Give us grace, O God our Father, to keep this day and always the new commandment and the great commandment and all the commandments, by loving thee with all our mind and soul and strength, and one another for thy sake; in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

—Daily Prayer, Eric Milner-White and G. W. Briggs, eds. (London: Penguin Books 1959 edition of the 1941 original)

Sunrise in #Canelli. This beautiful country, Italy, continues to surprise me every day… #Langhe #Piemonte pic.twitter.com/UIb7BvHBQx

— Mauro Bussini (@mauro_bussini) October 16, 2022

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesare’a Philip’pi, he asked his disciples, “Who do men say that the Son of man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Eli’jah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

–Matthew 16:13-20

Autumn colours pic.twitter.com/Orxmo13htR

— The Wild Massy 🌳 (@TheWildMassy) October 16, 2022

From there:

Woodbridge, VA (October 15, 2022) – The clergy and lay delegates of the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic (DOMA) elected on the second ballot the Rev. Chris Warner to be the next diocesan bishop at a special electing Synod at All Saints’ Church in Woodbridge, VA. Pending the consent of the Anglican Church in North America’s College of Bishops in January, Bishop-Elect Warner will be consecrated at The Falls Church Anglican in Falls Church, VA on February 18, 2023.

Bishop-Elect Warner is the Rector of the Church of the Holy Cross, Sullivan’s Island/Daniel Island, SC. Prior to his time as Rector, he was an Associate Rector at Church of the Holy Cross, Rector at St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center, and Curate at Trinity Episcopal Church in Columbus, GA. He married Catherine in 1993, and they have three children (27, 24, and 23).

Bishop-Elect Warner addressed the delegates saying, “I’m honored and humbled to have been selected to serve DOMA as bishop-elect. I’m aware that those of us who serve the Lord in vocational ministry must never believe we do so because we ‘qualify.’ We serve because the Lord calls. And those whom He calls, He then equips. This keeps us dependent upon the Lord and Jesus receives the glory he rightly deserves. I ask your prayers and I pledge my prayers for you. I’m truly excited to see what God will do as we serve together in the years to come.”

On Sept. 14, 2021, Bishop John Guernsey called for the Diocese to begin the process leading to the election and consecration of his successor and to his retirement. On July 17, 2022, the Committee on Nominations announced the final slate of three candidates. As part of the process leading to the election, the candidates participated in two events on September 27 and 28 where they joined in a live Q&A session with delegates. For election, the Constitution and Canons of the Diocese require a majority of the votes cast by each order (lay and clergy) on the same ballot.

The Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic is a regional diocese of the Anglican Church in North America dedicated to reaching North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ. The Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic consists of 40 Congregations, Missions, and Mission Fellowships in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Delaware, eastern West Virginia, and northeastern North Carolina. Several more are in formation.

O God, who by thy Holy Spirit didst move Teresa of Avila to manifest to thy Church the way of perfection: Grant us, we beseech thee, to be nourished by her excellent teaching, and enkindle within us a lively and unquenchable longing for true holiness; through Jesus Christ, the joy of loving hearts, who with thee and the same Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever.

Today the Church of England celebrates Teresa of Avila, Teacher of the Faith, 1582 https://t.co/r8NDlPIq2r

Image: Central section of Teresa of Avila window (Margaret Agnes Rope, 1929) in Holy Family & St Michael Church, Kesgrave, Suffolk. Photo via https://t.co/qy1JRefNtH pic.twitter.com/OlzjdMP3M0

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) October 15, 2022

Blessed Lord, who putteth down the mighty from their seat and exaltest those of low degree: Save us, we beseech thee, from pride and vainglory, from self-seeking and false ambition. Give us a humble and contrite spirit, that we may think less of ourselves, more of others, and most of all of thee, who art our mighty God and Saviour; to whom with thee and the Holy Spirit we ascribe all praise and glory, now and for evermore.

Beautiful between the monsoon rainfall ☔️ Isle of Skye #Scotland @angie_weather @StormHour @VisitScotland @ThePhotoHour pic.twitter.com/LMbnblKlWe

— James MacInnes (@Macinnesplant) October 15, 2022

And he lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ quite openly and unhindered.

