Anglican Communion News Service

A stained glass window inspired by Jesus' Great Commission has been dedicated at Holy Trinity Brussels as part of the pro-Cathedral's centenary celebrations and as a reminder of its mission statement "to bring Brussels to Christ."

Designed by Belgian artist Etienne Tribolet, the brightly coloured design replaces the plain glass of three panels and the main rosette in the east window. It has the text of Matthew 28:19-20 inscribed within it.

It was dedicated on 12 January by the Rt Revd Edward Holland, one of the Diocese in Europe's Honorary Assistant Bishops and a former Suffragan Bishop in Europe and Dean of Brussels. Also present was the British Ambassador and the Ambassador of Ghana.

The window was donated to the church by septuagenarian couple Noel and Joan Anselot. Mr Anselot said that they wanted both to express their gratitude for the ministry of Holy Trinity over the past 20 years, and also to help make the work of a young artist better known.

Etienne Tribolet is40 years old and has completed a number of stained glass windows in churches and chapels across France and Belgium. This is his first project in Brussels and his largest to date.

Anglican congregations have met in Brussels since 1815, although groups of Anglicans had met in private homes from 1786. The present building was formerly known as Christ Church (dedicated in 1902); it merged with the Church of the Resurrection in 1958 to form Holy Trinity. It was dedicated as a pro-Cathedral in the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe in 1981.

Among its famous members was Edith Cavell, who received communion from the chaplain the night before she was executed by the Germans in 1915 for assisting Allied soldiers. Today, the English-speaking congregation includes people from 40 different countries and an African congregation uses its premises on Sunday afternoons.

The centenary renovation project includes plans to update the entrance and ancillary buildings, providing access for the disabled and creating a centre for both worship and cultural excellence. Building work is about to begin and is expected to last all year.

For further information please contact:

Canon Nigel Walker (chaplain)
Tel: 0032 2511 7183
Email: holy.trinity@arcadis.be

Mr Roger Cox (church historian)
Tel: 0032 475 822898
Email: rcox@janbe.jnj.com