The Anglican Centre in Rome is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of its famous John Moorman Library with an exhibition of some of its most treasured items. The exhibition, which is being opened by the Archbishop of Cantebrury, Justin Welby, this morning (Saturday 30 September) will highlight the library’s ecumenical missionary endeavours.

The exhibition will include new artworks commissioned for the anniversary and inspired by the library’s rich history and collection.

The Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome, Archbishop Ian Ernest, said: “this exhibition is made up of the library’s most treasured material, along with contributions of created artworks by international artists inspired by the library’s history and collection, highlighting the Anglican Centre’s ecumenical missionary endeavours and bearing witness to the quest of God’s people on their journey towards unity.”

Church leaders from Ireland have gathered in Rome to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

In a joint statement, the Irish and British Ambassadors to the Holy See, Frances Collins and Chris Tott, said that they were delighted to welcome the leaders from several denominations.

“For decades, the Churches have played an important role in supporting peace and reconciliation,” they said, expressing hope that visit would “serve to inspire other church and faith-based leaders as they work to support peace and reconciliation around the world.”

The presence of Reformed churches in Rome is being strengthened through the appointment of Tara Curlewis in a dual-serving capacity.

Curlewis, an ordained minister in the Uniting Church in Australia, will serve in two roles: as the new minister of the Church of Scotland’s St. Andrew’s Church and as the Reformed Ecumenical Officer for the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC).

She said she was looking forward to taking up a calling that is grounded in an international and multicultural congregation and “exercising ministry in an exciting ecumenical setting.”

Curlewis said ecumenism “is in her DNA” and churches are “at their best when their voices unite to advocate for shared concerns together.”

“When I am in the ecumenical spaces, I am filled with an inner stirring of God’s perichoresis and have a sense of that same stirring as I prepare to take up the role in Rome, which provides strategic opportunities to uphold and promote the concerns of the Reformed churches,” she said.

Bishop David Hamid, suffragan bishop of the Diocese in Europe and one of the longest serving bishops in the Church of England, has announced his plans to retire in February 2024.

Bishop David said: “For over 20 years I have been blessed to have one of the most fulfilling and enriching jobs in the Church. At times the Diocese in Europe is difficult to explain to outsiders and to many in other parts of the Church of England, but I can sum up from my experience that it is a family, a family of committed and loving people, a truly rich and diverse, if scattered community, which seeks to live the Christian life in the Anglican way. The diocese embodies a profound vision of ecumenical outreach and collaboration and is a beautiful multicultural and multiethnic mosaic. These particular aspects of her life are very close to my own heart and have added to my joy in serving the diocese as one of its bishops.