–Acts 28:30-31

Comfortably cool and clear to start the day with temperatures in the 50s for most of us. We'll hit 80 in most neighborhoods today under a sunny sky.@WCBD #chswx #chsnews pic.twitter.com/VEaZQV4Gbg

— Josh Marthers (@joshmarthers) October 15, 2022

While many types of shopping were limited by the COVID-19 pandemic, one type became more prevalent—church shopping.

At the height of the pandemic, in October 2020, researchers Nicholas Higgins and Paul Djupe surveyed American churchgoers. They found more than a third (35%) reported visiting another congregation in person or online in the previous six months, according to their report published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. That would indicate a higher-than-normal amount of churchgoers who at least explored other churches. A pre-pandemic study from Pew Research found about half of Americans (49%) said they had looked for a new congregation at some point in their entire adult lives. And moving to a new location was the primary reason for this search (34%).

Of those who were attending a church in spring 2020, 18% reported no longer attending that same congregation by October. Again, that is higher than the pre-pandemic church-switching rate by 4 to 5 percentage points….

The biggest factor seems to be relational ties within the congregation. If a person is active and involved, all other factors don’t appear to move them much. Pastors and church leaders should prioritize increasing the commitment level of those at their church. The deeper churchgoers are involved—increased attendance, small group involvement, volunteering, etc.—the less likely it appears they are to leave.

“At least for now, the results suggest a considerable degree of congregational resilience in the face of overwhelming pressure,” the report concludes. Your church has suffered a shock to the system and probably lost some people. But you have endured and the people who remain are probably more committed than ever. As you move forward, work toward strengthening the ties of current churchgoers even more and assimilating new attendees quickly.Read it all.

The deeper churchgoers are involved in a congregation the less likely they are to leave, regardless of whether they ever visit another church. https://t.co/1FVo8oOQ03

— Lifeway Research (@LifewayResearch) October 14, 2022

Doctors recruited from some of the world’s poorest countries to work in UK hospitals say they’re being exploited – and believe they’re so overworked they fear putting patients’ health at risk.

A BBC investigation has found evidence that doctors from Nigeria are being recruited by a British healthcare company and expected to work in private hospitals under conditions not allowed in the National Health Service.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has described the situation as “shocking” and says the sector needs to be brought in line with NHS working practices.

The BBC has spoken to several foreign medics – including a young Nigerian doctor who worked at the private Nuffield Health Leeds Hospital in 2021.

Augustine Enekwechi says his hours were extreme – on-call 24 hours a day for a week at a time – and that he was unable to leave the hospital grounds. He says working there felt like being in “a prison”.

The tiredness was so intense, he says, there were times he worried he couldn’t properly function.

Read it all.

Doctors from Nigeria have told the BBC they are being exploited in the UK, in an investigation that includes exclusive data from the British Medical Association.

Thread 🧵 1/ ⬇️https://t.co/8o4UaCYCA6

— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) October 14, 2022

A new Amazon sorting facility in Woodbury, Minnesota, is taking its employees’ religious needs seriously, adding new “ablution stations” for ritual hand and foot washing and three rooms that people of any faith may use for prayer or meditation.

The 550,000-square-foot facility, which opened this month, employs about 300 Somalis and Somali Americans, many of them refugees from the generation-long civil war in the east African nation. Minnesota is home to as many as 80,000 Somali immigrants, more than half of those living in the United States. More than 99% of Somalians are Muslim.

A stop for packages moving between Amazon warehouses and their shipping destinations, the Woodbury center includes signs in Somali as well as translation services. Other accommodations for all employees include lactation rooms for nursing mothers and soundproof booths for phone calls.

Read it all.

A new Amazon site in Minnesota has taken steps to welcome Muslim employees, but a local leader says Amazon still has a way to go. “They are not trend leaders. They are catching up,” said @Jaylanihussein of @CAIRMN. https://t.co/s2xRyIrEjx

— Religion News Service (@RNS) October 14, 2022

Prices continued to climb at a brutally rapid pace in September, with a key inflation index increasing at the fastest rate in 40 years, bad news for the Federal Reserve as it struggles to wrestle the cost of living back under control.

Overall inflation climbed 8.2 percent over the year through September, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report on Thursday, a slight moderation from August but more than what economists had expected.

Even more worrisome, underlying inflation trends are headed in the wrong direction. After stripping out fuel and food — which are volatile and removed to get a better sense of the trajectory — prices climbed 6.6 percent over the year through September. That was the quickest rate since 1982.

Inflation has been rapid for a year and a half now, and it is proving stubborn even as the Fed mounts its most aggressive campaign in generations to slow the economy and bring price increases under control. Fast inflation has also triggered the highest Social Security cost-of-living adjustment in decades — an 8.7 percent increase in benefits to retired and disabled Americans, a move that was announced Thursday.

Read it all.

Inflation Is Unrelenting, Bad News for the Fed and White House https://t.co/VC0vlFl1h8

— Bill Labovitz (@wlabovitz) October 13, 2022

O God, who in thy providence didst call Joseph Schereschewsky from his home in Eastern Europe to the ministry of this Church, and didst send him as a missionary to China, upholding him in his infirmity, that he might translate the holy Scriptures into languages of that land: Lead us, we pray thee, to commit our lives and talents to thee, in the confidence that when thou givest thy servants any work to do, thou dost also supply the strength to do it; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Today the Episcopal Church commemorates Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky, Bishop and Missionary, 1906 https://t.co/0dsI8Ib5A8 pic.twitter.com/zrGUzNj97x

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) October 14, 2022

Take from us, O Lord God, all pride and vanity, all boasting and self-assertion, and give us the true courage that shows itself in gentleness; the true wisdom that shows itself in simplicity; and the true power that shows itself in modesty; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

🍂Guten Morgen ☀️🍁🌾🧡 pic.twitter.com/AoEtDGYjY8

— 💫Stein_harmonie🍀🧚‍♀️ (@SteinHarmonie) October 14, 2022

Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became dazzling white. And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Eli′jah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, and when they wakened they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Eli′jah”—not knowing what he said. As he said this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silence and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

–Luke 9:28-36

Can't beat a sunrise like this!

Scattered clouds, drier air, and cooler temperatures greet you out the door this morning.@WCBD #chswx #chsnews pic.twitter.com/0XXKY4jNt4

— Josh Marthers (@joshmarthers) October 14, 2022

“Pastor Raymond (Uncle Ray) has dedicated his life to working with the Stolen Generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia, in ways that are often out of the limelight and speak of deep personal integrity and an inspirational faith. A descendant of the Kabi Kabi nation, the Gureng Gureng nation of South-East Queensland, and the South Sea Islander people, Pastor Ray’s near relations were enslaved as cane cutters. He grew up on a reserve and only narrowly avoided being taken from his parents by the colonial authorities. Later he was offered roles in the Australian Government, but chose to stay working in the community.

“Through his ministry, he has dealt with complex, intergenerational trauma and high rates of incarceration, suicide and addiction in his community resulting from colonial policies. Yet he chooses to pursue relationship with colonising cultures, saying: ‘It’s God himself, in the middle of all of this mess, these powers that be – he’s putting out his hand, both to the wounded as well as to those who have made the wounds, – and saying, “Come on, let’s get back together again. Let’s heal these relationships again. Let’s make us be one as God created us to be.” That really is the heart of the gospel.’

Read it all.

The Archbishop of Canterbury presents pastor Ray Minniecon with a Lambeth Awardhttps://t.co/YKejVjiU5I@OperationNoah @arrcc1 @micahaustralia @ABM_Mission @LambethConf pic.twitter.com/MRDqI7xUJi

— Green Anglicans (@Greenanglicans) October 13, 2022

New mothers and the elderly are among the first to take advantage of a warm spaces scheme to help people struggling to afford to heat their own homes.

Cafes, churches and libraries across Bristol are opening their doors as energy prices rise this winter.

The city council asked businesses and public buildings to join the scheme in the summer.

As well as warmth, many of the spaces are offering services like financial advice and homework support.

A cafe in the Wellspring Settlement community centre in Barton Hill is taking part in the initiative twice a week and is also providing food.

People are only asked to pay what they can afford, with the rest subsidised by the council.

Read it all.

Bristol warm places scheme welcomes first residents – a lot of hard work has gone into establishing warm spaces across the city. For information on cost of living support ⁦@BristolCouncil⁩ has put in place please go to https://t.co/ZF99TzZ9F6 https://t.co/7C6jRf6nZI

— Cllr Asher Craig (@CllrAsherCraig) October 12, 2022

This is evident in Mr Xi’s response to covid-19. China’s initial lockdown saved many lives. However, long after the rest of the world has learned to live with the virus, China still treats every case as a threat to social stability. When infections crop up, districts and cities are locked down. Compulsory movement-tracking apps detect when citizens have been near an infected person, and then bar them from public spaces. It goes without saying that no one thus tagged may enter Beijing, lest they start an outbreak at a politically sensitive time.

Some hope that, once the congress is over, a plan for relaxing the zero-covid policy may be unveiled. But there is no sign yet of the essential first steps to avoid mass deaths, such as many more vaccinations, especially of the old. Party propaganda suggests that any loosening is a long way off, regardless of the misery and economic mayhem that lockdowns cause. The policy has failed to adapt because no one can say that Mr Xi is wrong, and Mr Xi does not want China to be dependent on foreign vaccines, even though they are better than domestic ones.

Such control-freakery has wider implications for China and the world. At home Mr Xi makes all the big calls, and a fierce machinery of repression enforces his will. Abroad, he seeks to fashion a global order more congenial for autocrats. To this end, China takes a twin-track approach. It works to co-opt international bodies and redefine the principles that underpin them. Bilaterally, it recruits countries as supporters. Its economic heft helps turn poorer ones into clients; its unsqueamishness about abuses lets it woo despots; and its own rise is an example to countries discontented with the American-led status quo. Mr Xi’s aim is not to make other countries more like China, but to protect China’s interests and establish a norm that no sovereign government need bow to anyone else’s definition of human rights. As our special report argues, Mr Xi wants the global order to do less, and he may succeed.

Read it all.

Even as Xi Jinping strives to make China a superpower, his authoritarian urges have isolated it https://t.co/ADjqUOPxgs

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) October 13, 2022

Adm. Craig Faller, a senior U.S. military leader, told Congress last year that Chinese launderers had emerged as the “No. 1 underwriter” of drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere. The Chinese government is “at least tacitly supporting” the laundering activity, testified Faller, who led the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military activity in Latin America.

In an interview with ProPublica, the now-retired Faller elaborated on his little-noticed testimony. He said China has “the world’s largest and most sophisticated state security apparatus. So there’s no doubt that they have the ability to stop things if they want to. They don’t have any desire to stop this. There’s a lot of theories as to why they don’t. But it is certainly aided and abetted by the attitude and way that the People’s Republic of China views the globe.”

Some U.S. officials go further, arguing that Chinese authorities have decided as a matter of policy to foster the drug trade in the Americas in order to destabilize the region and spread corruption, addiction and death here.

“We suspected a Chinese ideological and strategic motivation behind the drug and money activity,” said former senior FBI official Frank Montoya Jr., who served as a top counterintelligence official at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. “To fan the flames of hate and division. The Chinese have seen the advantages of the drug trade. If fentanyl helps them and hurts this country, why not?”

Read it all.

This story is about the convergence of two of the top security threats to the United States: Latin American drug cartels and the authoritarian regime in China. https://t.co/BYk0iZkI5L

— ProPublica (@propublica) October 12, 2022

On Monday 10th October, the Health Inequalities Action Group (HIAG), a multi-faith initiative led by the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, to explore London’s health inequalities and how faith groups can and do contribute to the health of their communities, published its report: ‘On Faith, Place and Health: Harnessing the Power of Faith Groups to Tackle London’s Health Inequalities’.

At an event at The Old Deanery near St Paul’s Cathedral, Bishop Sarah presented the report, which makes a series of recommendations aiming to tackle health inequalities. These include supporting the development and integration of an Interfaith Health Council with national health structures to represent faith communities.

The publication comes a few weeks after reports of the Government shelving the long-anticipated Health Disparities White Paper, which led to a coalition of over 155 medical organisations writing to the Health Secretary Thérèse Coffey, urging her to maintain the Government’s commitment to publish its white paper by the end of this year. In her remarks, Bishop Sarah restated those calls and pointed to the HIAG report as a further sign of the urgent need to address the rampant health inequalities faced not only in the Capital, but across the United Kingdom.

