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Archbishop Ian Ernest reflects on his time at the Anglican Centre in Rome

Posted on: January 22, 2025 4:55 PM
The Most Revd Ian Ernest (former Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome), talks to the bishops about the history and work of the centre during the “Growing Together” ecumenical summit in Rome, in January 2024.
Photo Credit: Neil Turner for the Anglican Communion Office

For the last five years the Most Reverend Ian Ernest has been the Director for the Anglican Centre in Rome (ACR) and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Personal Representative to the Holy See. He retires this month. He spoke to the Anglican Communion Office about his ministry.

What has it meant to you to serve at the Anglican Centre in Rome?

I never once thought that I would serve the cause of Christian Unity at the heart of the Roman Catholic Church as the personal representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the director of a unique ecumenical institution established in the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council in 1966. I have valued this responsibility entrusted to me as a call from God and an invitation to be an instrument of grace. The call has been to seek with a humble and loving heart ways and means that will announce the quality of the relationships between our two Communions. The invitation has been to establish bonds of friendship that will enable us to share the richness of our faith in Christ beyond difference.

How does the Anglican Centre foster ecumenical relationships and friendships?

The Anglican Centre in Rome has gained more visibility and is now recognised as a place offering hospitality to one and all irrespective of denomination and religious backgrounds. Developing opportunities for friendly encounter has been the core of the ministry at the ACR and helps to bring a common vision that meets the Gospel imperatives. That is how we face the unjust structures that are affecting the world, that are alienating people from one another and that are marginalising the most vulnerable. If the Church is going to be a true and effective witness of Christ, it must be united.

How can visiting Rome strengthen faith?

When you come to Rome, the emphasis is very much laid on the primacy of St Peter. But St Paul also came here to evangelise, teach and give his life for the Gospel. He embodies the missionary zeal of what the Church should be. There is a pilgrimage that the ACR runs that enables people to visit sites that are relevant to both the lives of St Peter and St Paul. Both bring perspectives of the mission of the Church.

What have been the fruits of the ecumenical friendships you have fostered?

Friendly relationships help the Church collaborate in addressing global issues. For example, in the run up to COP26 in Scotland, the ACR organised an online conference on the environment with the Anglican Alliance, the Anglican Communion at the UN, Mothers’ Union, and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. The Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the President of the Seychelles all gave messages.

We have also invited different dignitaries, including the Secretary of State and others to visit or preach at the Anglican Centre during the Eucharist. The ACR has also supported several Christian prayer groups, including a Methodist prayer group that meets every Thursday.

How has the ACR strengthened Anglican and Roman Catholic Relations?

Ecumenical relationships are built through dialogue and are rooted in mutual trust. Since Vatican II (the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church), the Anglican Centre in Rome has played an important part in developing ecumenical relations between the Anglican and Roman Catholic traditions. Ecumenical dialogues like the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) and the Inter Anglican Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM) have helped to create an atmosphere of listening and appreciation, where recognition for one another’s traditions can be given. I think that in many quarters there is a sense of responsibility towards the longing of Christ expressed in his prayer that they all may be one.

In June 2024, Pope Francis, The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland went on a peace pilgrimage to South Sudan. You supported the planning for this visit. What was memorable about it?

This was an important visit because we saw three major church leaders working together for peace and stability in a region that has experienced the trauma of war and conflict. I don’t believe this could have occurred between the Anglican, Catholic and Presbyterian faith leaders of 75 years ago. But in 2024, through their ecumenical commitment, Pope Francis, The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland walked together, expressed peace, held hands and sought to be with the people of South Sudan. The trip reminded me of Christ in Galilee in Judea where the people were in pain and suffering. They were marginalised, but Christ was with them. This is the image that we should be aiming for today at all levels of the Church. This is the ministry and call of the Church.

What has it mean for you to be involved in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity?

At the Anglican Centre in Rome, we organise an ecumenical vigil. We are also invited to participate at the various celebrations organised by the Diocese of Rome at the Vatican and also organised by other Christian institutions in Rome. The most important is the vespers on the last day, the 25 January, which is the day of the conversion of St Paul. The representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Patriarch of Constantinople walk side by side with the Pope and go with him and pray at the tomb of St Paul. As the Anglican representative, I read a psalm in Italian.

What did it mean to you to host the Primates Meeting in 2024?

During my ministry at the Anglican Centre in Rome, we hosted the 2024 Primates' meeting. During the programme, the Anglican Primates enjoyed an audience with Pope Francis. It was an historic meeting - the first time the Anglican Primates Meeting had met with the Pope in this way. It enabled the whole of the leadership of the Anglican Communion to be enriched and challenged by being exposed to different religious experiences, to pray, work and walk together for the sake of God’s kingdom.

What are your hopes for young people and the work of ecumenism?

During my ministry, people from the ACR attended the World Youth Day in Lisbon. We were joined by the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cotterell, the Bishop of Europe, Robert Innes and the Chemin Neuf Community. Young people from different Christian groups also joined us.

Young people also visit the ACR regularly. I was told by a young German Lutheran Doctoral student recently that at times spiritual life can be suffocating, but coming to the Anglican Centre is refreshing. They want to be refreshed and respected for who they are.

In my view, we should not limit ecumenical dialogue and encounters to the hierarchy or the academic world. It should flow down so that the ordinary Christian in the pews can become an instrument of hospitality.

What are your plans for the future? What will ministry look like?

A priest never retires. Hope is not something that you dream of. It is something that you have to work towards. I plan to continue to be dependent upon God’s will. He is a God of surprises. I never thought I would be in Rome and now I will be at home in Mauritius. I hope that God will use me in different ways. I am open. This spirit of openness is a virtue that we should have. We should let ourselves be guided by the Holy Spirit so that we can discern the way forward. My hope is that that I can share all I have acquired and experienced in my ministry of more than 45 years. 

The new Director for the Anglican Centre in Rome will be the Right Reverend Anthony Ball, who has been Canon Steward and Archdeacon of Westminster and Bishop of the Diocese of North Africa in the Province of Alexandria. What is your prayer for his ministry?

I wish to assure him of my prayers and sustained support. He comes with his own gifts and talents. I know he values and will build on the work of his predecessors.  I pray that he will accelerate the realisation of the vision set in 1966 and fashion his own way of leading.