The Archbishop of Canterbury was one of 12 leaders from European churches who met together in Wales for the first time this week.
Dr Rowan Williams joined the leaders of the Anglican and Lutheran churches which make up the Porvoo Communion . The meeting, hosted by the Church in Wales, took place at St Michael’s College, Llandaff, on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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 evening at which the Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, presidde and 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 who came 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