Prayer for the Nation
On 26 January 2021, the UK’s Covid-19 death toll sadly reached 100,000 people. In an interview with BBC Radio Oxford, Bishop Steven shared his sympathies and encouraged listeners to join in with Prayer for the Nation, a daily prayer initiative from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York.
The Bishops of Buckingham and Reading also shared their thoughts and prayers.
Archbishop Rowan is in Rome for three days. Yesterday evening he addressed the Synod of Bishops. He chose as his theme the importance of contemplation as the foundation of evangelism. The Archbishop’s springboard was the hope engendered by the Second Vatican Council and in particularly the renewal of the Christian understanding of what it means to be human (Christian anthropology).
the Council built on the greatest insights of a theology that had returned to earlier and richer sources – the theology of spiritual geniuses like Henri de Lubac, who reminded us of what it meant for early and mediaeval Christianity to speak of humanity as made in God’s image and of grace as perfecting and transfiguring that image so long overlaid by our habitual ‘inhumanity’. In such a light, to proclaim the Gospel is to proclaim that it is at last possible to be properly human: the Catholic and Christian faith is a ‘true humanism’
A key part of being human is therefore to contemplate God’s goodness, grace and love and in that contemplation to forget our pre-occupation with ourselves and be caught up into service of God and the world.
To learn contemplative practice is to learn what we need so as to live truthfully and honestly and lovingly. It is a deeply revolutionary matter.
The Archbishop drew attention to places of spiritual depth in the contemporary world – such as Taize and Bose – and to the new ecclesial movements and communities which flow from the discipline of the contemplative life. It is a rich and inspiring address and worth reading and re-reading. The habit of contemplation is foundational to evangelisation:
The enemy of all proclamation of the Gospel is self-consciousness, and, by definition, we cannot overcome this by being more self-conscious.
It is hard to communicate what a significant mark of respect it was for the Archbishop to be invited to address the Synod for 30 minutes and take questions for a further 30. This is the first time such an invitation has been given to an Anglican in the 50 years of the Synod’s existence. All contributions to the Synod by the Roman Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops are limited to just five minutes. This was both a significant honour and an opportunity.
The address was very well received and matched the theme of the Synod exactly. The Synod Fathers have returned again and again to the need to begin afresh from the face of Christ, to reflect more deeply on their own faith, to the need for the evangelisers to be evangelised. The Archbishop spoke from the theologians who themselves resourced the Second Vatican Council to resource their successors in their vital task.
Archbishop Rowan is regarded here will immense respect and affection. His legacy of a stronger link between Canterbury and Rome is seen as vital for the future. Ecumenism and Evangelisation continue to walk hand in hand: to be one so that the world may believe (John 17.24).
The full text of the speech is here: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/articles.php/2645/
The Synod has been called by Pope Benedict. Bishops are coming together from all over the world to explore the theme of The New Evangelisation. The Synod has been called to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Second Vatican Council and the 20th Anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It also marks the inauguration of the Year of Faith.
I’ve been asked to to as a Fraternal Delegate representing the Anglican Communion. There are about a dozen Fraternal Delegates at the Synod representing different churches across the world and scattered among several hundred Roman Catholic bishops.
Most of the Synod will be spend listening to other people but every fraternal delegate is invited to speak to the whole Synod for around four minutes. I’m thinking hard about what to say.
It’s a real privilege to be attending and I’m looking forward to it. The Synod lasts for three weeks. I’m there for the first twelve days (in plenary) and the final three days. In between, I have to come back to fulfil commitments in the Diocese. The Archbishop of Canterbury is giving one of the major addresses to the whole Synod part way through the plenary time.
I’ve enjoyed the preparatory reading (more on that later) and I think I’m going to learn a lot. I have a long standing interest in catechesis (teaching the faith to new Christians), apologetics and forming fresh expressions of church.
I’m hoping to use this blog initially to pass on some of the reflections and the lessons. Beyond that, who knows.