Eurobishop

In December I mentioned that a long-standing ecumenical friend of the diocese, the Monsignor Donald Bolen, had been named by Pope Benedict to be the Bishop of Saskatoon in Canada. Mgr Bolen was the officer for Anglican (and Methodist) relations at the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity for many years. His ordination as bishop was on the feast of the Annunciation. We send Bishop Don our warmest congratulations and prayers as he commences his episcopal ministry.

The Sunday before Easter is known as Palm Sunday. The Church celebrates the Lord's messianic entrance to Jerusalem where he enters the mystery of his death and resurrection. It begins the week called Holy Week. The liturgical colour changes from violet to red to mark the commemoration of our Lord’s passion. St George's College, the Anglican study centre in Jerusalem, in one of their circular letters pointed out that to understand Palm Sunday one must understand the distinction made in the Scriptures between the olive branch and the palm branch. (Only in St John's Gospel are the branches named to be palm branches , the other three Evangelists speak only of branches ). Marcus Borg and Dominic Crossan in their 2006 book The Last Week  suggest that there would be two processions on their way to Jerusalem during the Passover. The "imperial procession" would come from the west, perhaps from Caesarea Maritima, with the emperor's representative, Pilate, coming to...

The Porvoo Leaders’ Consultation was held in Sigtuna, Sweden from 18th – 21st March. It is a key meeting serving the Churches which have signed the Porvoo Agreement, when the Porvoo Contact Group (the main body which meets annually to serve the fellowship of the Churches) gives an account of their work over the last four years and seeks guidance and direction from the leaders of our Churches for the next period. It is a chance for the leaders to express any concerns and give suggestions to the Contact Group. Once again I was one of the three Church of England delegates to the Leaders’ Consultation, along with the Revd Canon Dr Paul Avis of the Council for Christian Unity, and Mrs Margaret Swinson from the diocese of Liverpool. The Consultation is jointly chaired by Bishop Martin Wharton, the Bishop of Newcastle (below right), and Bishop Karl Sigurbjörnsson, the Bishop of Iceland (below centre), the co-chairs of the Contact Group. The Revd Rupert Moreton, the chaplain of St Nichol...

The Church of England has issued a Guidance Note on countering far right political parties, extremist groups and racist politics. The need for this advice stems from the rise of political parties in the UK which hold extreme or racist views . In countries of continental Europe the same phenomenon may be present to varying degrees. It is important for the faithful of our diocese, where ethnic diversity is cherished, to be alert to the activities of any such movements and never to waver from the theological truth that every person is created in the image of God.  The principles which undergird the Guidance Note are a useful reminder of the teaching of the Church regarding racism: Racism and religious hatred are theological issues. They must be taught to be sins and incompatible with Christian discipleship. Prayer, sermons and liturgy need to be unambiguous about the spiritual dangers of racism. The rejection of evil, such as racism, is a key element of the L...

For many years, the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE) have held an annual joint meeting.  This year from 7-11 March 2010 the meeting was held in Istanbul, at the invitation of the Ecumenical Patriarch His All Holiness Bartholomew I. I went as part of the CEC delegation, as a proxy for Bishop Christopher Hill, one of the Vice-Presidents of CEC, who was unable to attend. The meeting focused on the issue of migration, as this is the European Churches' Year of Migration. This is of particular interest to our diocese, as we are largely a community of migrants ourselves  4 key presentations were given by the panelists above, from left to right: Doris Peschke, General Secretary of the Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME); Theodora Tzakri, Greek Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs; Alp Ay, Director for Public Affairs of the Turkish Government; and Johan Ketelers, General Secretary of the ICMC (I...

It has been confirmed by the Vatican that Pope Benedict XVI will visit Britain this year from 16 to 19 September. Today, Tuesday 16th Lambeth Palace issued this Press Release: For immediate use - Archbishop welcomes Papal Visit The Archbishop of Canterbury today welcomed the official announcement that His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI is to visit the UK in September at the invitation of Her Majesty The Queen: “The Pope's visit will be an opportunity to cement ties not only between the Holy See and the United Kingdom but also the Roman Catholic Church and other Christian churches in Scotland, England and Wales. I look forward particularly to welcoming Pope Benedict to Lambeth Palace on behalf of the Church of England.” ENDS Readers will note in the Lambeth Palace release that this is state visit, not a pastoral one, even if such a distinction cannot be too sharply drawn for the Pope who is both a head of state and a pastor. The beatification of John Henry Newman (pictu...

Bishop Kari Mäkinen was elected on Thursday 12 March to be the next Archbishop of Turku and Finland, to succeed Archbishop Jukka Paarma who retires in June. Bishop Mäkinen has a doctorate in theology, and has been a parish priest, a professor of Church History and since 2006, Bishop of Turku. He is married to a priest, the Revd Eija Mäkinen. They have four children. The vote was a run-off election between the two top two candidates of a previous round. Bishop Mäkinen, thought to be the more liberal candidate, won 593 votes while the runner-up Dr Miikka Ruokanen, Professor of Dogmatics at the University of Helsinki won 582. Within the Archdiocese of Turku, the Archbishop and Bishop both act with full episcopal authority under an agreed division of pastoral responsibility for oversight of distinct deaneries. In addition, the Archbishop acts as the chairperson of several national church bodies including the General Synod, the Church Council and the Bishops’ Conference. The Ar...

The Anglican Peace and Justice Network (APJN) is one of the Communion’s official networks. It meets every 2 - 3 years and this year representatives appointed by the Primates of 24 Anglican Provinces will gather in Geneva from 14 to 20 March. Dr Jenny Te Paa, a theologian from the Province of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, is the present Convenor. Our own Church of the Holy Trinity in Geneva has the privilege of hosting the opening Eucharist on Sunday 14 March. APJN works on  issues of conflict resolution, human rights, economic and environmental justice, and lifting up the voices of women, young people and all those marginalized by oppressive systems. Many Anglicans in Geneva have connections with the international institutions based in the city which are engaged matters of global justice and peace, including the United Nations and the World Council of Churches. The APJN meeting in Geneva is therefore a strategic one, building and consolidating links wit...

A parish visit to Pas de Calais took a different direction last Sunday 7 March when I was asked by the priest-in-charge, the Revd Sara MacVane, to celebrate the confirmation of one the parishioners in hospital where he was awaiting some tests. A suitcase was prepared for me with all that was required to turn the hospital room in the Clinique des Acacies, in the seaside town of Cucq, into a chapel for the occasion. ( Pace French laïcité!)  Paul Glaister (above far right) was the confirmand, and the service was a joyous occasion, joined by his wife and fellow parishioners from Boulogne. Only the hymns were omitted, and the lighting of a candle at the end to give to Paul, due to fire regulations in the clinic. He will receive the candle when he is next in his home congregation so that his fellow parishioners can visibly mark the occasion as well. Congratulations Paul, and prayers for God's strength, healing and peace.

Photo courtesy Rémy Catoir On 3 December 2009 a fire started in the engine room of the cargo vessel City of Berytus while it was berthed in the port of Antwerp. The fire spread quickly to the car deck on the Dominica-registered ship. The entire crew were evacuated and Port Chaplain John Attenborough was on hand to attend to their needs. John is a reader of the diocese, attached to St Boniface Church in Antwerp , and the official Mission to Seafarers (MtS) chaplain in the port. John’s pastoral care of the 16 crew, who had to leave the ship with only the clothes on their back, was praised by the Revd Tom Heffer, the Secretary General of the MtS. “I am full of admiration for the efforts that John Attenborough and his team have done in supporting the crew of the City of Berytus . The work of the Society is often quietly performed, but when emergencies happen, our chaplains are ready to step up and meet the need as required”. The MtS is one of the mission agencies with whom we work ve...

The Spectator magazine sponsors a series of debates in England. One occurred on Tuesday 2 March. The topic, as provocative as ever, was “"England Should Be a Catholic Country Again". Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor (left), the retired Archbishop of Westminster, was lined up to speak for the motion. Leading the speakers against the motion was Lord Richard Harries, the former Bishop of Oxford. The irenic words of the Cardinal deserve our attention. He and I worked closely together when he was the Roman Catholic Co-Chairman and I was the Anglican Co-Secretary of ARCIC, so his ecumenical vision is no surprise, but it is still very encouraging. The Cardinal said: “In speaking of a Catholic Country, let us agree that the Reformation conflict is over. We do not need to trade history. And I for one would be the first to be grateful for so much that the Anglican Church and other Christian Churches have brought to this country that has been of such benefit over the past four hun...

Here is March's book selection. Once again the reviews are written by Dr Martin Davie, the Theological Secretary to the Bishops of the Church of England. If you wish to keep up with current theology the selection here is a good place to start. This month a wide range of subjects is covered: discipleship, interpretation of scripture, pastoral theology; missiology, modern church history and ethics. Bonne lecture! 9 reviews are below. Just click on the read more link.

The Diocese in Europe along with the other 43 Dioceses of the Church of England has now completed an extensive exercise reviewing past concerns about child protection. The review, the most comprehensive of its type across the Church of England, involved analysis of more than 40,000 files held on diocesan staff, clergy, and lay ministers dating back more than 30 years, by independent reviewers appointed in each diocese. Any concerns raised were recorded and passed to the Child Protection Management Group in each diocese, together with the independent reviewer’s recommended action on each case. Any urgent issues were referred immediately to the relevant statutory authorities. The outcome of the review is as follows: 40,747 files were examined. 13 cases were identified requiring formal action, 11 were referred to the statutory authorities, (8 involved clergy and 3 involved a non-ordained person holding some form of church office). In 2 cases ...

The 800 year old Vor Frue Church (Church of Our Lady) in Trondheim was the venue for confirmations on Sunday 28 February. The joy of the occasion was enhanced when, at the end of the service one of the confirmands, James, announced to the congregation (and to his surprised mother) that he was going to be married to his girlfriend Stine. He then presented her with a ring! The happy couple are pictured below. The Anglican congregation in Trondheim is now over 40 years old, and is a community of many nationalities, including many international students as Trondheim is an important university town. On Sunday the congregation included members from England, Norway, South Africa, Cameroon, Nigeria, Czech Republic, Liberia, Germany, Singapore and Scotland. Trondheim is the spiritual heart of Norway; the cathedral is the resting place of St Olav (martyred in 1030) and an ancient centre for pilgrimage, now increasingly being revived. The Revd Mary Strømmen is the priest in charge of t...

As we get news of the clean up under way in Madeira, we now know of hurricane force winds and fierce rains which have battered many other areas of Europe this past weekend, but France in particular. At least 55 deaths are reported, mostly in France, but fatalities have been reported also in Portugal, Spain, Belgium and Germany. The Archdeacon of France, the Venerable Ken Letts, sent me a message early this morning to say that he has been in touch with the clergy in the Atlantic coast of France, the Revds Peter Dawson (Biarritz), Paul Vrolijk (Aquitaine), Michael Hepper (Poitou-Charentes), Brian Davies (Vendée), Gareth Randall (Dinard), and Hazel Door (Brittany) about the storms and damage in their areas. Fr Letts reports that although there continues to be no electricity in some places and flooding in others, no-one directly connected to our churches has been hurt. Small numbers braved the elements for Sunday services and in the Vendée, services had to be cancelled. O Almig...