Eastern Archdeaconry Synod 2019
Eastern Archdeaconry Synod begins today. Around forty representatives from across Central, Eastern, and South Eastern Europe will gather over the next three days in Cegléd, Hungary to pray, worship, reflect and plan together.
The featured speaker, the Revd. Nabil Shehadi, of Beirut, Lebanon, will address the Synod delegates on a topic relevant to all Christians, “Doing Life and Mission the Jesus Way.”
The programme will also include an address by Bishop Robert and a session with Diocesan Secretary/Chief Operating Officer, Andrew Caspari. There will be a report from acting Archdeacon, The Revd. Canon Adèle Kelham, and Synod will receive reports on the mission and activities across chaplaincies in the Archdeaconry over the past year. Bible study will be led by The Revd. Canon Leonard Doolan, Chaplain at St Paul’s, Athens, focusing on the Acts of the Apostles.
There will be the opportunity to meet local Hungarian church leaders, as well as the mayor of Cegléd, during the planned festive csárda dinner in Lajosmizse.
Anglicans have been living and working in Hungary for well over a century and are currently served by Saint Margaret’s, Budapest with an additional small community in the Balaton region.
“It is a great privilege for us to host this year’s Synod,” says the Revd. Dr Frank Hegedűs, the area dean for Central Europe and chaplain at Saint Margaret’s. “Building up the Church and spreading the Good News of the Gospel is at the heart of our work and ministry here and everywhere.”
Today, in the Anglican Church calendar, we remember St. Theodore of Tarsus. And there are several highly fitting connections with both the Eastern Archdeaconry, and the Anglican Church. Theodore was born in Tarsus, educated in Athens, and became Archbishop of Canterbury in the latter decades of the 7th Century (AD 668-690).
The significance of St. Theodore was also celebrated by the stunning success of the visit to Athens at Ascension this year by former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams.
On the occasion of his visit, Dr. Williams presented His Beatitude the Archbishop of Athens with a commissioned icon of St. Theodore of Tarsus (pictured) below:
Revd. Canon Leonard noted the presentation was “a great opportunity to show the historic connections with Canterbury, before the great 11th century schism between East and West.”
You can read more about the visit by Dr. Williams on the St. Paul’s website:
Photographs are reproduced here with grateful thanks to the Revd. Canon Leonard and friends at St. Paul’s.
We look forwarding to sharing a report on the proceedings at Eastern Synod in a further website piece.