Read it all.

O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst pray for thy disciples that they might be one, even as thou art one with the Father: Draw us to thyself, that in common love and obedience to thee we may be united to one another, in the fellowship of the one Spirit, that the world may believe that thou art Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Today’s unearthly sunrise over the Coast Guard beach, Cape Cod National Seashore – Eastham. #capecod #sunrise #StormHour pic.twitter.com/zSeYWUzENB

— Darius Aniunas (@dariusaniunas) October 13, 2022

I love thee, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.

–Psalm 18:1-3

Morning everyone hope you are well. You only need a few minutes of sunshine. Sunrise over Wray Castle and Windermere. Have a great day. #LAKEDISTRICT @keswickbootco @ShowcaseCumbria pic.twitter.com/h3wCpFQEEy

— Rod Hutchinson (@lakesrhino) October 13, 2022

Hope in Depression is a registered charity and has been running courses through churches since 2013. People attending the course explore the causes and symptoms of depression and anxiety, learn about brain chemistry and medication, hear about counselling and discover ways that have been clinically shown to aid recovery and continued wellbeing.

Christ Church’s course leader Denise Morris has run the online course twice a year since 2019. She says, “Hope in Depression is suitable for adults of all ages – we’ve had 18-year-olds and 80 year-olds on the course and men and women of all ages in between.  Many people who have done the course have reported improvements in their mood and ability to cope day to day. It really can help make a difference.”

The course has received positive feedback from attendees who highlight the relaxed, safe and caring environment.

As one explains: ‘Meeting others, knowing there are so many of us who experience depression – knowing I’m not alone. It’s so very important that this course is available to as many people as possible.’

Read it all.

A church in Surbiton is one of a number who are delivering a free, online mental health course to support adults living with depression and anxiety.

Read more at https://t.co/ruk72ZGhCL.#WorldMentalHealthDay

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) October 10, 2022

The Energy Costs Grant will be distributed to dioceses to enable them to help Parochial Church Councils (PCCs) cover the increased cost of heating and lighting church buildings this winter.

Dioceses will also be able to use some of their fund allocation to make additional targeted hardship payments for clergy and other employed ministers to cover household bills, in particular energy costs.

The new funding comes after £3 million was made available earlier this year by the Church of England for dioceses to distribute to clergy and lay ministers facing particular hardship because of the cost of living crisis.

The Energy Costs Grant is accompanied by information aimed at helping churches to become more energy efficient and reduce their carbon footprint.

Read it all.

The Church of England is to provide £15 million for dioceses to help churches struggling to pay energy costs.

Learn more about the Energy Costs Grant at https://t.co/xw1ACR3Lbk.

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) October 12, 2022

When Sarah, a 29-year-old North American, quit her job in the film industry and came to study law in London, she hoped to put her life on a firmer financial footing. Two years on, that goal seems further away than ever.

Interest payments on a bank loan have gone up; she has lost weight having cut back on groceries; and feels isolated because going out costs too much. A soaring energy bill has forced her to move out of her previous flat-share.

And with earnings as a research assistant working out at £6.65 an hour, Sarah says it is “impossible to imagine” planning for the future.

“I’m fixing the problem directly in front of me, not building a long-term game plan,” she says. “Every relationship and facet of my life has been impacted . . . It’s as if you’re climbing a staircase and you don’t know if the next step is going to be there [or] if you’re going to fall through.”

Sarah is one of countless casualties of a global cost of living crisis that is forcing people around the world to put their lives on hold — forgoing social lives, scrapping house moves and weddings, hesitating to start a family or delaying retirement because of the financial pressures caused by high inflation.

Read it all.

‘A self-inflicted lockdown’ – hundreds of FT readers across the world reveal how the cost of living crisis has forced them to put their lives on hold https://t.co/j8WC1AGIHy pic.twitter.com/lSq8FxOPgo

— FT Opinion (@ftopinion) October 12, 2022

The Reverend Canon Stephen Race, currently Rector of The Benefice of Central Barnsley in the Anglican Diocese of Leeds and also Area Dean of Barnsley, has been appointed as the new Bishop of Beverley.

