Eastern Archdeaconry Synod 2022
I have just returned from the Eastern Archdeaconry Synod, held this year in Prague. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet colleagues that I had only previously met on Zoom, and to spend some time getting to know them and the chaplaincies of Central and Eastern Europe. I was also able to reconnect with a couple of people I hadn’t seen in a very long time. Prague is a beautiful city, with excellent food and excellent beer!
The Synod is part of the decision-making structures of our Diocese, feeding into the Diocesan Synod, and Bishop Robert was present with us throughout. We discussed a wide range of issues, from the new Diocesan anti-bullying policy through to the Church of England’s goal to achieve net zero by 2030. We had a good discussion about Environmental issues, and the Diocese has a number of goals for chaplaincies in its Diocesan policy, towards which we will be working in the coming years.
The war in Ukraine cast its shadow over the meeting. It was hugely significant that Christina, the Church Warden of Kiev, and Malcolm, the Chaplain of Moscow, could be with us. Travel was not easy for either of them, but they were able to share stories and news with us – and we continue to pray for them both. I took part in a panel discussion with Christina, Malcolm and the other chaplains from countries bordering Ukraine. It was helpful to hear what the chaplaincies were doing to support Ukrainian refugees, aided by the Diocese’s fundraising work with USPG. Here in Bucharest, Madeleine and I are working on a grant application to tap into some of those resources.
A significant amount of time was also dedicated to Bible Study, which was led by Dr Clare Amos, the Diocesan Director of Lay Discipleship. We explored Jacob’s wrestling with God and his subsequent reconciliation with his brother Esau in Genesis 32 and 33, drawing out the imperative to learn to see the face of God in our neighbours. We also took together Jesus’ encounter with the Syro-Phoenician woman and the Samaritan woman at the well. Both these encounters have something to say about the danger of religious nationalism, of which we are acutely aware at this time, but also the challenge to break down the barriers that divide us.
Clare also spoke about the new Diocesan discipleship course – Walking Together in Faith. The material for this is excellent, and draws on Scripture, art, music and the great saints of our faith. It is possible to register via the Diocesan website, which will give you access to the material. There will be Zoom groups drawing people from across the Diocese, but I also intend to run the course in person in Bucharest in the near future.
In the Wild East of the Diocese, it is sometimes easy to forget that we are part of a whole – and it was a joy to gather together, talk, eat and pray with others. It was a hugely valuable experience, and bore out the words from 1 Thessalonians 5.11 that Archdeacon Leslie gave us at the beginning of the Synod: ‘Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.’
One of the last decisions taken at the Synod was to name the host city for next year – and I am thrilled that it will be in Bucharest! This will be an excellent opportunity to demonstrate to others the renewed life and vibrancy of our chaplaincy, and to show off the amazing city in which we live.