Anglican Communion News Service - Digest News

On the 15th of October the St Vincent's Church of England congregation in the central region of the Algarve resumed its normal worshipping life in the Church of Nossa Senhora de Fatima, near Almancil. For the past 13 weeks this congregation was unable to worship in this Church which had been their regular place of worship for 16 years. The Roman Catholic hosts were under the impression that there had been a change of name of the congregation to 'All Saints Anglican Church' and that the oversight of Anglican work in the Algarve had switched from the Church of England to a bishop from Brazil.

The Bishop of the Algarve, Dom Manuel Neto Quinas, had been unaware of three crucial facts:

- That the bishop who had claimed oversight of All Saints congregation is not a bishop of the Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil, (as the Anglican Church in Brazil is known), nor did his claim to be under the authority of another Primate in the Anglican Communion allow him to exercise any episcopal oversight in Europe.

- That the congregation of All Saints is not part of the Church of England chaplaincy of St Vincent's, Algarve. This was made clear in a letter Dom Manuel received from the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, the Revd Canon Kenneth Kearon, which stated that 'All Saints Anglican Church headed by the Revd Eric Britt is not part of the Church of England Diocese in Europe and therefore it is not part of the Anglican Communion.'

- That the Church of England congregation had been deprived of its customary place of worship and had to hold its Sunday Eucharists in the chaplaincy house.

Once these misunderstandings were clarified, the Bishop of the Algarve agreed that St Vincent's should resume worship in their customary location. The Diocese in Europe continues to be grateful for the hospitality and fraternal relationships enjoyed with the Roman Catholic Diocese of the Algarve, its Bishop, clergy and people.

St Vincent's is carrying forward the life and mission of the Church of England and offers pastoral care to English speaking people of all denominations in the Algarve. The interim chaplain is the Rt Revd John Baycroft. Bishop John Baycroft was formerly the Bishop of Ottawa. He has also been the Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome and the Archbishop of Canterbury's representative to the Holy See.

News from The Church of England's Diocese in Europe