Previously, on BosseyBlog... I left things off with a description of what the academic program here would be like during the new semester. We had two interdisciplinary seminars (one on church and state, the other on healing and reconciliation) and two other courses (one on methodology, the other on religious plurality). The courses were generally good, although with only five students in most of the seminars, getting a good discussion going was sometimes a challenge. Though we had two professors for each course, the students also each took turns leading seminars or offering presentations, often related to our own interests or backgrounds. For instance, in the church and state seminar I presented a paper on the attitude of the early Church Fathers toward the state. For the healing and reconciliation seminar I offered a paper on Canada’s Indian residential schools. And for our course on religious plurality, I gave a presentation on the increasingly multi-religious mosaic which is Canada. The methodology course’s objective was to help us prepare for writing our 100-page dissertations. After some reworking, my research proposal (a glimpse of which is pictured) got the go-ahead. It’s entitled “The Limits of Communion: Finding a Role for Anglican-Orthodox Dialogue in Resolving Intra-Anglican Conflict.” If you’re particularly interested, I can email you my full proposal.
Of course, it’s not just been work over here. In addition to serving as our main place of study, Bossey is also a place where several outside groups (church and non-church alike) hold gatherings of various kinds. One such group was a meeting of ecumenical officers from various churches around the world. Two fellow Canucks were among them: Paul Johnson from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, and Gail Allen from the United Church of Canada (to my left around the campfire). It was a great opportunity to catch up with Paul (who was taking the photo) and to meet Gail—and to have some people understand my Canadian sense of humour for a change. 
My extracurricular travels have been ongoing. Istanbul is a city that’s long been on my list of places to see. A Bossey classmate of mine, Heewung Kang (pictured with me on the shores of the Black Sea), was up for a road trip before heading home to South Korea, so we hopped on a plane and spent four days in the “gateway to Asia.” The timing was such that we booked our trip on the weekend Eastern Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter. For centuries, before its fall to the Turks, Istanbul (then known as Constantinople or New Rome) was the centre of Eastern Christianity. To this day it is home to the most
senior of all Orthodox bishops, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Christianity—and the patriarchate—in Istanbul is a shadow of its former self, with only a couple of thousand faithful living among a vast and sometimes militant Muslim majority. But for a few hours in the early morning of Easter Sunday, I was able to participate in one of the most glorious celebrations of the resurrection, in a city where Christians have been worshipping continuously for at least 17 centuries. The Ecumenical Patriarch, His All Holiness Bartholomew I (himself a Bossey graduate from the 1960s), celebrated the (four hour!) Holy Liturgy in the Cathedral Church of St. George. It was without a doubt the highlight of my visit to Istanbul.
I also paid another visit to Monte Carlo, where Wally Raymond (my former colleague at the cathedral in Quebec City) is now the Anglican chaplain. He invited me down for the Monaco Grand Prix. Despite having lived in a Formula One city, namely Montreal, for five years, this was my first F1 experience. One of Wally’s parishioners has a flat with (as you can see) a pretty sweet view of the track, and invited us up to watch the race. Considering wooden bench seats from which to watch the race were going for several hundred euros, I can only imagine what seats like ours might have cost. Most of the people watching the race with us in the flat were British expatriates, so it was an added treat when the British driver, Lewis Hamilton, took the chequered flag. I also preached that Sunday in Wally’s church. The appointed lectionary text happened to be Matthew 6:24: “No one can serve to masters. […] You cannot serve God and wealth.” A challenging passage on which to preach in the wealthiest city on earth.
Speaking of preaching, I’ve continued to have the privilege to fill in as celebrant at the Episcopal (that’s the Anglican church in the USA) parish in Geneva, Emmanuel. The rector is a fellow Canadian and fellow Dio alumnus named John Beach. I filled in for him just a couple of weekends ago, and the service included a baptism. I’d almost forgotten how much I enjoy presiding at the liturgy. It was really quite nice, although I suppose it’s easy to idealize things when you’re just filling in. When you walk out the door of the church after coffee hour, you don’t have to worry about any of the problems which might rear their heads in the parish afterward. 
Perhaps my biggest news is that instead of spending the month of July here at Bossey doing an interfaith course, I’ll be in Canterbury, attending the Lambeth Conference. A chance encounter here at the institute with Dame Mary Tanner (a prominent figure in the Church of England) has led to my being seconded to the staff of the conference as a “rapporteur” (basically a kind of recording secretary). The Lambeth Conference brings together most of the world’s Anglican bishops only once every 10 years, and so this is a kind of once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Both my bishops (+Bruce Stavert and +Dennis Drainville) will be there, as well as a number of other Canadian Anglicans serving in various capacities. Given the current divisions in the Anglican Communion, this could be one of the most decisive gatherings in the history of our church. It will be an amazing privilege to be witnessing it all—whatever happens.My hope (yes, I know you’ve heard this one before) is that I’ll be able to blog a bit from the conference. Until next time, from Canterbury…
