Eurobishop

In only a couple of weeks we will mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which will be held from 18th to 25 January 2010 (between the feasts of the Confession of St Peter and the Conversion of St Paul). Christians around the world will focus during that week on a theme based on Christ's final words before his Ascension, "You are witnesses of these things". The 2010 theme was chosen by Scottish Churches who are also preparing to celebrate the centenary of the 1910 World Mission Conference on the theme "Witnessing to Christ today". The Edinburgh Conference of 1910 is regarded by historians as the beginning of the modern ecumenical movement. This year's theme which underlines the link between the missionary activity of the Church and the quest for Christian unity is vitally important. By our baptism we are already one Body and we are called to live in communion with each other. In fact God makes us brothers and sisters, in Christ. This is the fun...

Each year certain cities are designated by the European Union as European Capitals of Culture, to showcase the richness and diversity of European culture and to promote greater mutual knowledge and understanding among the citizens of our continent. In 2010, as well as two EU cities, Essen (Germany) and Pécs (Hungary), a city of a non-EU member country has been designated: Istanbul. Istanbul is presenting itself as a bridge connecting Europe to the East, an example of the crossroads of civilizations where people have learned to “live differences”. Visitors to Istanbul as European Capital of Culture will want to know of our own Anglican presence in the City which dates from 1583. Church of England services are held at Christ Church, dedicated in 1868 as the Crimean Memorial Church, St Helena’s at the British Consulate General and the (Turkish language) Church of the Resurrection. The chaplain of Christ Church with St Helena's is the Revd Canon Ian Sherwood. The priest-in-charge o...

When peaceful silence lay over all, and night was in the midst of her swift course: from your royal throne, O God, down from the heavens, leapt your almighty Word. I have always loved this beautiful, ancient antiphon for the Magnificat at Christmastime. It is based on Wisdom 18.14-15, and now,  happily, finds an official place in our Anglican liturgy in Common Worship: Daily Prayer.  I wish a happy Christmas to readers of this blog. At this holy season may you find a moment of gentle, quiet stillness for the Incarnate Word to be received with joy. 

I learned today that Pope Benedict XVI has appointed an old friend of mine, and a long-standing friend of the Anglican Communion and of our diocese in Europe, to be the Bishop of Saskatoon, Canada. Monsignor Donald Bolen was on the staff of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) from 2001 to 2008, with responsibility for Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue. Fr Don and I worked closely as co-secretaries of our official dialogue and collaborated on many other ecumenical occasions. He was present at my consecration as bishop in 2002. Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the PCPCU greeted the news of Fr Don's appointment with “great joy and profound thankfulness” noting that Bolen’s strong faith in Christ, together with his vision and energy will equip him to lead his new flock in the diocese of Saskatoon. For his service to relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury awarded Fr Don the Cross of St Augusti...

COP 15 has ended without the fair, ambitious and legally binding agreement that millions around the world hoped the world leaders would deliver. Last Saturday, Elias Crisostomo Abramides, the World Council of Churches' head of delegation to the Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen, summarised the disappointment of the Churches in the following letter. He points out in frank language the grave consequences of the lack of progress. The talks will be reconvened in Bonn early in 2010. Christians need to continue to pray for and support the ongoing process, so that what has been begun in Copenhagen will be strengthened and consolildated into a binding treaty. In his letter, Mr Abramides, an Argentinian and a member of the Greek Orthodox Church, pays special tribute to the support from St Alban's Church, Copenhagen. Certainly the diocesan family would like to express our thanks to Fr Jonathan LLoyd and his team at St Alban's who have provided a solid, prayerful and spiritual p...

The final version of the Anglican Communion Covenant has now been prepared and in the past couple of days has been sent to the member Churches of the Anglican Communion for discussion. The Covenant proposes a way for Anglican Churches to strengthen their relationship within our Communion. It sets out a principled and agreed method to deal with any inter-Anglican conflict. It is intended to build on that fundamental Anglican value of mutual accountability among Churches which seek to live a common life within the communion of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. As the Anglican Communion has developed in recent years there has not been a parallel development of a framework to address together a response to problems which arise in relationships between the member Churches. The Covenant puts forward such a framework, faithful to Anglican ecclesiology, within which a response to tensions can be discerned and articulated. At present, as no such mechanism exists, it has led to ...

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has become very up to date in its communications strategy. The 2009 Christmas message to the Churches has been prepared as a video and posted on YouTube . It is available for viewing here . The WCC brings together 349 churches in more than 110 countries and territories throughout the world, representing over 560 million Christians. It includes most of the world's Anglicans (including the Church of England), as well as most of the Old Catholic, Orthodox,  Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist and Reformed churches, as well as many Independent churches. The headquarters are in Geneva, within our diocese. If you are not accustomed to YouTube, I post the text of the message here: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers – all things have been created through him and for him....