Eurobishop

Bishop Munib Younan (above right) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), was elected on Saturday 24 July to beh the President of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). He received 300 votes (there were 23 against and 37 abstentions). The LWF is a global family of over 120 Churches. I have known Bishop Younan for many years, beginning from my first visits to the Holy Land. He is a passionate voice for justice and peace, not only in his homeland the Middle East, but around the world. His election is good news for Anglican-Lutheran relations here in Europe, strengthened in recent years by the Porvoo and Meissen agreements. Bishop Younan is a strong advocate of the ecumenical commitments of the LWF; he is personally well aquainted with ecumenical life in our continent. After his ordination he studied and earned a degree in Helsinki, and speaks fluent Finnish! In his acceptance speech, Bishop Younan recalled that he was first introduced to ...

Image via Wikipedia The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is facing widespread opposition to its ruling from last November against the display of crucifixes in Italian schools. An additional 20 countries have now joined Italy in defense of the public display of the cross. At first 10 countries asked the court to annul the November decision: Armenia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Lithuania, Malta, Monaco, Romania, Russia and San Marino. Lithuania compared the banning to the religious persecution it suffered under communism, when religious symbols were similary banned from the classroom. Now another 10 countries have called the decision of the court into question: Albania, Austria, Croatia, Hungary, FYR Macedonia, Moldavia, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine. The governments of these countries have requested that national religious identities and traditions be respected, pointing out that in many countries, religious identity is a basis of the values, and a...

Some further pictures have been sent from Crete, so it is appropriate to mention a further word about the other ordinand, the Revd Tony Lane, who was ordained to the priesthood on 3 July. (I mentioned in a previous post that Fr Tuomas Mäkipää, Assistant Curate in St Nicholas's Helsinki was ordained at the same service). Priests from Greece, Crete, Turkey, Finland, Austria and the UK participated in the laying on of hands at the ordination, at which the Revd Canon Malcolm Bradshaw was the preacher. The Revd Frances Hiller was the deacon for the celebration and Mrs Christine Saccali, a reader from Athens was my chaplain. St Thomas's Church was built by Fr Tony and serves the growing Anglican community in Crete. It comprises a smaller building in traditional Cretan style, and an open-air space for worship which incorporates an old grain threshing floor. While Fr Tony continues to serve the congregation as an Assistant Curate in the Greater Athens Chaplaincy, St...

A mixed group of Anglicans and Lutherans, delegates and guests at the Lutheran World Federation Assembly in Stuttgart, descended on our own St Catherine's Church for the eucharist on Sunday 25 July. Close to 1000 people are at the Assembly and they were free to visit local congregations in the vicinity for Sunday worship. Naturally most were hosted by Lutheran parishes. It was good that our own Anglican parish could welcome a delegation. Even though our congregation is temporarily meeting in the Leonardskirche while renovations are being carried out to St Catherine's Church itself, the usual warm welcome awaited us, as well as cake and refreshments in the parish centre afterwards. The delegation remarked to me afterwards how much they felt at home in our very multinational and multicultural parish. Pictured above from left to right: The Revd Dr David Pfrimmer (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada), Ms Inge Marie Nordstrand (Church of Norway), Fr Michael Naidu (St Catherin...

I have already posted an article about the Church of England General Synod's recent work on women bishops. The meeting in York from 9 to 13 July did cover some other matters as well! Here is a short digest: Clergy Terms of Service As part of new legislation introducing "common tenure" for clergy in 2011, provisions for maternity, paternity, and adoption leave were made. The new common tenure legislation will only be applied by analogy in the Diocese in Europe as the employment status of our clergy is different from England and varies in almost every country we serve. Liturgical business Final approval was given to an Additional Weekday Lectionary. This provides "stand alone" Bible readings that are especially suitable in length and content for services at which occasional worshippers are present – for example, choral evensong in cathedrals. Five new commemorations were added to the Common Worship Calendar: 18 January - Amy Carmichael, Founder of the Do...

Photo courtesy of Árni Svanur On 22 July the Archbishop of Canterbury delivered the keynote address at the Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation in Stuttgart, Germany. He reflected on the Assembly's theme  Give Us Today Our Daily Bread and explored a number of interpretations of this line from the Lord's Prayer: "The bread that is shared among Christians is not only material resource, but the recognition of dignity…and to recognise human dignity in one another is indeed to share the truth of what humanity is in the eyes of God.  We feed each other by honouring the truth of the divine image in each other.” Archbishop Williams also spoke of the close connection in the Lord's Prayer between the prayer for bread and the prayer for forgiveness. He described forgiveness as "the exchange of the bread of life and the bread of truth; it is the way in which those who have damaged each other’s humanity and denied its dignity are brought back into a relation where eac...

