A cross made from wood taken from a boat used by refugees crossing the Mediterranean as they sought sanctuary in Europe is to grace the altar of the Anglican Centre in Rome. The cross was made by artist Franco Tuccio on the Italian island of Lampedusa and resembles a pastoral staff given by the artist to Pope Francis.
25 May 2016
The first World Humanitarian Summit was a “turning point” in the way the world works to alleviate the suffering of millions, the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon said as the summit came to an end. Members of the Anglican Communion were amongst those present for the summit in Instanbul, Turkey.
25 May 2016
The Church of Scotland has this morning approved the Columba Declaration – an ecumenical agreement between it and the Church of England; and instructed the creation of an ecumenical “contact group” which would include representatives of the two churches and also the Scottish Episcopal Church.
25 May 2016
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, this morning became the first Archbishop of Canterbury to take part in a debate of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland when he addressed Commissioners in Edinburgh on the Columba Declaration ecumenical agreement. This is the text of his speech.
25 May 2016
The Anglican Archbishop of Dublin and Glendalough, Michael Jackson, has welcomed the announcement by the Vatican this morning that the Roman Catholic Church’s next World Meeting of Families will be held in Dublin in 2018. It will be the ninth such meeting to have taken place – the last one was in Philadelphia in 2015.
24 May 2016
A new multi-million-pound visitor attraction at one of Britain’s oldest cathedrals is gearing up for its official opening in July; and as part of its preparations a small group of school children were given a sneak-preview when Durham Cathedral gave them a “test run” through their new Open Treasure experience and exhibition.
24 May 2016
There needs to be a greater involvement of local and national organisations in policy and decision making process if the world’s humanitarian response is to move from “delivering aid” to “ending need” – that was the message of ACT Alliance general secretary John Nduna to the World Humanitarian Summit today in Istanbul, Turkey.
23 May 2016
The bones of Thomas Becket, the 12th Century Archbishop of Canterbury who was murdered at the behest of King Henry II, are to return to the cathedral where he was killed and buried at the conclusion of Becket Week - an ecumenical series of events organised by the Hungarian government.
23 May 2016
A proposal to amend the marriage canon to permit same sex weddings will be considered by the Scottish Episcopal Church next month. The proposed changes remove the current definition of marriage in the first clause of the canon and adds a new “conscience clause” to prevent clergy being forced to conduct same-sex weddings against their will.
20 May 2016
The Archbishop of Canterbury was joined by thousands of Christians around the world today for his first live Bible study on Facebook. Archbishop Justin Welby discussed John 1:35-42 with the Revd Chris Russell and answered questions from viewers.
19 May 2016