Eurobishop

The Revd Canon Malcom Bradshaw, the Chaplain of St George's Venice, continues to lead the chaplaincy forward in its growing ecumenical commitment. Fr Malcolm has sent me this report on an important anniversary of interchurch life celebrated in St George's.   _______________________________________________________________________________ ‘Rejoicing in the work of the Spirit’ was the theme of an ecumenical service compiled and hosted by St George’s Anglican Church in Venice. It was held in the evening of Thursday 24 th May to mark the 25 th anniversary of the founding of the ‘Council of Churches in Venice’. The service took the form of a Liturgy of the Word, including the  reading  the Pentecost narrative  in a variety of languages. Other elements of the liturgy came from the rich and varied traditions of the Christian Churches, in several languages. F or example, the service included a Pentecost Troparion ( liturgical hymn )   from the Roma...

Ascension Day this year was especially joyful as I visited St George's Malaga for confirmations. There were 7 candidates who had been prepared by the Revd Doreen Cage, the Assistant Curate, and the Revd Gilly Pawson, honorary assistant priest. St George's is the oldest Anglican Church in mainland Spain and over the years has given birth to the other chaplaincies along the Costa del Sol from Estepona to Almuñécar. Today it is a multicultural congregation, with members from the USA, Canada, Spain, Ireland, the UK and Nigeria among other countries.   Candidates lead in song Frequently part of the confirmation mass includes a moment when the candidates speak a word or two of testimony, witnessing to the reasons why they are taking this step. In St George's, the candidates led the congregation in song instead. Bearing witness is not always about words! A festive gathering in the patio concluded the celebration. Unknown to the parishioners, earlier tha...

With the bottle of water from the Jordan River A recent confirmation service in the parish of SS Peter and Paul, Torrevieja, Spain, was special in two ways. First of all the water that was used for the recalling of baptism was from the Jordan river itself. One of the candidates was given this as a gift to mark the occasion. The gathering at the font is a key part of the rite of confirmation, when those already baptised sign themselves with the water to remind them of their baptismal covenant and that moment when they were born anew in Christ. Secondly, a candidate, Carole, from the neighbouring parish (2 hours away!), Costa Almería, joined the candidates from Torrevieja. Carole has mobility challenges which unfortunately prevented her from being able to attend her planned confirmation in her home chaplaincy, but was able to receive the sacrament in Torrevieja, joined by friends from Costa Almería who accompanied her.  Torrevieja Chaplaincy is known for its warm...

Canon Ormrod, Sandra Wrightson, Fr Seabrook On Saturday 19th May, the UK Ambassador to Spain, HE Mr Simon Manley CMG, hosted a garden party for the Royal Wedding. Quite to their surprise, three members of our Gibraltar Archdeaconry Synod who were present were awarded certificates by the ambassador to acknowledge their contributions to the British communities in Spain, where they live, work and serve. The three honoured were the Revd Canon Paul Ormrod (Madrid), the Revd Fr Richard Seabrook SSC, (Torrevieja) and Sandra Wrightson (Nerja). With HE the UK Ambassador This award was completely unexpected, and the recipients feel very honoured indeed. It is good to know that the UK Embassy is aware of the vital role our congregations in Spain play in serving the large numbers of UK citizens in the country. Of course, we serve people of dozens of nationalities, but in Spain there are over 300,000 UK citizens resident full-time and so many of them look to our Churches for pastoral care...

Rosemary Selle with Candidate Danny The English Church in Heidelberg is currently without a resident priest (we are actively recruiting) but that has not stopped the growth in faith among members of the congregation. Reader Rosemary Selle recently prepared a candidate for confirmation and presented him to me at a recent parish visit. Testimonies are frequently given by the candidates for the sacrament of Confirmation, but in Heidelberg something different happened, which moved us all. A prayer was prayed for Danny, which had been composed by his big sister Divya. I post it below. It is beautiful. Danny’s confirmation prayer written by his sister Divya : Dear God, Thank you for letting us all come and gather here today, under your watchful eye. Thank you for guiding my brother all through his life and for staying with him through all these years both as a mentor and as a friend to turn to in times of need. We are unendingly grateful to you, Oh Lord, for bringing my brother to ...

