Eurobishop

The congregation of Christ the King in Tampere was established as a joint ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Diocese in Europe back in 2006. Both the Finnish Church and our own see this as a concrete way to put the Porvoo Agreement into action. The Church now has a very interesting outreach to the neighbourhood in Tampere, especially with younger folk and students. The congregation members are a very international group from Finland, other parts of Europe including the UK, Africa and Asia. Fr Tuomas Mäkipää, the Chaplain of Helsinki, and Area Dean of Finland, oversees the Anglican collaboration in Christ the King.  Fr Amos Manga, an assistant priest in the Anglican Church in Finland, lives in Tampere and has a particular relationship to this congregation which ministers to many from the South Sudanese community, most of whom were refugees who were welcomed to Finland close to 2 decades ago. Fr Amos Manga and Bishop and Mrs Repo I was able to preside...

  The Nordic/Baltic synod met in Copenhagen from 29 September to 1 October. This is one of the most scattered of our deaneries. Clergy and lay representatives came together from our chaplaincies from Iceland to Estonia. Archdeacon Leslie Nathaniel chaired the synod.   Bible studies were led by Bishop Jana Jeruma-Grinberga. The synod theme was “called to be peacemakers”. As is happening a lot these days, virtually every place I go, there was a time for me to hear very generous words (and receive some very beautiful gifts) from the gathering, marking my upcoming retirement on 29 February. I am deeply moved by all the kind words that synod members have shared, both in the Italy/Malta and Nordic/Baltic gatherings.  The closing service was in St Alban’s Church, again with some words of thanks and farewell from members (and an Indian shawl as a mark of gratitude).  I will miss you all.

  On Saturday 22 April, the Church of St Edmund’s Oslo, with its Chaplain the Revd Canon Joanna Udal participated in a city-centre ecumenical event designed to bring the quite secular Norwegians back into touch with their Church once again. The Cathedral in Oslo and two other parish Churches hosted celebrations highlighting history, culture, music, and, importantly, the Church’s work to combat environmental degradation and to encourage interfaith understanding and respect.  Canon Udal was able to speak to the gathering and bring Anglican greetings to this important event.  I was pleased to be able to have conversations with Bishop Kari Veiteberg of Oslo, who is a leading voice for the social justice work of the Church. The weekend was principally for pastoral duties, at St Edmund’s for baptisms and confirmations and in Bragernes Church in the city of Drammen, for the confirmation of members of the South Sudanese Maban Community, a community of refugees who are largely of ...

Casablanca: St John the Evangelist I often say to the congregations of the Diocese that the most important thing I do as a bishop is make new disciples and strengthen existing ones through the sacraments of initiation. In the Church of England it is a norm that the bishop presides at the baptism of adults , so that at the one liturgy the fulness of the initiation sacraments can be celebrated, as indeed they once were in the ancient Church: baptism, confirmation (or chrismation/laying on of hands) and Holy Communion. Those are very special and powerful moments indeed.  Oslo: St Edmund's But more frequently, my episcopal visits involve confirmations alone for those baptised in infancy, confirmation being the one part of Christian Initiation which has been reserved to bishops in the tradition of the Church of England. But even when separated in time from baptism, the sacrament of confirmation is understood to be a continuance of what has begun in baptism, celebrating what the Holy Spi...

This is the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Porvoo Agreement which brought Churches of Lutheran and Anglican tradition in the British Isles, Ireland and the Nordic and Baltic states into communion. The Nordic and Baltic Deanery which met in Finland decided to mark this silver jubilee with a special pilgrimage to Porvoo itself, to celebrate a festive mass in the Cathedral, together with the Bishop of Porvoo, the Rt Revd Dr Åstrand and members of the chapter of the cathedral.  Archdeacon Leslie Nathaniel preaching at the Porvoo Cathedral Bishop Bo-Göran assisting with Holy Communion Our own Archdeacon of Germany and Northern Europe, the Very Revd Dr Leslie Nathaniel was the preacher. Fr Leslie is a former Anglican Co-Secretary of the Porvoo Contact Group. He was able to place this historic agreement among Northern European Churches within the wider context of the journey of Christians to fuller unity, including the ground-breaking estabishment of the Church of South India in 1...

