Eurobishop

The Revd Torbjørn Holt, the Norwegian priest in London, and a good friend of this Diocese in Europe, celebrated the 25th anniversary of his ordination as a priest in the Church of Norway last Monday 25 June at the Sjømannskirken in London. The special mass was celebrated by Fr Torbjørn according to the rite of the Scottish Episcopal Church, to recall that part of the UK where he first ministered. In his homily, Torbjørn remembered with affection and gratitude Bishop Per Lønning who ordained him in Fana Church in Bergen. Colleagues and friends (incluing three Anglican Bishops - Southwark, Croydon and myself) joined Fr Torbjørn for the service, and for a splendid Norwegian summer supper in the newly renovated front garden of the church in Bermondsey. The Revd Canon Jonathan Boardman, who is just finishing his ministry as Chaplain of All Saints Rome, and a close friend of Fr Torbjørn, was the assistant priest at the mass. Gratulerer , Torbjørn!

St Edmund's Church in Oslo describes itself as a community of "tremendous diversity, with people from all ages, many races and nations, and social backgrounds....include single people, families, refugees, ex-pats, and long-established citizens of our host country". The Chaplain is the Revd Darren McCallig, who began his ministry here in October last year (having been previously in St Alban's Copenhagen). A recent parish visit included a celebration of the sacraments of baptism and confirmation, with candidates from English, Sri Lankan/Norwegian and Ugandan backgrounds. Perfect to include a priest who is Irish and a bishop who is Scottish/Burmese! Following the mass there was a splendid parish barbecue, unfortunately, in the rain! But spirits were far from dampened, and the international nature of the chaplaincy family was celebrated boldly with flags decorating the garden where the gathering was held. I was able to catch up with a couple recently moved to ...

Guy Diakiese, Jean-Bosco Turahirwa, Giampaolo Pancetti It is the time of ordinations across the Church, once again, and in the Diocese in Europe the following persons are being ordained this weekend: The Revd Guy Diakiese (to continue to serve as assistant curate, St John and St Philip, the  Hague) to be ordained to the Sacred Order of Priest by Bishop Robert on Saturday 30 June at 11.00 in St John and St Philip Church in the Hague. Sacred Order of Priest Mr Jean-Bosco Turahirwa   (to serve as assistant curate, Holy Trinity Pro-Cathedral, Brussels) to be ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacon by Bishop Robert on Sunday 1 July at 1030 in Holy Trinity Brussels. Mr Giampaolo Pancetti (to serve as assistant curate in St Mark’s, Florence) to be ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacon by Bishop David on Sunday 1 July at 1630 in St Mark's Church Florence. All are warmly invited to attend these celebrations. Clergy and Readers are invited to robe and join in pro...

The recently ordained clergy of the Diocese continue in their Post Ordination Training programme, under the supervision of the Revd Canon Ulla Monberg, the Director of Ministerial Development. (The current short-hand for Post Ordination Training in the Church of England is "IME Phase 2). The topics covered in the last residential sessions held at St Columba's House in Woking, were "Conflict Resolution" led by Liz Griffiths from Bridge Builders,  and "Making Effective Use of Media and Communication" with our Diocesan Communications Officer, Liz Hudson. The present curates come from Athens, Bordeaux, the Hague, Paris, Kortrijk, Trondheim and Vienna. After this weekend's ordinations, they will be joined by new curates from Brussels and Florence.

The London and Southwark Diocesan Chapters of the Company of Servers gathered recently at St Saviour's Pimlico for their Summer Festival meeting. It was a service of Choral Evensong and Benediction, at which I had the joy of being the preacher. Fr Matthew Catterick, the Vicar of St Saviour's, hosted the event. The ministry of server is an important lay ministry in the Church. As I said in my sermon, I understand that just as servers have the privilege of honouring Christ present in the sacraments and the sacred assembly in the liturgy, through bearing lights, censing the gifts and the people, in dignified processions, in preparing the altar for the sacred meal etc., so they can be first among the laity in the world, serving Christ who is present in everyone we meet, and honouring his beloved children. The "Liturgy after the Liturgy" the Orthodox call this. We do not have a chapter of the Company of Servers in the Diocese in Europe. As the organisation describe...

It is with great sadness that I announce the death of the Revd Joseph James Ponic. Known to everyone as Fr Joe, he died on 20 June in Saskatoon, Canada, after a brief illness. Fr Joe was a past Chaplain of St Andrew’s Tangier, and a priest who had served on our Diocesan Locum List for a number of years. He considered this diocese to be part of his family. Joe was a citizen of the USA by birth and of Canada by adoption. He had a long ministry as a priest, first in the Roman Catholic Church, then in the Anglican Church of Canada where he rejoiced in its blend of tradition and openness.  In his own words, Fr Joe described the Anglican Church as “a wide gate that led to a nurturing environment”.  In his ministerial life he had specialised in what we now call “interim ministry”, using his gifts in helping parishes through times of change and transition. He also had a distinguished career as a teacher. Fr Joe’s term in Tangier was at the time of a marked increase in the mig...

