Eurobishop

Hilary Wild and George Blunden present Fr Malcolm to Archdeacon Vickie Sims to be inducted as Chaplain of Venice with Trieste  On Saturday 25th November a two year interregnum at St George’s, Venice and Christ Church, Trieste, drew to a close with the licensing of the Revd Canon Malcolm Bradshaw MBE as the new Chaplain. Malcolm with his wife Olga moved to Venice after almost 18 years as Senior Chaplain in Athens, Greece. The Venerable Vickie Sims, Archdeacon of Italy and Malta, presided at the licensing service. The substantial congregation in St George's included ecumenical guests from the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Waldensian and Charismatic Episcopal Churches. Pastor Bernd of the local German Lutheran Church read the Gospel at the mass. The Mayor of Calvene (the site of a substantial Commonwealth War Cemetery) and some of his fellow councillors attended. Music was provided by the Venice Music Project and Liesl Odenweller (soprano) sung Vivaldi’s sacred motet Nulla i...

Last Sunday 19 November was an unusual complete reversal of contexts for me. Normally I would be in a continental European parish, celebrating the eucharist for an English-language congregation. On Sunday, however, I was invited to preside in Italian for the Italian community which worships at St Peter's Church in Acton Green, London. The invitation originated from one of our own priests Fr Giovanni La Rosa from Randazzo Sicily, who is a friend of the Associate Vicar at St Peter's, Fr Fabrizio Pesce. Fr Giovanni was the preacher for the Italian mass. Fr Giovanni preaching Fr Fabrizio hails from Puglia and has served as a missionary in Argentina. He moved to London in 2010 and after his reception into the Church of England has been serving this west London parish. The Italian language service is relatively new. It is not a proselytising ministry at all, but in the best of the Anglican parochial tradition simply aims to live the truth that God welcomes everyone in hi...

Bishop Angaelos enthroned by Metropolitans of the Coptic Orthodox Church On 18th of November His Grace Bishop Angaelos was enthroned as the Coptic Bishop of London at St. George Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Stevenage. This was in effect also the establishment of the Diocese of London for the Coptic Church, with Bishop Angaelos now its first diocesan bishop. Many ecumenical guests attended this 3 1/2 hour service, marking what was a historic occasion for this ancient Church. The first Coptic parish in Europe was founded in London in 1954. Since then, the Church has grown to over 20,000 faithful in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Deacon Frances Hiller, Aiden Hargreaves-Smith joined me in representing our Diocese. Bishop Angaelos described his 22 years serving his Church in the UK as "the longest engagement ever". He is now officially "married" to his new diocese, and as he said, "they have me for life!" I am privileged to count Bishop Angaelos a...

Fr Peter prepares for the mass at Nazaret The Anglican parish of St Laurence in Lanzarote offers a welcome to the many visitors to the island, as well as being a warm home for the English-speaking residents and "swallows". Like so many of our parishes in Europe, members and visitors come from a diverse range of backgrounds and yet find a common home and a sense of family in our churches. There are three congregations in St Laurence parish, in Puerto del Carmen, Nazaaret and Playa Blanca. From 4 - 6 November I was on the island for a parish "check-up". Besides meetings with the priest, the Revd Fr Peter Ford OGS and the Church Council and Churchwardens, there were three Sunday eucharists, and a confirmation. Years ago, a "mystery worshipper" wrote a review of the services in Lanzarote saying they were "dinified, warm, convivial and joyous". Thankfully these words still describe the feeling at the eucharists on that weekend visit. It is ...

Edoardo guides the pilgrims through the Vatican Museums 17 people from the parish of St Thomas a Becket in Hamburg recently made a pilgrimage to Rome. From 23 to 28 October, led by their priest, the Revd Canon Dr Leslie Nathaniel, the pilgrims who aged from 17 to 70 visited many of the Christian sites as well as the ancient monuments of the Eternal City. I was pleased to be able to accompany the pilgrims for a couple of days, as I was in Rome for other meetings at that time. One of our postulants for Holy Orders, Edoardo Fanfani, from All Saints Rome, who is a student at the Pontifical Gregorian University studying art history was able to be the guide for the group. Edoardo knows just about everything there is to know about Rome, her buildings, her art, her monuments, and links all this to the Christian presence and life in this his native city. Fr Leslie Nathaniel at the Papal General Audience Among the highlights of the pilgrimage was a visit to the Anglican Centre in ...