Speaking of his upcoming role for the Northern Province of the Church of England, Fr Stephen said he would strive for positive dialogues within the church and looked forward to serving people across the whole region.

“I am slowly getting used to the idea that I have been called by God to be a bishop in His church and that I have been invited to take on the role and responsibility of the Bishop of Beverley,” said Fr Stephen.

“I look forward to meeting new colleagues and partners in the Gospel as we seek to serve the parishes and people of the Northern Province…”

Read it all.

I welcome the announcement of the Revd Canon Stephen Race as the new Bishop of Beverley. Join me in praying for him and his family and the churches and parishes he will serve across the Northern Province @churchofenglandhttps://t.co/OvynGOgkGK

— Stephen Cottrell (@CottrellStephen) October 12, 2022

Living God, who art the source of all healing and wholeness: we bless thee for the compassionate witness of thy servant Edith Cavell. Inspire us, we beseech thee, to be agents of peace and reconciliation in a world beset by injustice, poverty, and war. We ask this through Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, who livest and reignest with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

12 Oct 1915: British #nurse Edith #Cavell, who helped ~200 Allied soldiers escape from #Belgium during World War I, is executed by a German firing squad. She also helped hundreds of #soldiers from both sides who were injured. #WWI #history #ad https://t.co/t6IKxhtmXq pic.twitter.com/EXRGrfgTRE

— Today In History (@URDailyHistory) October 12, 2022

Gracious God,
you call us to fullness of life:
by your Spirit deliver us from unbelief
and banish our anxieties
with the liberating love of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen (slightly edited).

Just a gorgeous sunrise over Christ Church…#MuChChLove pic.twitter.com/utBPpzVfbc

— Christ Church (@ChCh_Oxford) October 12, 2022

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying,

“I called to the Lord, out of my distress,
and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
and thou didst hear my voice.
For thou didst cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood was round about me;
all thy waves and thy billows
passed over me.
Then I said, ‘I am cast out
from thy presence;
how shall I again look
upon thy holy temple?’
The waters closed in over me,
the deep was round about me;
weeds were wrapped about my head
at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land
whose bars closed upon me for ever;
yet thou didst bring up my life from the Pit,
O Lord my God.
When my soul fainted within me,
I remembered the Lord;
and my prayer came to thee,
into thy holy temple.
Those who pay regard to vain idols
forsake their true loyalty.
But I with the voice of thanksgiving
will sacrifice to thee;
what I have vowed I will pay.
Deliverance belongs to the Lord!”

–Jonah 2:1-9

EYFS children have been learning about Jom Kippur and the importance of saying sorry.
We looked at the story of Jonah and the whale and practised saying sorry in different languages. pic.twitter.com/A4WIUOgQQV

— Sellincourt Primary School (@SellincourtPri1) October 5, 2022

The young Ware had entered a world of perpetual controversy, between different nations and ethnicities and between different shades of ideology. The remainder of his life was devoted to wrestling with these contradictions and helping others to do so.

Having won a King’s Scholarship to study classics at Magdalen College, Oxford, he took a double first and wrote a doctoral thesis on St Mark the Ascetic. At the same time he deepened his commitment to Orthodoxy. He loved Russian spirituality but was wary of being embroiled in Russian controversies. His wisest Russian mentors advised moving closer to the religious mainstream and joining the Greek church, into which he was received in 1958, later being elevated to the priesthood, tonsured as a monk and given the name Kallistos in 1966.

By that time he had been guided by Amphilochios Makris, a visionary monastic on Patmos, who said that care for the environment, especially trees, was a Christian duty. It was this monk, canonised in 2018, who advised the young Englishman that his future lay in teaching Orthodox Christianity in the West.

Ware faithfully carried out this mission during three decades as an Oxford lecturer, presenting arcane theological issues with clarity and humour.

Read it all.

Worth waiting six weeks for Kallistos Ware’s obituary, a friend of a friend in my Oxford days, and one of the greatest Christian minds in our age.https://t.co/KR2LXyLMvn

— John Twisleton (@JohnTwisleton) October 6, 2022