On 11 June, the Feast of St Barnabas, the Revd Canon Gordon Reid celebrated 50 years as a priest in God's Church. The occasion was marked by a High Mass in St Mark's Philadelphia, at which I was privileged to be the preacher. The church was full for the celebration, at which the Bishop of Pennsylvania, the Rt Revd Daniel Gutierrez, presided "from the throne". Fr Gordon was ordained in Edinburgh and has served there and in Salisbury and Inverness. In the Diocese in Europe he has served in Ankara, Izmir, Stockholm, Gibraltar (as Dean), Milan (as Archdeacon of Italy and Malta) and London (as Vicar General). From Europe he moved to Philadelphia where he was Rector of St Clement's Church for many years. Fr Gordon has retired from stipendiary ministry but is still very active. Bishop Gutierrez has made him Dean of Southwark (a deanery in the Philadelphia, pronounced "South-Wark") and presently Fr Gordon is providing priestly cover for St Mary'...

St Alban's Anglican Church in Copenhagen describes itself as a growing, diverse and inclusive Christian community. I can certainly attest to this being the case from my many years of episcopal oversight of this parish. Children and adults from every part of the world form the congregation, united by Eucharistic worship in English, according to the rites of the Church of England. The diversity contributes to making St Alban's a parish rich with varied gifts.  The ministry team itself is very diverse. A new chaplain has just arrived, the Revd Smitha Prasadam. Smitha comes originally from Bangalore India. On my parish visit last weekend, which had been arranged about a year ago for confirmations, Smitha had not yet even been licenced. (That will happen this coming Saturday at a service at which Archdeacon Colin Williams will preside). Smitha has two priests who assist her in an auxiliary capacity, one is a Dane but a priest of the Church of England, none other than our ow...

Bishops lining up for the procession The Most Revd Tapio Luoma was installed as Archbishop of Turku, in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF), in the 13th century cathedral in Turku on 3 June. The new Archbishop succeeds Archbishop Kari Mäkinen, a good friend, whom Colleen and I ran into, looking understandably relaxed, as he was enjoying his first day of retirement! Archbishop Tapio Luoma Archbishop Kari Mäkinen and Mrs Mäkinen  The senior bishop in the Church of Finland, Bishop Samuel Salmi of Oulu presided at the installation mass for Archbishop Tapio, and blessed and commissioned him through a ceremony of laying on of hands, assisted by Archbishop Emeritus Anders Wejryd from the Church of Sweden, Bishop Helga Haugland Byfuglien from the Church of Norway, Bishop Peter Skov-Jakobsen from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark, Bishop Agnes Sigurdardottir from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland, Archbishop Urmas Viilma from the Estonian ...

On 30 June the Revd Canon Jonathan Boardman takes leave of his post as Chaplain of All Saints Anglican Church in Rome to assume a new position as Vicar of St Paul’s Clapham. Fr Jonathan has been serving in Rome for 19 years. In addition to his parochial responsibilities, he has been a key player in the rich ecumenical environment in the Italian capital. He has also served as Archdeacon of Italy and Malta for 9 years and guided Anglican life in the Archdeaconry through some major developments, including the legal recognition in Italy of the Church of England. He has also in the past as senior tutor for courses at the Anglican Centre in Rome, for 10 years. It has indeed been a rich ministry in Rome.  On 6 June Fr Jonathan’s colleagues from many churches hosted a service of evensong to thank him for his ecumenical leadership in Rome. The service was in the Roman Catholic Church of St Francesco Saverio (St Francis Xavier) del Caravita ,  a 17th-century baroque oratory in R...

The article below is not directly connected to the work of the Diocese in Europe, but is a project to which I am indirectly linked through my co-chairmanship of the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission, IARCCUM, which has endorsed this ground-breaking work. But furthermore  this programme could not have happened without the active leadership of Anglicans in Rome, Fawn and Ken White, and long-time friends of our Diocese, namely Archbishop Sir David Moxon (former Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome), and Fr Keith Peckers SJ, (Director of the Caravita Community in Rome).  The project is an outstanding witness to fruitful Anglican-Roman Catholic cooperation, jointly serving the poor. I hope will be an encouragement to other projects and programmes, whether great or small, which demonstrate Anglican and RC commitment to working and witnessing together throughout the world.  ________________________________________________________...