinariate will allow the expression of continuing Anglican heritage. This seems to echo what Pope Paul VI stated back in 1970 concerning the re-establishment of full communion: “There will be no seeking to lessen the legitimate prestige and the worthy patrimony of piety and usage proper to the Anglican Church when the Roman Catholic Church – this humble “Servant of the Servants of God” – is able to embrace her ever beloved Sister in the one authentic communion of the family of Christ”.

5. The goal of the ecumenical dialogue, first articulated by Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey in 1966, and reiterated in subsequent common declarations between Popes and Archbishops, is to lead Anglicans and Roman Catholics to “a restoration of complete communion of faith and sacramental life”. I note that the preparation of the pastoral provisions contained in the Apostolic Constitution was the work of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and not the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, which has primary responsibility for our ecumenical dialogue.

6. In November there will be official meetings in Rome to prepare for the third phase of ARCIC. The official international ecumenical dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion still continues, with the goal of unity as first articulated in 1966.

Bishop Geoffrey and I have prepared a statement (based on the above reflection) for the clergy and people of the Diocese in Europe which can be found here.

The joint statement from the Archbishops of Canterbury and Westminster is here.

You Tube has a clip of Archbishop Rowan Williams at the press conference last Tuesday.

Bishop Christopher Hill, Chairman of the Church of England's Council for Christian Unity, has produced a detailed note on the Apostolic Constitution which can be found here.

Grassroots Ecumenical Dialogue in Almuñécar, Granada Province, Spain

Ecumenical relations between Anglicans and Roman Catholics are in excellent shape in Almuñécar. During my recent parish visit to our Diocese in Europe congregations in Nerja and Almuñécar, the Revd Geoff Johnston, the priest-in-charge, and I were offered hospitality by the Roman Catholic clergy team which serves the Almuñécar and Herradura parishes. Over a splendid lunch of tapas and rabbit paella, we explored a range of issues touching upon the life of our Churches including vocations to the sacred ministry, work with young people, ecumenical relations between Roman Catholics and Anglicans in England, Muslim-Christian relations and liturgical renewal. Our Roman Catholic colleagues were keen to know how decisions taken by some bishops and dioceses in the USA, particularly on the matter of same-sex blessings, were affecting the life of the Anglican Communion. This led to an honest discussion about how authority is regarded (or disregarded!) in our respective Churches. We also found much common interest in the spiritual teachings of St John of the Cross and St Teresa of Avila. Our Roman Catholic colleagues appreciate the writing and study on these two saints that is being undertaken by English scholars. Our hosts were fascinated by aspects of English Church history and how, in the established Church of England, the Prime Minister and Crown have a role to play in the appointment of bishops. I learned that it was not so long ago that the Spanish monarchy played a role in the Spanish Roman Catholic Church not unlike the present role of the Queen in the Church of England.
In 2011 the (Roman Catholic) World Youth Encounter comes to Madrid. The diocese of Granada along with the other Spanish dioceses will host young people from all over the world in local churches before they journey together to Madrid. Over lunch we explored how Anglicans (with their English language skills) might assist the Roman Catholic Diocese of Granada as they host young people in the pre-Madrid visit. Fr Geoff and Fr Antonio have already begun a monthly Taizé prayer service with youth from both traditions taking part.
In the photo from left to right: Padres Rubén, Eugenio, Antonio and Miguel, with myself and Fr Geoff Johnston in the middle.

Book Reviews for October 2009

Each month, Dr Martin Davie, the Theological Secretary to the Bishops of the Church of England, reviews some new theological books. I have his permission to publish his notes each month. I hope this will be of use to the clergy and Readers (lay ministers) of the Diocese in Europe, as well as to any interested in current theology. The 10 latest reviews are below. (For the full article, click on the read more link). 

Bishops' Statement on Climate Change

Today is "Blog Action Day on Climate Change".

I want to draw the attention of readers of this blog and those connected with the Diocese in Europe to an important statement that we bishops of the Church of England issued on the environment and climate change last September 16.  It underscores several important points from a Christian perspective:

• the theological basis for our care for God's creation and the link between climate change and justice for the poor
• the need to form partnerships with others, including interfaith partnerships, in order to address the crisis together
• the call to prayerful reflection on the decisions the politicians and world leaders must make in Copenhagen in December (COP 15) and to give these leaders an ambitious mandate
• the Christian vocation to live simply and responsibly

Here is the full statement (it continues after the break):

If a fire breaks out and spreads into thorn bushes so that it burns stocks of grain or standing grain or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make restitution". (Exodus 22:6)

As Christians we are called to love God, follow the path of Christ and love our neighbour as ourselves. From these aspects of Christian vocation and witness we derive an ethic and practice of care for God’s creation and action for justice and peace in safeguarding the environment on which all depend, which belongs to God, and which is in our care as faithful stewards and servants of God.

As a Church we recognise the gravity of the ecological problems facing our world and the need to deal with

Mystery Worshipper at St Alban's Copenhagen

The Mystery Worshipper rides again! Another church of the Diocese in Europe, St Alban's Copenhagen, had a visit from the anonymous reporter from the Ship of Fools website. The report can be found here. Once again the Diocese in Europe worship life gets a very high rating, however, the Chaplain of St Alban's,  the Revd Jonathan LLoyd, wonders how the Mystery Worshipper could have mistaken the Common Worship service for 1662! Fr Jonathan LLoyd, by the way, is also the Archdeacon-designate of Germany and Northern Europe.

Diocese in Europe: Synod of the Archdeaconry of the East

I am sure that the Archdeaconry of the East of the Church of England Diocese in Europe is the largest such jurisdiction in Christendom. The Archdeacon, the Venerable Patrick Curran, (left) who is also the Chaplain of Christ Church, Vienna, oversees Anglican work in Austria, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, (FYR of) Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the countries which emerged after the collapse of the USSR. Even Mongolia (hardly Europe!) is in the ecclesiastical boundary of the Archdeaconry. Once a year, clergy and lay representatives from the churches of the Archdeaconry meet in a synod to discuss issues facing their congregations, for prayer and study, and to take decisions concerning the common life of our parishes in the region. This year's meeting was held in Izmir, Turkey, from 8 to 11 October, hosted by the Church of St John the Evangelist, a congregation which has had a continuous presence in that ancient city (Smyrna) since 1625 when the first Anglican Church was built. There has been a resident Anglican priest in Izmir since 1630. The present priest-in-charge of St John the Evangelist, Izmir (with St Mary Magdalene, Bornova) is the Revd Ron Evans.

This year, the representatives explored some themes related to Anglican identity, led by Dr Colin Podmore, a Church of England historian. Mr David Healey, the Chief Executive of the Intercontinental Church Society (ICS), a mission agency of the Church of England with long-standing links to this diocese, gave a presentation on "the influence of consumer culture on belief and unbelief". In the sharing of information, many congregations reported serious financial challenges, for a variety of reasons: demographic shifts, the economic downturn, changes in local tax regulations for Churches, just to name a few. The synod heard some encouraging news of emerging congregations, or new congregations which are continuing to deepen their development in Skopje (FYR Macedonia) and Crete. Ecumenical relations are an important dimension to our Church's work in the Eastern Archdeaconry and some very positive reports on ecumenical life were received from Athens (with the Greek Orthodox Church), Budapest (with Roman Catholics and Lutherans) and the Czech Republic (with the Old Catholic Church).
At the closing service of the Synod on Sunday 11 October, Tony Lane was ordained deacon. Tony serves one of the new congregations in the Archdeaconry, St Thomas the Apostle, Kefalas, Crete.

Archdeaconry Synod Auction Raises over €400

Exotic items from across the world's largest Archdeaconry, the Archdeaconry of the East of the Diocese in Europe were auctioned at the recent synod in Izmir, Turkey. The goal was to raise money for the Archdeacon's discretionary fund. The Revd Canon Dr Simon Stephens (St Andrew's, Moscow) was auctioneer for the event which raised over €410 for Archdeacon Patrick Curran's discretionary use. Items brought by synod members to be auctioned included a rare 1996 bottle of Hungarian Tokay, described in the auction as "the king of wine and the wine of kings", a pair of elegant felt slippers from Kazakhstan, and an assortment of hats. Fr Robin Fox, the priest-in-charge of St Mary's Belgrade, is pictured here sporting his acquisition, purchased after a fierce bidding competition. It is a true collector's item - a woollen "Orange Revolution" hat from the Ukraine. It should also be practical for a Balkan winter.

Ecumenical Conversations in Coutances, France

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On Friday 2 October, Monseigneur Stanislas Lalanne, the Bishop of Coutances, hosted a dinner at his residence for myself, my chaplain Deacon Frances Hiller, and the diocesan Registrar, Mr Aidan Hargreaves-Smith. Mgr Lalanne’s ecumenical officer, Père Louis Deschamps and his legal counsellor, Père Harel, were also guests at the dinner. The evening was both an occasion to build ecumenical friendships, and to explore together some areas of common interest of our Churches and some of the present challenges we face, both in the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.

I was in Countances for the ordination of the Revd Peter Hales to the priesthood and co-incidentally Mgr Lalanne was due to ordain a deacon on the same day in Cherbourg, so our conversation naturally turned to matters of theological formation. Mgr Lalanne was particularly interested in our Post Ordination Training programme, part of the Church of England's requirements, and run in this diocese by the Director of Training, the Revd Ulla Monberg. Bishop Lalanne seemed to be quite taken with the principle of continuing formal ministerial formation on some practical and pastoral matters in the early years after ordination, something that is not common in the training of Roman Catholic clergy in France.

We also looked at how we might encourage deeper contacts for the purpose of study and joint reflection at the local congregational level, perhaps on some biblical or theological matters. The main difficulty here, we recognised, would be linguistic. To help build mutual understanding at the level of our faithful we mentioned the idea of joint pilgrimages. Mont St Michel is in the diocese of Coutances and could be an obvious possibility.

Monseigneur Lalanne (picture left) and I had a wide ranging discussion on some of the issues which the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church are facing: matters of authority in the Church; the ecclesiological questions of local autonomy and global unity; the place of women in the Church; the relationship of the Gospel to modern cultures; and the challenge of evangelisation in an increasingly secularised world. Mgr Lalanne mentioned the difficulty that can arise in ecumenical relations when clergy of our Churches sit lightly to our own ecclesial discipline. Previously in the afternoon, Mr Aiden Hargreaves-Smith and his Roman Catholic counterpart Père Harel, explored many themes of ecclesiastical and canon law together.

Our conversations were a good example of the sort of honest and respectful ecumenical dialogue which Bishop Geoffrey and I have in so many places in the diocese, as well as typical of the warm hospitality we Anglicans receive from our Roman Catholic hosts.

Diocese in Europe Michaelmas Ordinations: The Revd Peter Hales Ordained Priest in Coutances

One of the newest priests in the Diocese in Europe was ordained on Saturday 3 October. I presided at the ordination of the Revd Peter Hales in the beautiful chapel of the Centre d'Accueil of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Coutances, attended by members of the congregation of Christ Church Coutances and the daughter congregation in Vezins, and by clergy and readers from Normandy, Brittany and Spain. Two Roman Catholic priests were also robed and in the procession, a witness to the warm ecumenical links which Fr Peter and the members of the parish have forged over the past years.

As Assistant Curate of Christ Church, Coutances, Fr Peter Hales continues his ministry in la Manche, an expanding area of Anglican work, as well as continuing in the Post Ordination Training programme of the Diocese in Europe. (More photos can be seen in the photo gallery on this site).

A Reflection from Paris on the Diocese in Europe Clergy Conference

Some of the clergy of the Diocese in Europe are sending their theological reflections on last month's clergy conference in Cologne to the bishops, as they continue to digest the content and theme of the event, "Entertaining Angels: Hospitality as Mission".

Here are some thoughts contributed by the Revd Philip Mounstephen, the chaplain of St Michael's Paris:

God’s act of incarnation is an act of embodiment¸ and an act of unconditional hospitality to us: he has held nothing back. I suggest four possible implications which seem to me to be direct developments of this.

1. God reveals his embodied beauty to us in Jesus Christ. Reflecting on what Fr Timothy Radcliffe said, we need to ask how we embody his beauty. Specifically how can we make our worship illuminating, beautiful and truly mysterious rather than simply mystifying.
2. The Word has become embodied: ‘the eternal Word speaks only dialect’ – so there must be implications for us in terms of language: both the register we use (as Bp Geoffrey suggested) and indeed which tongue(s) we use. ‘Come to us as long as you speak our language,’ sounds very much like conditional hospitality.
3. The Word is embodied in Jesus Christ. Brian Thorne reminded us that ‘the body is not a commodity but a temple of flesh and blood where a person resides. And the Church is to be a body where Jesus Christ resides as host and guest. Bp David suggested 'we must turn as a body to the world in love and sacrifice’ - and we have to do that because that is what the life of Jesus in us calls us to do. Recognising the Church as the Body of Christ seems to me to be the fundamental prerequisite of offering genuine Christian hospitality – because without that it won’t be the hospitality of Jesus that experience through us. All hospitality is good but genuine Christian hospitality ought to be of a different order because the Church is the Body of Christ.
4. God’s act of embodiment is an act of hospitality and of embassy – and each is the counterpoint to the other, not to be set in contradistinction. Mission is a matter of both. Both are to be embodied in us as they are in Jesus Christ. Both are an expression of his compassion (a key conference word), and his compassion should move us to compassion in hospitality and embassy.

Diocese in Europe Swine Flu Guidelines: A Clarification

In my recent travels around the diocese, I have become aware of some confusion concerning the diocesan guidelines in the event of a swine flu pandemic. This is a note to clarify the situation.

1. In July the Archbishops of Canterbury and York circulated advice to the bishops of the Church of England concerning precautions to be taken in the United Kingdom to prevent the spread of swine flu infection.  Based on the Archbishops' advice, guidelines were issued for the congregations of this Diocese in Europe, to come into effect if and when our local clergy determine that precautions must be taken. The measures in place in the United Kingdom are not automatically required in countries served by the Diocese in Europe. The decision to implement the guidelines is left to our clergy who will take into account local conditions and recommendations by relevant health authorities in the country where they serve. 
2. Should steps to prevent infection be required, the diocesan guidelines state what those measures should be. Any practices other than those in the guidelines may in fact increase the spread of infection. For example the guidelines state that in the event of pandemic flu affecting a particular area, administration of the cup should be suspended and Holy Communion administered in one kind only. The custom of intinction (dipping the consecrated bread into the chalice) is not recommended as this may pose greater risk than the common cup, as it is difficult to avoid contact between fingers, cup and consecrated wine.

The judgment about when to impose precautions in the particular contexts of our diocese may vary, but it remains important that the measures imposed be the ones recommended and these alone, as they are based on the best public health advice available to the Archbishops of our Church.

Should the guidelines be brought into effect, here is a form of words that can be used in parish bulletins, newsletters and orders of service by way of explanation:

During this period of swine flu pandemic in [country or place] communion is received in one kind, the Bread, as recommended by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, our own diocesan guidelines and as allowed by the Sacrament Act 1547.

The diocesan guidelines can be found on the diocesan website here.

The Venerable Jonathan Boardman: New Archdeacon of Italy and Malta

Jonathan Boardman, the chaplain of All Saints Rome, has been made Archdeacon of Italy and Malta. Bishop Geoffrey “collated” him to this office during the Archdeaconry Synod meeting in Assisi last week.

Archdeacon Boardman is one of the two clergy representatives of the diocese on General Synod. He is a well known figure beyond Rome as he is a frequent contributor to the Church Times. He is also the author of an informative guide to the Eternal City entitled Rome, a Literary and Cultural Companion, and lectures frequently at the Anglican Centre in Rome, the home of the Anglican Communion's permanent diplomatic relations with the Holy See, and a centre for education, hospitaliy, research and ecumenical relations with the Roman Catholic Church.

Archdeacon Boardman is already well acquainted with his Archdeaconry. He is the senior priest in terms of years of service in Italy having served at All Saints Rome since 1999. He has also held the position of Area Dean during recent years when the Archdeacon was based in Switzerland. The Archdeaconry of Italy and Malta now returns to having its own Archdeacon resident within the territory. There are presently 27 Church of England congregations in Italy and Malta.

The website of All Saints Rome is here. The official diocesan announcement is here.