Eurobishop

23 persons from across the diocese met last weekend under the direction of our Director of Ordinands, Fr William Gulliford, to explore what it means to be called to the Sacred Ministry in the Church of England. Fr William was assisted in this task with a team of clergy (some who were former ordinands from this diocese), current ordinands themselves, and members of our Diocesan Ministry Team. Parish visits were arranged to 5 very different communities in London. The intensive three days covered a range of essential topics such as: the discernment, selection, training and deployment processes in the Church of England,  the nature of obedience and authority under which clergy live their vocation  spiritual resources for preparing for the vocational journey the Diocese in Europe's unique history and role in the Church of England the Anglican Communion's 5 marks of mission issues in human sexuality the ministry of priest and deacon  Those on this exploratory w...

As readers of Eurobishop will know, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2018 has just come to a close. In Venice it has truly been an exhilarating experience, reports the Chaplain Fr Malcolm Bradshaw. During the course of the week services were held in thirteen churches of different denominations and all well attended – up to eighty people plus. An exchange of pulpits occurred with no hesitation for an elder of the Waldensian/Methodist Church to preach in the Greek Orthodox Cathedral, a Lutheran pastor in St Mark’s Basilica, a Roman Catholic priest in the Romanian Orthodox Church. Evensong was held in St George’s Anglican Church and was honoured by the presence of the Ecumenical Secretary of the Patriarch for Venice, Don Francesco. He delivered the sermon. Local Catholic clergy and religious were in attendance. Fr Malcolm was invited to preach in the Roman Catholic parish church of St Hilary, Malcontenta, on the mainland from Venice. The service was supported by a choir of yo...

Isten hozott - Welcome! Or more precisely "God brought you here" were the words that greeted me on my recent pastoral visit to St Margaret of Scotland Chaplaincy in Budapest. The Sunday Eucharist, despite heavy snow, was well attended by adults and children. (There is an active Sunday School). Hungary seems to be a country particularly blessed with musical talent, and this is put to good use in the Sunday sung mass. The Revd Dr Frank Frank Hegedűs is the parish priest. Fr Frank was born in the USA and has ministered in Los Angeles, San Diego, Michigan and Minnesota. Of Hungarian and Polish extraction, he is also a citizen of Hungary, and very much at home in our international diocese, and in this international parish with members from Africa, North America, Europe and the UK. Fr Frank is also an Area Dean in the Eastern Archdeaconry. Saint Margaret of Scotland, by the way, was an English princess, born in Hungary in the 11th century, when her family was in exile. She lat...

Mother Teodora is 6th from the left next to Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture. One of our clergy in Italy, the Revd Mother Teodora Tosatti, has been invited in her capacity as a Biblical theologian, to be part of the Biblical Apostolate Sector of the Archdiocese of Perugia. This is a significant ecumenical development and is a wonderful testimony to Dr Tosatti's own scholarship, and her ecumenical commitment. The Biblical Apostolate Sector ( Settore di Apostolato Biblico) was established in 2016 by decree of the Archbishop of Perugia, HE Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti. The Apostolate seeks to promote Biblical knowledge at every level of the Church, deepening the understanding of God's Word for the Christian life, through the sacred liturgy, catechesis, prayer and study. We are honoured that one of our own priests, Mtr Teodora, is part of this great initiative. She is seen in these photos with Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President o...

Fr Frank Hegedűs with Lutheran Bishop Tamás Fabiny in St Stephen's Basilica It was a joy to join Fr Frank Hegedűs at the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity service in the beautiful St Stephen's Basilica in Budapest on Sunday 21st January. Cardinal Péter Erdő presided and representatives of more than ten church communities from across Hungary and the world participated. There was a significant representation of Christians from the Middle East including Bishop William Shomali the Latin Rite Patriarchal Vicar in Jordan, and a very dear friend for many years, Archbishop Paul Sayah, the Vicar General of the Maronite Patriarchate based in Beirut. Archbishop Paul is also one of the IARCCUM bishops-at-large. (IARCCUM is the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission). Archbishop Paul Sayah Most Christians in Hungary are Roman Catholic. The Reformed and the Lutheran Churches are significant minorities. Interestingly the Reformed (Calvinists) in...

Dr Clare Amos is our Diocesan Director of Lay Discipleship. She is also a theologian, an experienced partner in the area of interfaith dialogue, and someone who knows the Holy Land and its Holy City Jerusalem intimately.  Readers of Eurobishop will find a recent blog article written by Dr Amos for the Anglican Communion News Service to be a moving account of some of the depth of feeling in Jerusalem at present, particularly now that the  search for peace with justice for all its inhabitants has been made potentially more difficult and complex by the recent decision of President Donald Trump to move the US embassy to Israel there from Tel Aviv.  Read Clare’s article here I would also highly recommend a short book written by Clare on Jerusalem, published by the World Council of Churches and widely available, including through Amazon. It is entitled Peace-ing Together Jerusalem . Clare’s biblical scholarship and her own experience of life in Jeruslam makes this compelling re...

A significant moment in the history of the mother Church of the Diocese will take place on 13 January. The organ in the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, Gibraltar, is due to be rededicated following major refurbishment over the past year. The organ is a significant part of Gibraltar’s musical heritage as it is the largest instrument of its kind in the territory. Of course, this fine instrument is far more than a historical artefact. The organ is vital in the worship of the Cathedral where the liturgy, rooted in the great tradition of the Church, is celebrated in a way that seeks to mediate the transcendence which so many in today’s world are seeking and which can be found in our Anglican sacramental and Eucharistic life.  The refurbishment was supervised by the Diocesan Organ Advisor, Mr Adrian Mumford, (who is known to many in the diocese in his previous role as Diocesan Secretary).  On Saturday 13 January a special service will be held to hallow the refurbished instrume...