Adapted from ACNSPope Francis has visited the Anglican shrine to the Ugandan Martyrs in Namugongo, and spoken of an “ecumenism of blood.”The pope looked visibly pained and shocked as the Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali, Primate of the Anglican Church of Uganda, explained how the martyrs were put to death on the orders of the King of Buganda in the late 19th century for refusing to … [Read more...] about ‘Ecumenism of Blood’
Archives for November 2015
Ethiopia’s Theological College
By John MartinEthiopia now has its own Anglican theological college. St. Frumentius’ College honors a Tyre-born early 4th-century pioneer missionary to Ethiopia. For many years St. Matthew’s Church, Addis Ababa, was the only Anglican presence in Ethiopia. That began changing in the 1970s as thousands of Sudanese refugees fled their country’s long civil war.The new college is … [Read more...] about Ethiopia’s Theological College
Alert
1 AdventThe end is not yet, but the end is near. The sun’s boiling heat, the pocked moon, the beauty of a black sky salted with stars, salmon-colored clouds at dusk, deliver the Son of Man and the angels of heaven. There is a way of seeing that unveils the surface of limited perception, that pushes out and beyond into wide-open wonder. God is this parousia, literary, “this … [Read more...] about Alert
Grieve, Pray, and Act
The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey D. Lee, Bishop of Chicago, writes to the people of his diocese:Everywhere we turn this morning in Chicago, we are confronted by images of Laquan McDonald, a young black man, being gunned down on one of our city streets by Jason Van Dyke, a white Chicago Police officer.The video of Laquan’s death, released by the mayor’s office just hours after the officer … [Read more...] about Grieve, Pray, and Act
‘Jesus Is Present’
The Rt. Rev. Brian E. Prior, Bishop of Minnesota, responds (via email) to multiple shootings in North Minneapolis on Nov. 22:The Roman Empire turned its back upon tiny Bethlehem, and yet God showed up. Ignored by emperors and kings, Bethlehem was a speck on the map — if it even appeared at all. Yet Jesus entered the world in this place abandoned by empire and was Good News for … [Read more...] about ‘Jesus Is Present’
Prepare for Christ
Review by John A. ThorpeWalking Backwards to ChristmasBy Stephen Cottrell. Westminster John Knox. Pp. 128. $14Building on his success in The Nail, Bishop Cottrell has put together a remarkable and refreshing series of first-person reflections about the birth of Christ through the eyes of each character involved. Each more or less biblical character tells a story: some are … [Read more...] about Prepare for Christ
Global Briefs for Nov. 24
By John MartinUnderstand Your Enemies: The Most Rev. Rowan Williams, 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, has criticized sections of the media for “dehumanizing” the Islamic State. Journalists need to “attempt to understand our enemies,” he said, in delivering the Orwell Lecture at University College London on Nov. 17.Responding to questions four days after the Paris massacre in … [Read more...] about Global Briefs for Nov. 24
Pope Names Ordinariate Bishop
Adapted from the Ordinariate’s websitePope Francis has named the Rev. Monsignor Steven J. Lopes as the first bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, a structure equivalent to a diocese for Roman Catholics who were nurtured in the Anglican tradition.With this appointment, Pope Francis affirms and amplifies Pope Benedict’s vision for Christian unity, in … [Read more...] about Pope Names Ordinariate Bishop