Eurobishop

12 young people of the White Nile congregation were confirmed on Sunday 22 January at a festive (3 hour!) service in Holy Trinity church in Vaasa in western Finland. Readings were in English and Finnish, songs and hymns in Arabic, and my serrmon, preached in English, was also translated into Arabic. The White Nile congregation is part of the Anglican Church of Finland and consists largely of Sudanese refugees. Their priest is the Revd Amos Manga who is assisted by the Revd Deacon David Oliver. Over 130 people attended the service at which two Lutheran priests, the Revd Sami Saharinen and the Revd Gunnar Särs, also took part. Fr Tuomas Mäkipää, the assistant curate at St Nicholas, Helsinki made the 900 km round trip to be with us for the celebration. The White Nile congregation was organised during the Revd Rupert Moreton's time as chaplain of the Anglican Church in Finland. Fr Rupert encouraged the establishment of this work and sought Lutheran cooperation from the start to ...

Another report from this year's Week of Prayer for Christian Unity comes from Antwerp where the Revd Deacon Ann Babb of St Boniface Anglican Church took part in the ecumenical service at the Roman Catholic Cathedral. Deacon Ann is one of 4 "distinctive" deacons in the Diocese in Europe (so far!). The Bishop of Antwerp, Johan Bonny, is a committed ecumenist, having once served on the staff of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Christian Unity.

Here is the first collection of book reviews for 2012. There are 8 volumes reviewed here (all thanks to Dr Martin Davie, the Bishops' Theological Advisor).  Interesting new works on patristic theology, canon law, medical ethics, spirituality and apologetics are among the books listed. Luke Timothy Johnson's new book on Luke-Acts will be useful to our preachers, and for those who are engaged in bereavement and funeral ministry, Professor Thiselton's book will be an invaluable theological resource. Felix lectio! Click  on the  read more  link for the reviews.

St Andrew's parish in Moscow always produces a remarkable collection of people for baptism and confirmation. The service on 8 January was no exception. Candidates, younger and older, from as diverse places as Namibia, the United States, the UK, Russia and Indonesia were among those whose journey into Christ was solemnly celebrated on the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord.

Copenhagen's streets saw 800 ecumenical walkers on the streets last Tuesday 24 January.  The Kirkevandringen  ("church wandering") was started 58 years ago by the Fellowship of St Alban and St Serguis , and is older than the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity itself.  Pictured above with Archdeacon Jonathan LLoyd and Canon Ulla Monberg are the Bishop of Copenhagen and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Denmark, alongside clergy from the Russian Orthodox, Danish Lutheran, Danish Methodist, Swedish Lutheran, Norwegian Lutheran, and RC churches in the city. The large congregation worshipped for 15 minutes in each church (with two services in each of the smaller churches), and walked in procession between each one.  Starting at St Paul's Lutheran Church (built 1877), they then went to Jerusalem Methodist Church (built 1866), St Aleksandr Nevskij Russian Orthodox Church (built 1883), St Ansgar RC Cathedral (built 1842), St Alban's Anglican Church (built 1887) and fi...

Fr Randall (rt) with ecumenical colleagues in St Bartholomew's St Bartholomew's Dinard traditionally plays an active part in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Brittany. This year was no exception. Our congregation hosted an ecumenical gathering on Thursday 19 January at which the Revd Gareth Randall, priest-in-charge of St Bartholomew's, preached in French. He spoke of the fundamental unity we share, whether Roman Catholic, Adventist, Reformed, Anglican, Methodist or Baptist, in the firm belief that Jesus is risen, and that through him, God's Son, we can attain eternal life. Although relatively few in number on continental Europe, Anglicans continue to witness in significant ways to the Gospel imperative of unity for all Christians.

Fr Engin Yildirim (left) at ecumenical evening prayer hosted by the Church of the Resurrection The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity was an active one for Anglicans in Istanbul. Several Churches in the city hosted events during the week: Roman Catholic, Armenian Apostolic, Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, German Lutheran, Anglican, International and Turkish Protestant churches all participated.  Fr Engin Yildirim, priest-in-charge of the Church of the Resurrection, was invited to represent the Anglican Church in the readings in the different churches during the week.  This Turkish language congregation of the Diocese in Europe, in the Pera district of the city, hosted the evening prayer event on Wednesday 18 January.   In spite of very cold and snowy weather, over 100 from different churches gathered for the prayers each evening. Afterwards every church served warm drinks and snacks to create and encourage a time for fellowship. Fr Engin and the Church of the...

A priest from the Diocese in Europe is making history in the Church of Ireland!  The Revd Sampson Ajuka is a native of Nigeria who tested his vocation to the priesthood in the diocese in Europe several years ago. He was ordained in this diocese after his studies at the Queens Foundation for Theological Studies in Birmingham and served his curacy in St Anthony of Egypt congregation in Padua and St George's Venice. Just before Christmas, Fr Sampson moved to take up responsibility for the Devenish and Boho Group of Parishes in the Diocese of Clogher in the Church of Ireland. He is accompanied by his wife Ugonna and their two children Chiemela and Rejoice.    The Bishop of Clogher, the Rt Revd John McDowell, says of this appointment, "I t is with great enthusiasm that we welcome Sampson and his family into the Diocese. I think I am correct in saying that Sampson will be the first African clergy person to have charge of a parish in the Diocese of Clogher...

