Jerusalem
and the Middle East
Church Association

Bishop Mouneer and Bishop Derek lead the Palm Sunday procession in Cairo

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Obituaries

The last ‘Bible Lands’ included what was supposed to be my final report as Bishop of the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf. However, the Editor asked me to contribute a piece with some impressions of the life of the Diocese while I have been Bishop.

I first came to the Middle East some fifty years ago and have been involved in the life of the Church for more than forty years. There have certainly been some very significant events in those years. It is, however, the last eleven years, during which I have been Bishop in Cyprus and the Gulf, which I shall be principally reflecting upon.

Phenomenal growth

The characteristic of the Diocese over the years has been growth, including the development of many different congregations who associate themselves with the life of our Church, with churches in the Gulf offering hospitality to other Christian groups. The growth has sometimes been phenomenal.

When Jane and I went to Abu Dhabi in 1978, there were nine other churches using St Andrew's Church. When we left in the early 80's, there were fourteen. Now there are over sixty groups and twenty more hoping for a space. Some of these groups come from ancient churches, others are newly formed charismatic prayer groups. I have always hoped that we can learn from one another and move forward in our ecumenical understanding.

Increasingly our own congregations have become more mixed, both in terms of the nationalities involved and people’s church backgrounds. We have sought to exercise an inclusive kind of Anglicanism in which all are welcome. Many who are not Anglican have found a spiritual home in the churches of the Diocese. I believe that through this many people will have had a new ecumenical vision.

The Ecumenical Crucible

When Archbishop Stuart Blanch, then Archbishop of York, visited the Gulf in the early 80's and laid the foundation stone of the new Church of St Andrew in Abu Dhabi, he coined the phrase ‘The Ecumenical Crucible of the Gulf’. Since then the crucible has expanded enormously. When I am asked what people will feel when they return to their own more established churches back home, I usually say that I hope they will suffer a kind of Godly impatience.

The United Churches of South India and Pakistan, have grown and become more established within the Gulf area over the last 25 years. They are now members of the Anglican Communion.

While we enjoy fellowship together, we have yet to explore what it means to be all part of the one Communion, and what those churches have to teach us through their links with other Christian bodies who were part of their founding.

Buildings old and new

By the standards of many parts of the world, our church buildings are fairly young. Two churches, St Paul's, Ahmadi, Kuwait and St Christopher's, Bahrain have celebrated recently fifty years of existence. St Stephen's in Paphos and St Luke's, Prodromi, both part of the Paphos chaplaincy, have been established only within the last few years. Recent years have seen the building and development of Christ Church, Jebel Ali, a much expanded St Martin's, Sharjah, and St Luke's, Ras Al Khaimah, where we are now negotiating with the authorities to establish a more permanent church building. Discussions have started to identify land on which a new church in Kuwait City may be based.

A really important development in the last five years has been the agreement that a church building can be established in Doha in Qatar. There is an imaginative scheme for an Anglican Centre there, and the local committee is grappling with the daunting costs. What makes this so significant is that the Church was not officially there at all in Qatar. The permission to build churches gives recognition to the life of the Church and the presence of clergy there.

Keeping united

In a Diocese like this, it would be very easy for everything to become congregational. The separate chaplaincies exercise a good deal of autonomy and they could easily become just selfcontained units. This would be far from the Anglican vision and the reality of the Diocese. There are a number of factors which help to keep us in unity and aware of one another.

One factor is the annual Synod. Over the years, Synod has done much to bring a sense of oneness and purpose. While the Synodical business has been basically the same, there are always new features. Worship plays a key part and forms the skeleton on which all else is built. Since 1980, Synods have always been held in Cyprus, for many years in the Lordos Beach Hotel near Larnaca. The experience of living together cannot be underestimated.

The one exception to the Cyprus pattern was when Synod was at the Ras Al Khaimah Hotel in the northernmost of the United Arab Emirates. Members travelled through the Emirates and viewed the different churches. This was particularly valuable for people from Cyprus, so that they could get the feel of the Church in the Gulf, as the two parts of the Diocese are very different - one complements the other and we all gain.

Aden and Baghdad

Patients at Aden Clinic	Young worshipper in Baghdad

The development of the work at Christ Church, Aden and the growth of the clinics there have been significant in the life of the Diocese. Some years ago, Synod adopted the Aden project as its main internal mission project, and the support a number of chaplaincies continue to give has been a focus for unity.

Through the sadly exciting experience of St George’s, Baghdad, we are finding a similar sort of response which involves people in the wider Church too.

Another factor for unity is the twice-yearly prayer booklet, which is used widely, both in and out of the Diocese. The ministry of prayer helps keep us informed and supported.

As Bishop in a Diocese like this I have been away from my base in Nicosia more than I have been there. Those travels have been another part of that unifying factor which I sometimes refer to as the glue that binds us together.All one in Christ

Like the Diocese, the Province has been established for more than thirty years. Despite, and as a result of, discussions over the years, it has been generally concluded that the present Provincial structures are right. They enable us to affirm our rootedness in the local scene and our embracing of a large number of nationalities. Recognising the indigenous roots of the Church, we are also able to learn how we are all one in Christ.

It has been a privilege for me to be President Bishop for the last five years. All the Dioceses have now provided the Primate for a period of years, and this marks a coming of age for the Province and a recognition of that basic unity which undergirds all that we do.

In February there was a very good meeting of the Provincial Synod in which all Dioceses were fully represented. There was a real sense that we are on a threshold, with a new and positive future stretching ahead. I believe that Bishop Mouneer will have much to bring to the Province as President Bishop. As we welcome his appointment, and that of the others who will work with him, we assure him and them of our prayers.

God is faithful

As I look back over fifty years, there have been enormous changes in the Middle East that I have known. Within the eleven years that I have been Bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf there has been change and growth. Through it all, there has been an awareness of God leading, challenging, supporting and sustaining. God has plans for his people in the Middle East and he will be with them as they seek to fulfil his call to them. I will close with one of my favourite texts: “Faithful is the one who calls you, who also will do it”. (1 Thessalonians 5:24)

With my gratitude and the assurance of Jane’s and my continued prayers for you all.

Clive

Information on the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf