By ACNS staff

Anglican seminarians from countries including India, Madagascar, Nigeria and the USA were in London today to visit Anglican Communion Office (ACO) staff and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The visit is part of a Seminarians & New Clergy course, run by Canterbury Cathedral, which focuses on the rich traditions of cultures and contexts of mission and ministry in the Anglican Communion.

Guided by an international faculty, students are encouraged to share their own experiences of the Anglican Communion and reflect on these against the background of the life and worship of Canterbury Cathedral.

The conference has two pillars: academic input and group reflection on ordained life and ministry, and participating in the pattern of prayer at the cathedral.

The group first visited the Anglican Communion Office where they learned more about its work and spent time in Bible study and worship with the staff there. They then travelled on to Lambeth Palace to meet with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby shortly before he travelled to Rome to meet with Pope Francis. 

One of the seminarians,  Jason Wright from Australia, said of the course that they were "building bridges across boundaries".

"We talk about the Anglican Communion," he added,  surrounded by brothers and sisters from across the globe,  "this is first time I have really experienced it."

The full list of the participants’ countries is:

Australia, Canada, England, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, USA, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

ENDS