From 20 - 27 July, Lutherans from around the world will gather in Stuttgart for the 11th Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).  I have been asked to be one of the representatives of the Anglican Communion at the Assembly, along with Archbishop Fred Hiltz, the Primate of Canada, and the Revd Canon Alyson Barnett-Cowan, the Director of Unity, Faith and Order of the Anglican Communion. I was also an Anglican delegate to a previous Assembly in 1997 in Hong Kong. Archbishop Rowan Williams will pay a special visit to the Assembly on 22 July to give a keynote address. The Archbishop will also have brief meeting with members of our parishes in Stuttgart and Heidelberg as well as Episcopalians from Karlsruhe. The Assembly of the LWF is every 6 or 7 years and brings together delegates from over 140 member Churches. All the Lutheran Churches which have signed the Porvoo Agreement , and which are in communion with the Church of England are members. (Many other Anglican...

It was a Thomas celebration! The Feast of St Thomas the Apostle, the ordination of Tuomas, in the Church of St Thomas, Kefalas, Crete. On Saturday 3 July, I ordained the Revd Tuomas Mäkipää to the priesthood, along with the Revd Tony Lane about whom I will write later. St Thomas's Church is where Fr Tony is serving as Assistant Curate, within the Greater Anglican Chaplaincy). Fr Tuomas is the Assistant Curate at St Nicholas, Helsinki. Over 120 people gathered as the coolness of the evening approached, and the sun fell on the Mediterranean horizon. The traditional period of silence kept before the singing of Veni Creator Spiritus was interrupted by a chorus of cicadas. Clergy from Finland, Austria, Turkey, Greece, England and Crete took part and members of the congregation came from as far away as Australia and Zimbabwe. The preacher was the Revd Canon Malcolm Bradshaw, the Senior Chaplain in Athens. In the picture below from left to right: Suvi Mäkipää, F...

It is with deep sadness I received the news that the Revd Eric Lewis, a former priest in this diocese, died suddenly last Saturday 10 July, just outside his home in Lampeter. Fr Eric was the chaplain of Holy Spirit Costa Blanca from 2001 to 2007 when he retired to his native Wales. His ministry in Costa Blanca laid the foundations for the strong parish life enjoyed in its 8 congregations, now served by three priests and a licensed reader as well as a number of active retired clergy with Permission to Officiate. Fr Eric was a much loved pastor in what is one of the largest parishes in our diocese. We send the assurance of our prayers to Maria his wife. Fr Eric's funeral is on Monday 19 July at Lampeter University. Holy Spirit Costa Blanca will be sending representatives to the service. O God, receive thy servant Eric in his sudden death and take him into thy holy keeping; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Photo: Ch-info.ch The Vatican has announced that Bishop Kurt Koch of Basel will be the new President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU). Bishop Koch succeeds Cardinal Walter Kasper, who retired on 1 July. Bishop Koch, aged 60, was also the head of the Swiss (RC) Episcopal Conference. Upon his appointment to the PCPCU he becomes an archbishop. I have not yet met Archbishop Koch so am not aware of his experience or knowledge of the Anglican Communion. However, my Old Catholic colleagues in Switzerland tell me that he is an excellent theologian and ecumenist. The General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Revd Dr Olav Fykse, has spoken of Archbishop Koch’s “openness and deep ecumenical commitment”.  He has served on as a member of the International Mixed Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. He has also served on the International Catholic-Lutheran Commis...

One of the newest parishes in the diocese hosted its first confirmation service last Sunday. All Saints, Vendée became organised formally within the diocese on Palm Sunday 2007. It is a large pastoral area, about 1/3 the size of Wales, carved out of the chaplaincy of the Good Shepherd, Poitou - Charentes . Its priest-in-charge is the Revd Brian Davies. Confirmation candidates came from All Saints, as well as the "neighbouring" parishes of Poitou - Charentes and Ranton , and were supported by clergy and readers from the three parishes. Since 2007, under Fr Brian's leadership, All Saints Vendée has grown to having three regular worship centres and just under 100 on the electoral roll. Also on Sunday I had the pleasure of admitting Mr John Matthews as a reader in the Church of England and licensing him to serve in both the Vendée and Poitou - Charentes . He joins Mr Robin Kenyon who is already a licensed reader in All Saints. John, wearing his blue reader's preac...

