Eurobishop

The Reverend Terence (Terry) Wilcock, has been appointed Assistant Chaplain in the Anglican Church of Greater Athens, to serve in the Anglican Church of St Thomas, Kefalas, west of Chania in Crete. Fr Terry begins his new ministry on 1 April. We welcome him to this diocese! He comes to this diocese from the diocese of Carlisle where he has been serving as Priest-in-Charge of St Thomas, Crosscrake, Kendal. The chaplaincy of "Greater Athens" actually covers most of Greece, and includes two congregations in Athens and congregations in Patras, Thessalonica, Andros, Nafplion and Crete.  Fr Terry assumes responsibility for the Anglican work in Crete, which is one of the newest developments in the diocese. The work on the island was pioneered by the Revd Tony Lane, who continues to serve his training curacy there. The website for the Anglican Church in Crete is here .

I am sorry that I am posting the March book selection a little late in the month! The 10 volumes reviewed include works on ethics, ministry, liberation theology, Old Testament and apologetics in the face of the "new athiests". One book addresses an intriguing question, seldom heard, "is persuading people to become Christian an ethical activity?" There is also a further work by Russian Orthodox Archbishop Hilarion, well known to this diocese. One work, the Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity , will be a useful reference book for clergy, readers and readers-in-training to have on one's bookshelf. Perhaps you could suggest someone buy you an Easter gift? For the reviews, press the read more  button.

The Reverend Keith Bretel has been appointed the Priest-in-Charge of the Anglican Church of St John the Evangelist, St Raphäel. Fr Bretel comes to this diocese from a distinguished career in the Royal Army Chaplains Department. He has spent a large amount of time overseas, including postings in Germany and Belize. His last position just before retirement from the Army was as Senior Chaplain of the UK Support Command, Germany. Keith is married to Sherlie. They have a son and daughter, both married, and one grandson. Fr Keith will be licensed on Saturday 26 March at 12 noon, by the Archdeacon of France, the Venerable Ken Letts.  The website of St John the Evangelist Church is here .

One of our churches, Saint Margaret of Scotland in Budapest, Hungary, has seen a major change over the past months. The congregation has said farewell to their priest who has retired after 19 years of faithful service. The Revd Canon Denis Moss, ordained in New Zealand, experienced “a calling to come to Hungary” and has played a key role in the development of the Church of England presence in the capital. His wife Maria is Hungarian. Fr Denis describes how he started in Budapest "with four sets of vestments and some basic communion vessels in rented accommodation for both worship and living". Over the past 19 years, much as been accomplished, including the securing of a chapel for worship. Fr Denis and his wife Maria also founded the Szarnyak (Wings) Foundation which, affiliated with the Wings Rehabilitation Trust in New Zealand, offers counselling services in both English and Hungarian to those troubled by addiction. We wish Fr Denis and Maria every blessing in th...

The Church of England presence in the ancient university town of Heidelberg, Germany dates back to 1613 when Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of James 1 of England, came to Heidelberg as the seventeen-year-old bride of the Elector Friedrich V. She brought a chaplain, the Revd Alexander Chapman, who introduced Church of England rites at the chapel of Heidelberg castle. (John Donne preached in the chapel in 1619 while accompanying a diplomatic mission to Germany). The chapel in the castle remains to this day a place where Anglican worship is authorised. In the 1800s, the English-speaking population increased, and the chapel of a former Dominican convent became the home of the English Church. When war broke out in 1914, the church was closed and the priest expelled. In 1936 the building was handed over to the Old Catholic congregation in the city. In 1971 the English Church sprang to life again, and after negotiation with the Old Catholics, Anglican services resumed in the building that ha...

The Diocese in Europe Environmental Officer, Madeleine Holmes, has circulated to our clergy, readers and parish environmental officer an update on environmental matters of interest to our Church. As Madeleine wants her communications to be widely circulated in the diocese, I have posted it on this weblog. If you wish to be in contact with Madeleine her email address is: madeleine@peladis.plus.com For her message to clergy, readers and parishes of the diocese, follow the read more link below.

Clergy of the Diocese in Europe are not always aware of our sabbatical policy. Sabbatical leave is a period away from parochial responsibilities for period of two to three months. It is a time for rest, renewal and re-creation so as to return refreshed in one's ministry. Clergy who wish to explore sabbatical leave can download guidance notes from here . I bring this to the attention of the clergy because of an announcement of bursary awards available from the Ecclesiastical Insurance Company. Applications are now welcome for support from the Ecclesiastical Ministry Bursary Awards Scheme for sabbatical leave in 2012. The scheme gives financial support to clergy to carry out personal development projects during a sabbatical. In 2010 the company received more than 50 applications for funding support of different sabbatical projects planned for 2011. All applications that met the conditions of the grants were successful. The projects supported by the Ministry Bursary Award...