Catherine Jackson and Bishop Michael Curry It is surprising news that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have asked the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church USA, the Most Revd Michael Curry, to preach at their wedding this Saturday. Many in the Church of England may not even have heard of him. However, he is known to this diocese in Europe, and we are known to him. When Catherine Jackson (former Appointments Secretary) and I had discussions with colleagues in New York about recruitment and appointments, Bishop Michael made himself available to us and was genuinely interested in the work and mission of our Diocese in Europe and fully supportive of it. He was pleased to know of the many priests of the Episcopal Church USA who have served or are serving congregations of our diocese, or who are on our extensive locum list.  We found Bishop Michael to be a most warm and engaging person. I have never heard him preach, but he has a reputation of being one of the Communion's best pr...

Last year over 300,000 pilgrims from around the world arrived in Santiago de Compostela. Today, 13 May, marked the launch of a new ministry to Anglican pilgrims in Santiago. The  Camino de Santiago Chaplaincy  is an initiative of the Rev Alasdair Kay from the Diocese of Derby working with Archdeacon Geoff Johnston of Gibraltar and myself as lead bishop for the Archdeaconry of Gibraltar. We are blessed with the presence of a local coordinator, Sybille Yates, who is based in the city and who will oversee the arrangements for Anglican clergy and volunteers on the ground from her home which she has named the House of Egeria, after the remarkable 4th century woman pilgrim to Jerusalem.  Egeria House is a short stroll from the Cathedral All priests have Permission to Officiate for this work, and have accommodation provided in Santiago. During this seasonal ministry they provide pastoral care and support for pilgrims and celebrate the Holy Eucharist on Sundays and oth...

The Revd Deacon Christine Saccali Deacon Christine Saccali, assistant curate at St Paul's Athens, had the honour of leading a liturgy of remembrance at the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery to the south of Athens on 10th of May. Not an unusual assignment for one of our clergy - except that this event was part of an official visit of HRH the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. Deacon Christine was presented to Prince Charles who asked her about the location of our Church in Athens. Christine replied "right in the centre of Athens near Syntagma in all the chaos and confusion which is where it needs to be." His Royal Highness then asked, "Do you get a good congregation?", to which Deacon Christine answered, "Yes, as well as visitors and pilgrims in the steps of St Paul." Earlier in the day the Prince of Wales had visited Archbishop Ieronymous of Athens at the Holy Synod. There they talked about Mt Athos, where the Prince has freq...

Director of the Anglican Centre Arcbishop Bernard Ntahoturi is introduced to the Pope by Archbishop Welby The Diocese in Europe is privileged to have in our midst the Anglican Centre in Rome (ACR). I say "in our midst" because even though located in the heart of Rome the ACR is a centre and a resource which belongs to the entire Anglican Communion. It was established over 50 years ago, following the historic encounter between Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey. Its Director, the Most Revd Bernard Ntahoturi, is the Archbishop of Canterbury's personal representative to the Holy See. It is a living symbol of our whole Communion's commitment to the full visible unity of the Church and is at the forefront of our global relations with the Roman Catholic Church in particular. As the Anglican Co-Chairman of IARCCUM (the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission) I have the honour of serving on the Board of Governors of the ACR. Archbis...

Canon Nathaniel with his colleague planners of Meissen Unplugged The Revd Canon Dr Leslie Nathaniel of St Thomas Becket Anglican Church in Hamburg recently participated in the planning of a major ecumenical consultation called Meissen Unplugged . (The Meissen Agreement between the German Protestant Churches (EKD) and the Church of England permits eucharistic hospitality between the two traditions, but not interchangeability of ministers).  The Meissen Unplugged consultation enabled English and German Church partners to look to new initiatives and opportunities for shared mission in the context of the social and political changes in Europe. It was a fruitful engagement and the results of the exploration will be fed into the formal Meissen Commission. Some key challenges that the consultation addressed included: the looming fact of becoming a minority church in both Germany and England how to respond to populist movements of division and separation; what is the prophet...