The former prison, now Hotel Katajanokka In these days when "setting God's people free" is a phrase used in Church of England programmes, the Synod of the Nordic and Baltic Deanery met in a place which was a prison from 1749 to 2002! Katajanokka reopened as a hotel in 2007 and provided a very congenial venue for the clergy and laity from Iceland to Estonia to meet for prayer, deliberation, decision and community from 7 to 10 October. Far from feeling imprisoned, the Synod was a time when we felt a liberation from the necessary contraints of the past year and a half. As it was the first of any synod gatherings in the Diocese to meet physically since the start of the pandemic, there was much to catch up on together. (A few members did participate by zoom). Clergy and laity shared much of what has been learned in the past 18 months, including, obviously, how services but also educational work such as confirmation preparation and certain kinds of meetings such as Church Counc...

This has been a sad week in the Diocese in Europe. Two great pioneers of our work, one in Finland, and the other in Poland died in the last couple of days.  Mr Geoffrey Phillips receiving the Maundy Money in Westminster Abbey Mr Geoffrey Phillips died on 16 November after a long struggle with cancer. He served the Anglican Church in Finland for many years as a Reader (Licensed Lay Minister) in particular supporting the work of the English speaking congregation in Turku where he lived. He was an enthusiastic promotor of the Porvoo Agreement, and our good relations in Turku are due, in no small measure, to the respect with which he was held by our Church in Finland partners over the 25 years of the Agreement.  He was generous in every way to the Anglican work in Finland, and we thank God for his faithful and loving ministry, and for his kind consideration of the future of our work there. The Chaplain of St Nicholas Helsinki and Area Dean for Finland, the Revd Tuomas Mäkipää...

Sad news from Fr Tuomas Mäkipää, Area Dean of Finland, concerning Emmanuel Eneh, Reader: _____________________________________________________________ Emmanuel Eneh RIP It is with great sadness that I have learnt the news about the death of Emmanuel Eneh. Emmanuel passed away on Thursday, 23rd April 2020. Emmanuel was a long-standing member of the Anglican Church in Finland and had a significant lay ministry at the International Congregation of Christ the King in Tampere. He served many years as an Anglican Licensed Lay Reader, working together with the priests of the Lutheran Parishes in Tampere in providing pastoral and liturgical ministry to the international church community, gathering in Vanha kirkko in Tampere. His commitment to the implementation of Porvoo Agreement (between Anglican and Lutheran Churches), and his service to the wider community by participating in local politics in Tampere, were a source of inspiration for many. Emmanuel remained as ...

Fr Parvez is blessed for his new ministry, Fr Tuomas Mäkipää looks on The job of any bishop includes personnel management, pastoral care, many meetings and much administration (the latter two these days particularly to do with safeguarding). That is not to mention conflict resolution. It sormetimes feels like my desk is a magnet for complaints and negativity. Overall there is rarely a pause in the work; as Deacon Frances Hiller my chaplain says, "it never slows down!".  But the most important things I do are also the most joyful: being with God's people together with their priests, deacons and lay ministers, celebrating the sacraments of the new covenant and teaching the faith to so many people.   It is a huge privilege to preside at the sacraments of initiation, to baptise new Christians, to confirm those who have been previously baptised and who seek to be renewed and strengthened by the Holy Spirit for Christian discipleship.  A recent parish v...

The home of our Chuch of England congregation in Bergen Norway is the 12 century  Mariakirken (St Mary's Church). It is not only the oldest Church but the oldest building in the city, dating from some time between 1130 and 1170.   This ancient Church was the venue for the ordination of the newest deacon in our diocese, the Revd Kirk Weisz. On St Lucy's Day, (Friday 13 December), the congregation gathered to celebrate this joyful step in Kirk's journey towards priesthood.  Archdeacon Leslie presents the ordinand Kirk has for many years been a minister of the Presbyterian Church, USA. His discernment to embrace Anglican orders, supported by our Director of Ordinands and the Candidate's Panel of the Church of England's Ministry Division, is in direct continuity with his flourishing pastoral ministry, as was pointed out by the preacher at the service, the Revd Jules Cave-Berquist. Mother Jules emphasised that God does not set aside what is good and fruitfu...