Eurobishop

The joy of the day can be found on the Pope’s face. Father Jonathan Boardman, the Chaplain of All Saints Anglican Church in Rome, several years ago, invited the Pope to come to the church as part of the 200th anniversary of the Anglican community in the city. It is a tribute to Fr Jonathan that this visit has come about and we are thankful to him, his Churchwardens and the many volunteers who prepared for the day and who took part in the service. Indeed the occasion has taken on an international and ecumenical importance. It was an unprecedented moment. This was the first time a Pope has visited an Anglican parish church. Pope John Paul II visited Canterbury cathedral. Pope Benedict visited Westminster Abbey. But the visit of Pope Francis to All Saints Church on Sunday has made ecumenical history. And from the smile on the pope’s face it was clear that he was delighted to be making that history. During the service the Pope blessed an icon of our Saviour. He referred to this i...

On Sunday evening in London, the Revd Tony Currer, who is the Official for Relations with Anglicans and Methodists at the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity was made an Ecumenical Canon of Southwark Cathedral. For Anglicans Fr Tony is very much "our man at the Vatican" and is a close colleague on much of our ecumenical work, including IARCCUM, the International Anglican Roman-Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission, which I co-chair, and ARCIC. He is co-secretary to both commissions. But beyond these two major international commissions, Canon Currer is key to all our work at the heart of the Roman Catholic Church. A good example of this is his invaluable support and guidance to us as we prepare for the visit of Pope Francis to All Saints Church in Rome this coming Sunday. We congratulate Canon Currer on this appointment. It speaks of our gratitude as Anglicans for his care for our international relations with the Catholic Church, and is also sign of our deep f...

The  There are very few places in our diocese directly connected to events in the New Testament: Rome, Athens, Thessaloniki of course. But also significantly Malta, the home of one of our Pro-Cathedrals. The Patronal Feast of our Pro-Cathedral of St Paul in Valletta, Malta, is the feast of Shipwreck of St Paul. St Paul is considered to be the spiritual father of the Maltese and his shipwreck recorded in The Acts of the Apostles Chapters 27 and 28. He stayed 3 months on the island bringing the Christian message to the inhabitants.The Feast is a national holiday in Malta. The celebrations are very Mediterranean, with a moving procession of a (2 ton) statue of the Apostle through the streets of Old Valletta. It is a wonderful expression of what sociologists of religion call "popular religiosity". For me it was a clear sign of deep, joyous even infectious faith among the people of the island. In fact, several of the Anglicans present remarked that it was a visible...

Fr Tuomas Mäkipää The Revd Tuomas Mäkipää is Chaplain of St Nicholas's Helsinki, Area Dean for Finland, a member of General Synod and Chair of the House of Clergy of this Diocese in Europe. Yesterday the General Synod motion to take note of the House of Bishops' Report on "Marriage and Same Sex Relationships After the Shared Conversations" was lost in the House of Clergy, and therefore the motion fell. Fr Tuomas has written this helpful explanatory note below to the clergy of the diocese, and asks that it be shared with the members of their congregations. __________________________________________________________ Dear fellow Clergy I believe I do not need to explain in detail the very mixed response to the House of Bishops' Report MARRIAGE AND SAME SEX RELATIONSHIPS AFTER THE SHARED CONVERSATIONS. 'Taking note' is a synodical procedure which is a way to introduce documents to the Synod thus allowing them to be used as a source, or basis, fo...

St Mark's in Florence has been serving the English language population of Tuscany and the many visitors to the area for over 132 years. The Sunday Sung High Mass is at the centre of the parish's active liturgical life. But St Mark’s is also home to a thriving and extensive music and cultural scene, with its own choir (St Mark's Cantorum), St Mark's Opera, many concerts performed by visiting choirs and musicians, and literary events. The parish is promoting a particularly interesting project entitled "Dignity through Art". Through this project, the needs of those in Florence who are marginalised, homeless or needy are given a voice and a platform for their skills to be shared, and for their stories to be heard. Many, whose voices are silenced by their circumstances, are given, through this project, space to recover their dignity as human persons. On 5 February, I joined the congregation for the feast of Candlemas and administered the sacrament of ...

Sessions of the Gibraltar Archdeaconry Synod were held from 31 Jan to 3 Feb in Torrevieja, Spain. The Archdeaconry includes, Spain, (with the Balearic and Canary Islands), Portugal (with Madeira), Morocco and Andorra. The Archdeaconry continues to grow; this year the first resident priest and parish reps from the new congregation of St James's Fuerteventura participated. Sessions covered a range of issues from support for clergy facing problems with addiction and alcohol, communications and media strategy, environmental issues, the Pilgrim Course, and safeguarding. Bible Studies were led by the Revd Dr Richard Briggs of Cranmer Hall, Durham. Bishop Jack Nicholls (retired from Sheffield) provided inspirational reflections on mission and the Church's role. During the course of the Synod, Paul Turner was admitted by Archdeacon Geoff Johnston to the office of Reader and licensed for this lay ministry in the parish of St Christopher's Costa Azahar. Director of Reader Ministr...

Fr Simon with one of his African migrant parishioners Since the late 1990s a growing phenomenon in Morocco has been the arrival of vast numbers of sub-Saharan migrants and refugees. Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches in Casablanca and Tangier have been faced with this challenge, and now a new partnership is emerging between the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tangier and our historic Anglican Church of St Andrew in the city. A meeting with some migrants in St Andrew's Because of its proximity to Spain - just twelve miles across treacherous straits - and with a land borders close by to the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, Tangier has become very much a magnet to thousands of young Sub-Saharan Africans seeking a better life.  With memories of civil wars, drought, poverty, persecution and the devastation caused by the Ebola Crisis fresh in their minds, these young people - many of them illiterate - make an extremely dangerous journey up the West Coast of Africa, or trekkin...

The Archdeacons and Area Deans work closely with the Bishops and the Appointments Secretary in all that pertains to clergy appointments in this Diocese in Europe. A training day for them was recently led by Claire Pedrick, author of an invaluable book entitled How to Make Great Appointments in the Church.  It was encouraging to hear so many of our Area Deans and Archdeacons agreeing that the present system and process of appointments is largely working well, and is well supported by our staff, particularly Catherine Jackson, the Appointments Secretary.  From the wide international experience of our Senior Staff, there were clear testimonies that the Diocese in Europe is much better at the complicated business of appointments than many other dioceses and other parts of the Anglican Communion. Ms Catherine Jackson, Appointments Secretary Nevertheless, with all aspects of life in the Church, there is always room to improve some things, and to learn some new approach...