A remarkable feature of parish life in St Andrew's Moscow is the emergence of possible vocations to the priesthood. At present 2 young people, both Russians, are engaged in the discernment process under the direction of the Director of Ordinands of our diocese, the Revd William Gulliford. Given that we have only two parishes in Russia (Moscow and St Petersburg) one would think it would be quite unusual for Russians themselves to have an experience of Anglicanism that was of such significance that  they wish to begin exploration to priesthood! So it is a tribute to the quality of the spiritual, liturgical and community life of this active, multicultural parish, that people are finding this to be a Church where deep questions of Christian discipleship and possible public ministry can be explored. It is also due, in no small measure, to the example of faithful parish priesthood seen in the ministry of the chaplain of St Andrew's, Canon Simon Stephens. During my recent visi...

Fr Simon Stephens (left) with some students and teachers of the ROOF education centre On a recent visit to St Andrew's Moscow I visited with some students and teachers at the ROOF education centre. ROOF (Russian Orphan Opportunity Fund) is a charity supported by St Andrew's. The education centre is housed in the parish facilities. This project seeks to provide education for young people from orphanages in Moscow. In Russian orphanages only the basics of education is provided. ROOF provides further learning in core and vocational subjects to help the young people to overcome their disadvantaged past and thus open up opportunities for employment and higher education which otherwise would not be possible. Many graduates of the centre have gone on to university; one is now a lawyer and one is a priest! The chaplain of St Andrew's, the Revd Canon Dr Simon Stephens is very much the pastor to the students and teachers at the centre. The ROOF education centre was launched i...

This month, the Revd Andrew Sillis began his new ministry in All Saints, Cologne, and St Boniface, Bonn, in Germany.  Fr Sillis comes to this diocese from St Mary the Virgin, Cuddington, in the Diocese of Guildford. Before ordination he trained as an environmental scientist, and continues a interest in this area. He also is a musician and admits to being "an avid follower of Formula 1".  He is accompanied by his wife Rebecca ( a teacher of English, German and French), and his two children, Zachary 14, and Hannah, 8.  We welcome Fr Andrew to this diocesan family. There have been Anglican congregations in these two cities since the mid 1800's.   The website of the Churches in Bonn/Cologne is here. 

Bishop Arturo Sánchez Galán, the retired bishop of the Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church ( Iglesia Española Reformada Episcopal, IERE ) died on the morning of 10 January. He was 85. "Don Arturo" was the bishop of this Spanish Anglican jurisdiction, from 1983 to 1995. ( IERE was   organised in 1868 by dissident Roman Catholics. It became an autonomous part of the Anglican Communion in 1980. The present Bishop Carlos López Lozano  resides in Madrid. There are about 25 parishes and missions. These are quite separate from the Church of England's Diocese in Europe churches and congregations in Spain).   Bishop  Sánchez  was responsible as chairman of FEREDE  (the Federation of Protestant Churches in Spain), for heading up negations between the Spanish State and the non-Roman Catholic Churches including reaching important agreements of cooperation, following the difficult Franco years. He also had an international profile having served on the Worl...

Theodore William Georges Gulliford I am aware that many of the clergy and laity of the diocese may not yet have heard the sad news of the death of Theodore Gulliford, the young son of our Director of Ordinands, the Revd William Gulliford and his wife Beatrice, and beloved brother of Valentine, Marie-Pia and Philomene. Theodore died in the early hours of 31 December. Shortly after he was born, he was diagnosed with having a neurological disorder. The family had not expected him to live for more than a year. But in fact this beautiful, joyful and loving child completed his sixth birthday on Christmas Day. The funeral service was last Monday, with a requiem and committal service on Tuesday. Fr William wrote these moving words on 4 January: We are very very sad, but full of memories, and we know that Theodore’s earthly limitations are no more and that he was fully alive until God took him to be hid with Christ in Him. Blessed be the name of the Lord. I know that across t...

There are still some places left for Readers and Readers in Training to register for the Europe Diocesan Readers' Conference scheduled for this June 15-18 in Cologne, Germany. The theme of the conference is Bearing the Word and an invited panel of speakers and resource persons will focus on different aspects of the ministry of Reader in the Church of England. Nick Clarke  (Senior Communications Officer for the Church of England): Communicating the Word in the Modern World The Revd Elaine Labourel (Tutor for Reader Training in the Diocese): Bearing the Word in the Liturgy of the Church The Revd Sara McVane (Assistant Priest, St Andrew's Zurich): Equipping Readers to address conflict in  the Church Dr Clare Amos (World Council of Churches Executive for Inter Religious Dialogue): Reading the Bible and Contemporary Hermeneutics The Revd Dr Paul Collins (Vicar of the Holy Island of Lindisfarne): Prayer and Spirituality, Rooted in the Word. Dai...