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All Saints Rome: "an eclectic mix"

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  All Saints Church Council All Saints Rome describes itself as "an open-minded and welcoming Anglican community in the heart of Rome".  An Anglican congregation has been worshipping in the Eternal City since 1816. Once largely English, today it is the home for "an eclectic mix  of expatriated employees of international companies, people working locally in Rome, diplomatic personnel from embassies, visiting scholars and international students". Each Sunday, outside the extraordinary time of pandemic, the regulars are joined by a healthy community of tourists and pilgrims.  Now that some of the restrictions imposed by the pandemic are being relaxed, like so many congregations, priest and people are working together to map the way forward, with physical worship restored, and online / hybrid services continuing. In All Saints, the numbers at Sunday liturgies are now back to a healthy size and the Council and the Chaplain, Fr Rob Warren, are looking at how to s...

The diversity of ordained ministry in St George's Madrid

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St George's Madrid The Diocese in Europe, even though part of the Church of England, is not very English at all. In fact, it is a particular privilege as a bishop to be able to accompany congregations as they grow and develop in response to the challenges of multicultural and multinational ministry.  Solomon Ike (left) with St George's Chaplain Canon Sabry (right) St George’s Madrid was once called "the British Embassy Church of St George". Today it is like so many of our churches in capital cities: a magnet for people from every part of the world who use English as a first, second, or even third language and who are seeking a church home.   Many years ago I had the pleasure of a meeting with a dozen or so members of the church who are originally from Nigeria. They spoke to me with great pride that one of their own compatriots was wanting to become a priest. That began a long journey of discernment and training for Solomon Ike. The ordination of Solomon in St George’...

Congratulations Archbishop Ian Ernest on your 20th anniversary as a bishop

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  A warm ecumenical celebration occurred today, the Feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist, in the Anglican Centre in Rome. It was the 20th anniversary of the ordination to the episcopate of the Most Revd Ian Ernest, the Director of the Centre. Anglican (and Episcopalian), Roman Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran and Armenian friends and colleagues were able to join in this significant milestone in the ministry of Archbishop Ian. Archbishop Ian presiding at the mass The preacher at the mass was Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, the Pontifical Legate of the Armenian Church in Western Europe, and the Representative of the Armenian Church to the Vatican. We also all had a chance to learn a Creole refrain, Creole being the mother tongue of Archbishop Ian and his wife Kamla. Kondir mwa, vey lor mwa, Senyer, pran mo lamain. Ad multos annos, Monseigneur Ian! Armenian Archbishop Khajag Barsamian An added blessing for me was the chance to get to know Archbishop Khajag; he and I share many good ...

Pentecost - the sign of the Church's universal embrace

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On the day of Pentecost, according to the Acts of the Apostles, there was amazement in the crowd which was gathered from the then known world. People as diverse as Parthians to Cretans to Arabs all heard the disciples speaking in their native language. This was the sign that the Church's destiny was to be open to all human nations and cultures. In this diocese we try to live this Pentecost vision, witnessing to our unity as a community, no matter where on the globe we are from. The licensed clergy who lead our parishes themselves hail from 24 countries (according to my last count), from Canada to Congo. And the list is growing. The newest priest to be licenced is the Very Revd Dr Ishanesu Sextus Gusha, who is the Chaplain of St Philip and St James, Palma de Mallorca. He comes from Zimbabwe where he was the Dean of the Cathedral of St Mary and All Saints in Harare. Appropriately for our international diocese, he has travelled extensively in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and ...

HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh. RIP

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This is what we have posted on the Diocese in Europe website , on news of the death of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. _______________________________________________________________________ Buckingham Palace has announced today the death of HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh. The Archbishop of Canterbury, The Most Revd Justin Welby said: "I join with the rest of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth in mourning the loss of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, and give thanks to God for his extraordinary life of dedicated service. Prince Philip continually demonstrated his unfailing support and unstinting loyalty to Her Majesty The Queen for 73 years. He consistently put the interests of others ahead of his own and, in so doing, provided an outstanding example of Christian service. During his naval career, in which he served with distinction in the Second World War, he won the respect of his peers as an outstanding officer. On the occasions when I...

Easter - healing, hope and love for the world

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We celebrate another Easter in the midst of the pain of the world caused by the COVID-19 crisis. Lockdowns continue in many of the countries and regions of the diocese. But for much of the world vaccines are not yet available, and billions of people remain vulnerable, without a coordinated response to address the spread of the virus.  Justice and peace seem far from reach for millions of our sisters and brothers; grief from war and violence in so many places has not abated.  Close to my own heart. the b loody oppression of the people of Burma continues, with no signs of the military thugs lessening their grip on power.  But not only in distant lands, in every community, when we open our eyes, we know there is  injustice, grief and despair.  Christians celebrating the resurrection victory of our Lord are renewed in our commitment to reach out in love, and bear hope to a world in the midst of pain and suffering. T he Easter story of the myrrh bearing women is our ...

Easter hope expressed by the young people of St Nicholas's Helsinki

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  The Anglican Church in Finland, whose principal congregation is St Nicholas Helsinki, was founded by refugees from St Petersburg, fleeing the Russian Revolution. The cross above is one of the historic artifacts brought with them.  Today, almost 100 years later, St Nicholas's congregation comes from around the world, a vibrant community of people of all ages.  The children and young people of St Nicholas parish have prepared and released this video, in which they express their Easter hopes and prayers:   for a greener and fairer world for all God's creatures,  for Coronavirus to leave the planet  to see family abroad  to have birthday parties again  to be with friends and eat chocolate eggs!   It is a delightful and joyful piece, which summarises our hopes before God this Easter. Thank you to the young folk of St Nicholas!