Today, 14 July, the Eurobishop blog is one year old. In that year there have been 221 articles on topics that I thought might be of interest to the people of this Diocese in Europe and to others who are interested in Anglican life on this continent (as well as in Morocco and Turkey). I have been pleasantly surprised by the reception of Eurobishop and the many comments passed on to me about how the blog has become an effective and valued way to help people within our loosely-knit diocese feel more connected. The feedback I have received is overwhelmingly positive, so I am encouraged to continue to communicate with the diocese and beyond through this medium. As I look over the past articles, these are the kinds of things that I have covered: news and developments in congregations brief reports on meetings: deaneries, archdeaconries , diocesan synod, training events etc new clergy appointments and ordinations Church of England or Anglican Communion news items w...

One of the congregations in the parish of Costa del Sol East, Spain, meets each week in San Miguel Roman Catholic Church in Calahonda . Unfortunately, San Miguel's has suffered some structural damage: the facade of has fallen off, and it is not possible to continue to use it until repaired. The Porvoo Agreement has come to the rescue. The nearby Norwegian Church were quick to offer our Anglicans hospitality for their services. In the photo above, the Revd Mette Buvik from the Church of Norway presides with the Chaplain of Costa del Sol East, the Venerable David Sutch . Mette already has Permission to Officiate in the chaplaincy, a provision made possible as under Porvoo , the Church of Norway and the Church of England are in communion. This latest collaboration strengthens the collaboration under the Porvoo agreement in the Norwegian and English diasporas . The website for the parish of Costa del Sol is here .

Image by scottgunn via Flickr After close to 12 hours of debate, on Monday, the draft measure to permit the ordination of women as bishops was approved by the General Synod. It was passed by a sizable majority: 373 in favour; 14 against, 17 abstentions. Earlier in the debate an amendment put forward by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York which would have strengthened provision for those who cannot in conscience accept the ministry of a woman bishop was narrowly defeated, by 5 votes in the house of clergy. Archbishop Rowan remarked that the voting shows the synod is committed to seeing women as bishops while it is also profoundly committed to a "maximum generosity" towards those who cannot in conscience accept this development. The decision taken on Monday leads to the next step in the process: the draft measure is now to be sent to dioceses for discussion and approval by diocesan synods. The Archbishop of Canterbury remarked that this next s...

On 26 June, the Revd Canon Giles Williams was licensed by Archdeacon Ken Letts as the new chaplain of Holy Trinity, Cannes. He comes to our diocese from St John the Baptist, Woking , in the Diocese of Guildford , where he has been vicar since 1995. Canon Williams has also spent 10 years as a missionary in Rwanda where he was the coordinator of an ecumenical Bible translation project with the United Bible Societies. The Bible in Kinyarwanda , very much the fruit of Canon Williams' work, was eventually published in 2005. Holy Trinity is a congregation is made up of people from many nationalities and ages who live full time or part-time in this famous Riviera resort. The original C hurch was built towards the end of the nineteenth century. The present building dates from 1973. There is also a Reader in Holy Trinity, Mr David Sinclair. The parish website is here . In the picture below, Archdeacon Letts reads the bishop's licence to Canon Williams. We welcome Giles...

Here is a selection of books for July, all reviewed by Dr Martin Davie, the Theological Secretary to the bishops of the Church of England. All who are keen to keep up with current theology will find this selection a good place to start. 9 reviews are below, featuring works on ethics, inter-religious dialogue, contemplative prayer, video games and theology (!), a commentary on Joshua, and a systematic theology from the brilliant Jürgen Moltmann. Just click on the read more link. Gute Lektüre!

On Saturday 26 June, in the first of this year's Petertide ordination services, Bishop Geoffrey ordained the Revd Rik Florentinus to the priesthood in Christ Church Amsterdam . Fr Rik is serving as Assistant Curate of Christ Church, where the Revd Mark Collinson (above right) is Chaplain. Rik, his wife Elise and their children are members of the ecumenical community Spe Gaudentes   ("Rejoicing in Hope"), a religious community which seeks to live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ ministering in the inner city of Amsterdam. Members of the community, pictured above, were present for the ordination. The presence of an Anglican priest in the community strengthens further a vital mission partnership between Spe Gaudentes and Christ Church. Photos by  RicoM

The Vatican announced last Friday 25th of June that Cardinal Walter Kasper, the President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity ( PCPCU ), would retire on 1 July. Cardinal Kasper has served more than 10 years as the head of this Vatican department during which time he has been a close friend of Anglicans. The Cardinal is now 77. He was appointed to the PCPCU as Secretary in 1999 from being bishop of the German diocese of Rottenburg -Stuttgart. In 2000 he was made a cardinal and promoted to being the the Council's President. Cardinal Kasper, although himself a noted theologian and former professor, always emphasised that ecumenism is not simply "done at the desk" as an academic exercise. "Dialogue is life, Dialogue is an integral part of the life of the Church". Thus he was a strong supporter of our theological dialogue, ARCIC , but was also instrumental in the establishment of the International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission on Mission...