Eurobishop

Eight worthy volumes reviewed this month.  I know our Diocesan Environmental Officer, Madeleine Holmes, will want us all to read A Heart for Creation . The Cranmer work will be a useful gift for ecumenical partners on the continent who wish to know more about this seminal Anglican theologian and liturgist. The Ward / Coakley volume on Anglicans relating to Islam is written from a UK perspective, but will be valuable to our own, particularly urban congregations in Europe. But there is so much more , just so little time to get through it all!  Bună lectură! For  the reviews press the   read more  button.

The recent meeting of the Bishop's Senior Staff in London was the last for the Venerable John de Wit, the Archdeacon of North West Europe. Archdeacon de Wit has served in this post since 2008 as well as being the chaplain of Holy Trinity Utrecht since 2004. He retires from both posts next month. When business was done his colleagues took him for a drink at a local pub where John was looking particularly relaxed! Surely it wasn't because it was his last meeting? We will miss Fr John from around our table at Bishop's Senior Staff, where his wisdom and pastoral experience and insight have been invaluable as we address matters of oversight in the diocese.

Just a note to correct the date and time of the funeral of Bishop Ambrose Weekes, former Suffragan Bishop of this Diocese in Europe. The funeral will be on Thursday 10 May at 6.30 pm, at All Saints, Margaret Street, London. For details from the Church website click here .

The Rt Revd Ambrose Walter Marcus Weekes CB FKC, formerly Suffragan Bishop in Europe and my predecessor twice removed, died on Tuesday 24 April, one day before his 93rd birthday. After a distinguished career as a Naval Chaplain (eventually Chaplain of the Fleet and Archdeacon of the Royal Navy) Fr Ambrose served several congregations in this diocese (Gibraltar as Dean, Tangier, Brussels and Montreux). He was named Auxilliary Bishop for Europe and then the first Suffragan Bishop in Europe, and served in this position from 1977 to 1986. In retirement Bishop Ambrose lived at Charterhouse in London and was a faithful member of All Saints, Margaret Street. His funeral will be at All Saints on 5 May. I am personally much indebted to Bishop Ambrose for his kindness towards me and his wise and often witty counsel on matters pertaining to episcopal ministry, especially in the first years after my appointment. I was also very much aware of and very grateful for his constant...

It is with great sadness that I pass along the news of the death of the Revd Tom Heffer, the Secretary General of The Mission to Seafarers, MtS. Fr Tom was well known in this Diocese in Europe, where MtS is very active and where several of our own priests are either MtS appointments or serve as MtS honorary chaplains.  On Tuesday 17   April, Fr Tom lost consciousness whilst driving to work and had a minor collision. His heart was restarted at the scene by emergency service personnel and he was taken to a North London hospital where he remained, unconscious, in the Intensive Treatment Unit. In the early evening of Monday, 23 April, he passed away with his family by his side. The Diocese has lost a much loved and respected colleague. We shall miss his outstanding service on behalf of MtS in support of our common mission. Please remember Tom's wife Roz and his daughter Abi, and other members of his family, in their grief and loss.  Funeral arrangem...

St Alfege's Schoolchildren leading the last part of the pilgrimage. Photo: Southwark Diocese The opening hymn in Southwark Cathedral had a startling verse: Lo, a thousand years before us, barb'rous Danes assailed this land: homesteads, boroughs, churches, abbeys, pillaged by a plundering band; and the people suffered deeply from the cruel heathen hand. The occasion was the start of a pilgrimage to mark the millennium of the martyrdom of St Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury, whose feast day was last Thursday 19 April. Alphege (or Alfege) was a much loved and revered man who became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1005. In 1011 the Danes invaded south-east England and took Alphege prisoner. They put a ransom on his head, £3000, an astronomical amount in that day. Alphege refused to pay it and forbade anyone from doing so as he did not want to impoverish his people even more. He also never threatened his hostage takers with retaliation and thus became a a symbol of reconciliatio...

