Eurobishop

Now here is a good pub-quiz question: What is the fastest growing religious group in Finland? Well, the answer is: the Church of England! According to Assistant Area Dean for Finland, the Revd Tuomas Mäkipää, our Anglican numbers in that country have grown over the past year by 20%. Our numbers are small to begin with, of course, compared to other religious groups, including our sister Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. But nevertheless, the graph is moving in the right direction. But there is worrying news associated with this statistic: Much of this growth is as a result of continuing arrivals of refugees, including many from Sudan and South Sudan, many of whom are Anglican by tradition. Aid agencies warn that the upsurge of fighting in South Sudan will see the humanitarian crisis affecting millions of civilians worsening. The Finnish Government, working with the UN, continues to offer settlement to Sudanese/South Sudanese fleeing the violence and war. As a consequence of this,...

Fr Jacques Hamel, RIP Today, on hearing the news of the murder of Father Jacques Hamel in Rouen while he was saying Mass, I wrote this message of condolence to the Archbishop of Rouen, on behalf of Anglicans in this diocese. A quick English translation is at the bottom of the article. May the Lord welcome his faithful servant Jacques into the fellowship of the saints in light. _________________________________________ 26 de juillet de 2016 SE Monseigneur Dominique Lebrun Archevêque de Rouen Cher Monseigneur Lebrun Nous venons d'entendre les nouvelles de l'assassinat du Père Jacques Hamel à Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. Au nom du peuple et du clergé des congrégations de l'Église d'Angleterre en France, je vous envoie nos plus sincères condoléances à ce meurtre choquant. Nous Anglicans se joignent à d'autres chrétiens pour exprimer notre solidarité et notre proximité avec les gens de votre diocèse face à cette attaque sanglante. Nous prions pour le Père...

Fr Steven Smith Today I sent the message below to the Revd Steven Smith, the Rector of the Church of the Ascension in Munich. His parish, while Anglican, is part of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, under their Bishop Pierre Whalon. Church of England and Episcopal congregations in Germany have a common life in what is rather like a joint deanery - the CAECG, the Council of Anglican-Episcopal Churches in Germany. Please pray for our sisters and brothers in Munich and for Fr Steven and his community in Munich _______________________________________ Dear Father Steven Yesterday across this Diocese in Europe people learned with horror and disbelief that the inhabitants of yet another European city were under attack, this time in the city you serve, Munich. May I, on behalf of your brother and sister Anglicans from the Church of England congregations on the continent, express our deep sorrow at these recent killings of at least 9 persons. This Sunday in our serv...

"The attempted coup has failed but the aftermath is not over". This statement from contacts in Turkey seems to summarise the situation today after a night of upheaval, violence, gunfire, explosions and political and military action. The attempted coup was bloody. A couple of hundred people killed and over 1,000 injured, military and civilians. I was in contact with our clergy in Turkey late into Friday night. They are all safe and there are no reports of casualties from among our parishioners. But all are keeping vigilant. We pray for wisdom for the authorities and for understanding, restraint and a way forward that is just and serves the good of all the citizens of the country. Grant O God your help to the people of Turkey. May there be justice and peace throughout the land. May those who rule and govern make wise decisions for the well-being of the country, protecting the rights of all and breaking down walls of hatred and distrust. Give eternal rest to those kille...

The Revd Peter Jackson This morning the city of Nice and the nation of France is in mourning, once again, this time for the victims of the horrific attack on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. The Promenade is just a couple of hundred metres from our Church of the Holy Trinity. I spoke to the Revd Peter Jackson, the Chaplain this morning. Like so many, Fr Peter is in shock at these events. Last night he was enjoying the national festival, and attended a reception with the Mayor and Prefet, a warm family occasion. At the reception, ironically, honour and tribute was being paid to the those who work for the emergency services in the city. On return to the presbytery, he learned of the attacks close by. One Churchwarden narrowly escaped injury. Fr Peter reflected with me on the disconcerting feelings he has, since as a priest he was working in Washington DC at the time of the 9/11 attacks, and was working in London at the time of two tragic Tube bombings. There are certain to be ...

During a recent visit I made to see the Bishop of Tenerife, Don Bernardo Álvarez Afonso, he affirmed his welcome to Anglicans on the islands in his diocese (Tenerife, La Palma, El Hierro and La Gomera). In our Parish of St Francis in the south of Tenerife, we borrow Roman Catholic Churches for our eucharists as we do in the Anglican Church in La Palma. It was good to be able to thank Don Bernardo for his ecumenical hospitality. Together we reflected on the results of the referendum on EU membership which was held in the UK and looked at common challenges - reaching youth with the joyful message of the Gospel and helping our priests relate effectively to people who are seeking spiritual nourishment in an increasingly secular Europe. Don Bernardo is looking forward to meeting the new priest--in-charge of St Francis, Tenerife South, when he arrives, and also to meeting whoever is appointed in due course as Chaplain of All Saints, Puerto de la Cruz, (The latter parish is still in va...

On my journeys last weekend I was reading with disappointment the report from Labour Peer Lord Dubs that not a single child refugee promised sanctuary in the UK has arrived since the scheme was set up last May. Lord Dubs was himself an escapee from Nazi Germany thanks to the Kindertransport  programme. But my heart was then warmed through a chance encounter with a marvellous programme for refugee children run by charities and the local Canary Island government. I wondered who the rather excited and noisy youngsters were on my plane coming into La Palma from Tenerife North on Saturday. It turned out that the children were from refugee camps near Tindouf in SW Algeria. I must admit that I was not aware that there are 165,000 refugees, “Sahrawi” people, who have been living in these camps for 40 years! The camps are in a very inhospitable region of the world; the summer temperature rises to more than 50 degrees. The landscape is nothing but sand. Each year, children from the ca...

One of the newest parishes in the Diocese in Europe is the Anglican Church in La Palma, a pastoral charge in our growing Archdeaconry of Gibraltar. The Revd Jennifer Elliott de Riverol is the parish priest. On this island (in the Canaries) services are now held each Sunday, enabled by the outstanding hospitality offered by the Roman Catholic Church. Our services are held in three different Roman Catholic Churches or chapels: twice each month in  San Martín de Porres , El Paso, and once a month in  Nuestra Señora de Bonanza,  also in El Paso, and in the Hospital Chapel near Santa Cruz. (Surely,  Nuestra Señora de Bonanza is the best name anywhere in the Anglican world for one of our churches!) San Martín de Porres The Hospital Chapel Nuestra Señora de Bonanza Last Sunday was a special celebration: the first confirmations since the parish was formed. The liturgy was in the delightful San Martín de Porres, located on a hill-top surrounded by pine for...

Under some shade in the patio of St Paul's Church in Athens, where the temperature was in the mid-30s, the solemn declarations and oaths required of those entering Holy Orders were taken by Christine Saccali on Sunday 3 July, the day of her ordination to the diaconate. Archdeacon of the East, the Venerable Colin Williams, was on hand to witness to these legal preliminaries to the ordination rite itself. The lessons at the ordination service were read by parish Reader Sherri and British Ambassador to Greece, HE John Kittmer. Deacon Frances Hiller, my chaplain, was the preacher for the occasion and the deacon of the mass, a most appropriate role as Frances, like Christine, was a Reader before her calling to the distinctive diaconate became clear. The heart of the ordination liturgy is the laying on of hands with prayer. But just before this moment the ordinand lies prostrate before the altar. Prostration is an ancient biblical sign of humility, attested to in ...