The Rt Rev Dr John Armes, Bishop of Edinburgh spent time in Amman, the capital of Jordan, in March, joining other senior clergy from around the world for a summit aimed at strengthening links between Anglicans and Lutherans.
Bishop John represented the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Edinburgh at the summit which was organised by the Anglican-Lutheran International Commission on Unity and Mission, also known as ALICUM.
The event brought together ten pairs of church leaders from the Anglican Communion and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) whose jurisdictions are twinned with another in their respective partner’s province. In the case of Bishop John it was the Diocese of Edinburgh’s link with the Diocese of Espoo in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.
Throughout his time in Jordan Bishop John published a series of updates on the event, which are reproduced here:
Day 1
After all the months of anticipation it was good at last to be in Jordan, meeting face to face people who, up until now, had appeared only as names.
We are here to share our experiences as dioceses in partnership, invited by the Steering Committee of the Anglican-Lutheran International Commission on Unity and Mission (which includes the Scottish Episcopal Church’s own Revd Canon Professor Charlotte Methuen).
There are representatives from Africa, Asia, North and South America, Europe and the Holy Land and, of course, my colleague from the Edinburgh Diocese‘s Lutheran link Diocese of Espoo in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, Bishop Kaisamari Hintikka.
Today we have listened to one another, hearing of our very diverse contexts and experiences of partnership and reflecting on what we hold in common.
The Espoo-Edinburgh link is unusual (amongst those in the room) in that the two dioceses share no geographical boundaries. But we do share a lot of enjoyment in being together, and a deep sense of our rootedness in Christ. I hope this came across in our presentation to the conference.
Day 2
We worshipped today with the congregation of the International Anglican Church of Amman in the morning and that of the Lutheran Good Shepherd Church-Amman in the evening, enjoying generous hospitality at both churches. The main language of the liturgy is Arabic, but English is offered too.
In an afternoon seminar we reflected on Baptism – the church’s understanding of the sacrament from the first century to the present, and its importance as the foundation of our quest for greater unity. All of today’s activities have prepared us well for tomorrow’s visit to the site of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River.
Day 3
On this day, Bishop John published the following video from John the Baptist Spring, a spring that flows into the River Jordan at the place Jesus was baptised.
Day 4
Yesterday, our group made a profound and humbling visit to Al-Maghtas, or Bethany Beyond the Jordan – for long centuries believed to be the exact place where Jesus came to John the Baptist to be baptised by him in the Jordan.
Bishop Kaisamari Hintikka of the Diocese of Espoo in Finland and I were able to take a quick picture at the Baptism Site. The Edinburgh Diocese and hers have of course been linked for many years now.
But back to business today. We have been reflecting on common themes from the various diocesan pairings present at this summit and considering what we might want to have achieved when the group meets again in three years’ time.
With my retirement as Bishop of Edinburgh fast approaching, the link between Edinburgh and Espoo faces a particular challenge – not that a successful link is ever just about bishops!
Our link works because so many have participated in it; and it now has a Steering Group (in which the bishop isn’t a member) to energise it. Nevertheless, any link not supported by the bishop is unlikely to thrive.
So, when asked what new projects we might undertake in the next three years, in addition to all our other plans, we replied, ‘succession planning’. And this will be judged by whether or not an Espoo-Edinburgh pair is present at the ALICUM Summit three years from now.
For this bishop, at any rate, international partnerships are a blessing for any diocese. But perhaps I’ll say more about this tomorrow on the fifth and final day of the Summit.
Day 5
Yesterday was very much a day of resolution, forward planning and leave-taking. I was part of a table group including delegates from Columbia and Bavaria.
We also gathered around the font at the Lutheran Good Shepherd Church-Amman for an act of commitment and commissioning.
It has been exciting to spend time learning more about the breadth and diversity of God’s church, and the very different contexts in which Christians live and serve Christ, not least in the turmoil of the Holy Lands. I’ve been very conscious too that we have been meeting in and enjoying the hospitality of a majority Muslim country.
But in short, we leave Jordan refreshed in faith, renewed in the promises of our Baptism and (for many of us) looking forward to reassembling in 2028 to hear what new things God has done with us and through us. It has been a privilege for me to be here, just as it has been a privilege to be in partnership with the Diocese of Espoo throughout my time as Bishop of Edinburgh. It has been a life-enhancing and faith-inspiring gift, and I hope that many others will find that this is true for them too.