The International Commission of the Anglican- Orthodox Theological Dialogue met in Bucharest at the Patriarchate of Romania, 17th - 22nd June 1998, as guests of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The Commission is composed of representatives of the Orthodox Churches and the member Churches of the Anglican Communion.
Church leaders of the Anglican and Lutheran churches in Northern Europe met this weekend to deepen their fellowship in the Porvoo Communion. Coming from different backgrounds, and with a rich variety of experiences, they affirmed their commitment to address together some of the challenges facing people in Europe today.
(ENI) Europe's churches - Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant and Anglican - are hoping to sign a "European ecumenical charter" on Easter Sunday in the year 2001 to outline the main tasks for the churches in the new millennium.
I was deeply distressed to hear the news of Father Gregory's death. He was a faithful and committed priest with a transparent love for God and his people. Father Gregory had served the diocese well in Tangier and now for a tragically short time in Milan. He will be missed greatly both in All Saints, Milan and throughout the diocese. We offer prayers for his family, friends and colleagues, his congregation and for himself, thanking God for his ministry and friendship.
(Anglican Journal) The Anglican Church of Canada will join churches around the world in the Call for Jubilee, an international ecumenical initiative to celebrate the millennium.
(ALC) Eighty thousand Protestant, Orthodox and Roman Catholic young people from all European countries met together to hold a prayer vigil to mark the beginning of the new year.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd George Carey, gave thanks for the renovation of Gibraltar Cathedral last week.
Plans are underway to create a new Anglican Province of Continental Europe which will unite the existing parallel jurisdictions.
Fifty pilgrims left Rome by coach 18 May and reached Canterbury on 25 May. The pilgrims are following the steps of St Augustine, who travelled from Rome to Canterbury 1400 years ago to begin his mission to the English.
Church organisations from across Europe are calling on governments to ratify an international convention on displaced people which has been gathering dust for more than six years.
People unfamiliar with the historical, architectural and religious landscape of Moscow are often puzzled by the sight of a distinctly Western-looking, neo-Gothic, dark-red brick church in a quiet street in the centre of the city, flanked by two typical Russian Orthodox churches.
The Archbishop of Canterbury will pay his first official visit to His Holiness Pope John Paul II in Rome between 3rd - 5th December 1996. He will stay as a guest of the English and Welsh Catholic Hierarchy at the Venerable English College in Rome. During the course of his visit he will have private conversations with His Holiness and other Curial Officials, and he and the Pope will join together in the celebration of Vespers at the Church of San Gregorio al Celio.
History was made today in Rome at St. Paul's Within-the-Walls Episcopal Church with the ordination to the priesthood of the Rev. Ruth Cecilia Monge Teran de Erazo in a richly textured service conducted in Spanish, English and Italian. Cecilia is, almost certainly, the first woman ever to be ordained priest in the City of Rome.
The Polish Government has finally granted full rights to the country's first Anglican chaplaincy since World War II. David Williams, the first resident Anglican priest to minister in Poland in 50 years, said that official registration would enable the chaplaincy to "operate freely" in conformity with Polish law. "We are and will remain only a tiny community here, and we have no intention of taking members from other Churches", the British priest said.
The Porvoo Declaration, signed at Trondheim, Norway, 1 September, has drawn strong comment from Anglican and Lutheran leaders.
The Declaration, in which the signatory Churches acknowledge not only mutual baptism and communion, but also the office of bishop, bridges "a Reformation gap," according to Trondheim's host bishop, Finn Wagle. The agreement makes a mark in Church history comparable to the Reformation, he said.
Address by the Most Revd. Robin Eames, Archbishop of Armagh at the Porvoo Agreement Service to celebrate the signing of the agreement in Tallinn Cathedral, Estonia on 8 September 1996.
The world's main Christian traditions are hoping to organise a "truly ecumenical" celebration in Jerusalem to mark the new millennium, the General Secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) revealed in August. The plan has initial approval of the world's major Church communions, some of whom feared previous plans for millennium celebrations indicated that major events would be Roman Catholic dominated.
On the evening of Sunday, 1st September 1996 the historic Porvoo Agreement will be signed in Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim, Norway. The agreement is between the British and Irish Anglican Churches and the Nordic and Baltic Lutheran Churches, and commits the Churches to a deepening fellowship and to new steps on the road to visible unity.
Today is, truly, a day for great celebration. The first of three such celebrations that will take place this Autumn. I am sure that all of us here this evening felt that we were participating in something truly historic - we are all very grateful to the Church of Norway for their splendid hospitality here in Trondheim and for the wonderful service in which we have all just shared.
Work is underway to produce a small collection of hymns from the Churches involved in the Porvoo Agreement to help in celebrating the Anglican and Lutheran traditions of northern Europe. The Church of Sweden is taking the initiative to produce the hymnbook, which will include the melody lines for hymns that are popular in Porvoo Churches. The texts of the hymns will be in English and in their original language.
The head of Poland's small Anglican community has accused the Polish Government of arbitrarily refusing to grant the Anglican Church legal status. The issue is particularly sensitive as Queen Elizabeth II - who has the historic title of Supreme Governor of the Church of England - will make her first state visit to Poland from 25 to 27 March.
