Ethiopia 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 affiliated with the Alexandria School of Theology, founded by Mouneer Anis, Bishop of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa, and Primate of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East.
When Archbishop Mouneer visited Gambella in 2011 and asked the clergy what they wanted from their new area bishop, they asked for one who would teach theology. He appointed the Rev. Grant LeMarquand, a professor and academic dean at Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania. Bishop LeMarquand is chairman of the college’s board and will teach courses. The Rev. Johann VanderBijl of the United States will serve as dean.
Art for Refugees’ Sake: Refugee relief work by the Diocese in Europe is set to receive a boost with an anonymous gift of a painting by the English Old Master Joseph Wright of Derby, dating from 1774. The painting, Julia by Joseph Wright of Derby, carries this inscription: “A cavern with the figure of Julia banished thither by her grandfather Augustus.” The cavern is in Naples and Wright first sketched the scene around 1774. The work is due to be auctioned by Sotheby’s in London on Dec. 9, and it carries a guide price of £100,000-£150,000 ($250,000-$225,000).
Stewardship of the Earth: Concern for the future of the earth is not a Christian “add-on” but “intrinsic to the Christian faith,” the Archbishop of York and his wife, Margaret, told the Church of England’s General Synod last week. They reported to Synod after a visit to the South Pacific nations of Tonga, Samoa, and Fiji. They told of witnessing firsthand the effects of rising tides and loss of land where families have lived for many generations. Christians, Sentamu said, “ought to be leading players in debates and in taking action about climate change.”
Image: The library at St. Frumentius’ Anglican Theological College.
John Kingsley Martin is a journalist based in London.
