Ecumenical meetings in Venice

Fr Malcolm Bradshaw and Fr Castro Adiebah


I was marooned for a few more days in Italy than I had counted on, due to changing COVID quarantine requirements imposed by Italy after I arrived for some parish visits. A return to the UK (with the usual quarantine) then a return to Milan for in time for ordinations, with a newly imposed Italian quarantine, was going to be impossible. 

But it was far from lost time, as I was able to touch base with several of our parishes in Italy duing these days, including Venice. Fr Malcolm Bradshaw, the Chaplain of St George's, was able to introduce me to a Ghanaian priest from the Anglican Diocese of Sekondi, who has been sponsored to do a masters degree in ecumenism, at the prestigious Ecumenical Institute of Venice. Fr Castro Adiebah is clearly an emerging young African theologian, and it is very good to be able to give him an Anglican home in Venice during his studies. 


It was also good to have a chance to have a meeting with Metropolitan Polykarpos, the Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in Italy. His Eminence was previously the Metropolitan of Spain and Portugal, where we shared many ecumenical ventures.

Metropolitan Polykarpos

Excellent relations in Venice are maintained with the (RC) Patriarchate. Don Angelo Pagan is the Vicar General of the Patriarchate of Venice and has the additional role of being the equivalent of an English Catheral Precentor, but in the great basilica of San Marco, the musical home of Giovanni Gabrieli and Claudio Monteverdi!

Don Angelo Pagan, right


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