Eurobishop

Fr Malcolm, Chaplain of St George's, the Patriarch and Fr Andrea, the priest responsible for the Gesuati parish  On Wednesday 23 rd October, the Patriarch of Venice, His Beatitude Francesco Moraglia, made a visit to St George’s Anglican Church in the city. He had dedicated the greater part of a whole week to a pastoral visit to the Roman Catholic parish of Gesuati in which St George’s is situated. This parish is composed of various significant churches to which are attached schools and institutions. Within his heavy schedule he had expressed a wish to visit St George’s, meet with the community and there hold a brief moment of prayer. After the prayers he spoke of both Churches standing under the Cross. He also mentioned that whenever he travelled up the Grand Canal and passed St. George’s he offered a prayer for its ministry.  This is not the first visit of a Patriarch of Venice to St George’s. Nevertheless, it speaks of the warmth of relationship and mutual respect...

A vigil for John Henry Newman in Sta Maria Maggiore Basilica on the eve of the canonisation John Henry Newman, the key figure in the Oxford Movement in the Church of England who converted to Roman Catholicism in 1845, was canonised by Pope Francis yesterday in Rome. His conversion was highly controvesial in the middle of the nineteenth century and at the time was felt by many to be a setback for the Oxford Movement itself. Nevertheless, we Anglicans owe much to Newman for his teaching and influence which restored to the Church of England a renewed understanding its rootedness in the Catholic Church of Christ.   Pope Francis receiving the offertory gifts at the mass I have a particular admiration for the way that Newman taught both Anglicans and Roman Catholics about how doctrine in the life of the Church can develop, through such doctrine being rooted implictly in Holy Scripture, attested to by the Tradition of the Church (through Patristic and other theologians), and u...

Archbishop Lorefice with some of the Archdeaconry clergy The Italy/Malta Synod was held from 25-28 September in Palermo, Sicily. The theme, "Welcoming, Invitation and Hospitality" was explored through bible studies, plenary sessions and through chaplaincies sharing highlights from their community life. One of the features of this archdeaconry is the fact that some churches are located in places with large numbers of visitors and pilgrims (such as Venice, Florence and Rome). We also recognised that a common feature across the Archdeaconry (and the diocese) is that by and large our members are migrants; that is to say that most of our members come from "somewhere else". Many of our churches in Italy and Malta are exploring how their communities can be a home and a place of welcome for newer waves of migrants who are settling in these countries, from places other than the UK. There is a special charism in being a migrant church.   During the synod a presentatio...

The Caracol is blown to call the people to prayer In the Church of England, the Archbishop (of York or Canterbury) when consecrating a new bishop lays out the duties of a bishop including "joining together in the ordination of bishops". P articipating in the ordination of new bishops takes place, for me, most frequently in the Church of England. However, I was asked recently to be a co-consecrator for a new bishop in Mexico, and to preach at the consecration mass. It was a great privilege to do so, as the new bishop was an old friend, Fr Julio  César  Martin Trejo, now the Coadjutor Bishop of South East Mexico. I have known Fr (now Bishop) Julio for 30 years. He was still in seminary when we first met. The consecration was in the Anglican Centre in Tuxtepec, in Oaxaca state. (The diocesan centre is in Xalapa, while the largest city in the diocese is Veracruz). Bishops from Mexico, the USA and Spain were present for the service on St Matthew's day, as well as c...

MES interns at All Saints, Rome Dr Clare Amos, the Diocesan Director of Discipleship, also directs the MES programme of the diocese (the Ministry Experience Scheme, formerly known as CEMES, the Church of England Ministry Experience Scheme). We have 5 interns on placement for this academic year, in Brussels, Vienna, Copenhagen, Rome and Warnham Sussex (the intern is from Heidelberg). Together with their supporting advisors and mentors, Clare brought the interns to Rome recently for their official orientation to the programme. Pastoral Advisor Mary Talbot and Dr Amos taking a drink from a fountain in Rome. (The figure in the fountain is damaged as it was believed (mistakenly) that it was Martin Luther, not a popular figure in 16th century Rome.) At the PCPCU in Rome The orientation in Rome included a visit to the PCPCU, the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, where Bishop Brian Farrell, the Secretary of the Council met with the interns and their ...

Stockholm Cathedral The clergy from the Nordic/Baltic Deanery were recently hosted and indeed inspired by one of Area Dean Nick Howe's close colleagues in the Church of Sweden Stockholm Cathedral. The Revd Ulf Lindgren, the Canon Precentor of the Cathedral, gave a fascinating historical tour of this church where the Reformation in Sweden actually began. It was here that the first mass in Swedish was celebrated. It continues to be the venue for national events, royal weddings and funerals, and interestingly, even after formal disestablishment of the Church of Sweden, the official service to open Parliament. The Cathedral has many features that are more Mediterranean than Baltic, such as a beautiful collection of Bernini Angels! Fr Ulf also led the clergy in some biblical reflections, picking up some fascinating insights from the Old Testament that were new to us all.  Bernini Angels in a Lutheran Cathedral Canon Precentor of Stockholm Cathedral, the Revd Ulf Lindg...

Newly baptised and confirmed receive candles - the light of Christ At one point in the 19th and early 20th centuries there were about a half dozen Church of England parishes along the Italian Riviera. When founded they tended to serve well-heeled British who would come to the region for sunshine and culture, especially in the winter season.  The Anglican demographics of the region have changed and there are now only two communities remaining. Monthly services are held in Bordighera but the only community with a regular permanent week to week Church life is Holy Ghost Genoa.   There has been an Anglican community in Genoa for over 200 years. An early member, who has a commemorative plaque in the Church, was James Smithson, F.R.S, who founded the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC (he lived in Genoa for three years prior to his death in 1829).  The building, which was designed by G.E. Street, one of the greatest English architects of the time, was con...