The Archbishop of Canterbury is of 12 leaders from European churches meeting together in Wales for the first time this week.
Dr Rowan Williams is joining the leaders of the Anglican and Lutheran churches which make up the Porvoo Communion. The meeting, hosted by the Church in Wales, is taking place at St Michael’s College, Llandaff, yesterday and today (Wednesday 5 October).
It is the first time the leaders of the Porvoo churches, who represent churches from Spain to Iceland, have met in Wales. They meet every two years to discuss common issues and build up stronger relationships between their churches. The meeting began with a service at Llandaff Cathedral on Monday at which the Archbishop of Uppsala, Andres Wejryd, preached.
Dr Morgan said, “I am delighted to welcome the leaders of the Porvoo Communion to Wales for the first time and I hope we will inspire each other with our different traditions as well as strengthen the links we have already build up between our churches.”
The Porvoo Communion is a communion of churches that have signed an agreement to “share a common life in mission and service”. These churches are either Anglican or Lutheran. The Porvoo churches agree on certain fundamental issues, but Porvoo is not a new confession. The churches maintain their respective identities.
The church leaders coming to Cardiff are:
- Archbishop Kari Makinen, Finland
- Archbishop Andres Poder, Estonia
- Archbishop Elmars Ernsts Rozitis, Church of Latvia Abroad
- Archbishop Anders Wejryd, Sweden
- Bishop Karl Sigurbjörnsson, Iceland
- Bishop Helga Haugland Byfuglien, Norway
- Archbishop Mindaugas Sabutis, Lithuania
- Bishop David Chillingworth, Scotland
- Bishop Jana Jeruma-Grinberga, Lutheran Church in Great Britain
- Bishop Carlos Lopez Lozano, Spanish Episcopal Church
- Archbishop Rowan Williams, Canterbury
- Archbishop Barry Morgan, Wales