St Paul's Church member, Agnes, assists with the feeding programme in Athen s In some quarters of Greece there are strong feelings of animosity towards Germany as the latter is blamed for the imposition of strict austerity measures as part of the EU financial assistance programme. But at the level of the Church, Anglicans in Germany have been expressing their solidarity with their brothers and sisters in Greece. For three Sundays in Lent, St George's Berlin took up special collections and raised funds which they sent to their sister parish of St Paul's in Athens.  On receipt of the funds, the chaplain of St Paul's, Canon Malcolm Bradshaw, wrote to Canon Christopher Jage-Bowler, the chaplain of St George's: "A very, very BIG expression of gratitude to all at St George’s for this act of solidarity with St Paul’s and the wider world in Athens as we journey through these difficult times. The stories of human hardship we are regularly facing or observe on the str...

Clergy and Readers of the Diocese who are planning worship over the next months will want to know of resources which have been compiled by the Church of England's Liturgical Commission to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. There is a rich range of prayers and services available, drawn from material from the Book of Common Prayer and Common Worship. The Sunday of the Jubilee Weekend, 3 June, is a Principle Feast, Trinity Sunday, and the collect and readings at the main services that day must be for the feast itself, but the resources are adaptable to fit in with the feast or to be used on other occasions. Some slight modification may be needed to certain prayers recognising that Queen Elizabeth II is of course, not Sovereign in most parts of the diocese, but our clergy and Readers are already used to making these adjustments! Click here for the link to the resources .

Christos Anesti! Alethos Anesti! Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!  The Easter greeting, in Greek and English, echoed around St Paul's Athens on Easter day, as the Chaplain, the Revd Canon Malcolm Bradshaw welcomed regular worshippers and visitors from around the world. The Church was packed, standing room only, with overflow squeezed around the altar itself. The music was provided by the parish choir and by a visiting choir and orchestral musicians from the Anglican Cathedral School in Sydney, Australia. As part of the joy of the day, prayers of thanksgiving were said for the birth of a new baby in the parish, Peter. Less solemn, but equally joyful was the Easter egg hunt, the hot cross buns and then a lunch a local taverna.

L to R: Reader Sherry Angelis, Fr Geoffrey, Fr Joseph, (me), Reader Christine Saccali, the Revd Pam Nicholson (PtO priest) and Canon Malcolm Bradshaw (Chaplain, St Paul's)   The Good Friday Liturgy in St Paul's Athens was well attended by parishioners and visitors. Among the latter were the Revd Canon Geoffrey Evans, who until last year was priest-in-charge of St Nicholas Ankara, Turkey. Fr Geoffrey is now retired and living in Izmir. He had just arrived in Athens from Alexandria on Good Friday morning in time for the service! We were joined by Fr Joseph, a priest of the Syrian Orthodox Church. Fr Joseph, a native of Lebanon, is studying for a PhD in Athens. Fr Joseph also joined for the Great Vigil of Easter the next day. His own Church observes Easter according to the Eastern date so he was free to be part of our own celebrations on the Western date. Fr Malcolm arranged for some ecumenical discussions with Greek Orthodox authorities during my visit, including with B...

With great joy I announce the following persons are to be ordained this Petertide (God willing): Sacred Order of Deacon Mrs Dana English (to serve as assistant curate of All Saints, Rome ) Dr Mary Styles (to serve as assistant curate of All Saints, Rome ) by Bishop David on Sunday 1 July at 10.30, in All Saints, Rome at 1030. The preacher will be the Very Revd Canon David Richardson, Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome . The street address for All Saints is Via del Babuino 153, 00187 Rome , Italy .  For further details please contact the Venerable Jonathan Boardman, email: office@allsaintsrome.org Liturgical colour: Red Ms Verna Veritie (to serve as assistant curate of St Paul ’s, Athens ) by Bishop Geoffrey on Sunday 1 July, time to be confirmed, in St George’s , Lisbon . The preacher will be the Revd Canon Malcolm Bradshaw. The street address for St George’s  is Rua S Jorge 6, 1250-235 Lisbon , Portugal . For further details please contact Ca...

On Wednesday 28 March, Area Dean of Gibraltar, the Revd Canon Hugh Broad, licensed the Revd Tom Barnfather as the new priest-in-charge of St Laurence Anglican Parish, Lanzarote. The service took place in the church at Puerto del Carmen. The Dean of Gibraltar, the Very Revd Dr John Paddock was the celebrant of the Eucharist. It was a very warm ecumenical occasion with clergy from the Roman Catholic, German Evangelical and Norwegian Lutheran Churches present. left to right: Eiry Rees (Congregational Worship Leader); Fr Jose Manuel (RC Parish of Tias); Canon  Broad; Ken Rees (Churchwarden); Pastor Harm Dietrich Henke (German Church); the Dean; Fr Tom; David Dowdell (Reader); Fr Sixto (RC Parish of Yaiza); Fr Mike Smith (Tenerife North); Pastor Knut Kaldestad (Norwegian Church); Robin Wardle (Congregational Worship Leader); and Linda Davis (Churchwarden). Fr Jose Manuel, RC Parish of Tias, welcomes Fr Tom to his new ministry The members of the Mothers' Unio...

At the Pro-Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Brussels, during the Chrism Eucharist on Tuesday 3 April, the Revd Canon Ulla Monberg, the Diocesan Director of Training, was formally collated into her stall of St Augustine of Canterbury by the Chancellor of the Pro-Cathedral, the Revd Canon Dr Robert Innes. The Canons form the Cathedral Chapter of the Diocese and commit themselves to supporting the Bishop by prayer and counsel.  Canon Monberg is pictured above seated in her stall next to the Archdeacon of Germany and Northern Europe, the Venerable Jonathan LLoyd (whose stall is St Henry of Finland). The Cathedral Chapter prayer: Eternal God and Father, whose Son at supper prayed that his disciples might be one as he is one with you: draw us closer to him, that, in common love and obedience to you, we may be united to one another in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, so that the world may believe that he is Lord, to your eternal glory. we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen...

Pro-Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Brussels One of the most significant liturgies at this time of the year is the Chrism Mass. At this service, since the earliest days of the Church, the bishop blesses the oil of baptism, the oil of the sick and the oil of chrism.  The modern service includes the reaffirmation of ministerial vows in which bishops, priests and deacons renew their commitment to service together in Christ’s Church. In recent years in the Church of England, this is also a time when Readers (licensed lay ministers) can also recommit themselves to their ministry of the word which they share with the ordained. The Revd Canon Dr Jack McDonald was the preacher at the service held in the Pro-Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Brussels on Tuesday 3 April. Canon MacDonald is the priest-in-charge of Sts Mary and Martha, Leuven, and is a canon theologian of the Pro-Cathedral. In his sermon he reminded the clergy and readers of the essence of Christian ministry: "...  Jesu...

Photo: Bev Lloyd Roberts This year the Feast of the Annunciation or Lady Day (25 March) fell on a Sunday. Sundays in Lent are not displaced by other feasts and I imagine that most of our Churches would have transferred the celebration to a suitable weekday following. In St Alban's Copenhagen, Sunday 25 March was already going to be a packed day with the visit of their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. However the parish took advantage of my visit to anticipate the Annunciation on Saturday 24 March, and celebrate it with confirmations. Reflecting the international nature of the congregation, candidates came from a variety of backgrounds, Filipino, Danish, English, Ugandan, Nigerian and Indian among them. Present for the weekend liturgies were the assistant clergy in St Alban's, the Revd Canon Ulla Monberg, and the Revd Mark Letters. I also had the opportunity to meet a deacon from Burundi, the Revd Christophe Ndikuriyo. who is worshipping ...