Visit to the Diocese of Santiago
On Wednesday 8 January 2025 Bishop David and Revd Mark Lennox left for our link Diocese of Santiago in Chile. The timing of the trip coincided with the consecration of the new Bishop of Santiago and the installation of the next Primate for the Anglican Church in Chile.
Mark is the Santiago Partnership Link Coordinator and reports on the visit below:
After a long journey to Santiago, our first engagement was a Friday morning meeting with Revd Juan Esteban Saravia (Bishop-elect), Archbishop Tito (the outgoing Primate), and Revd Max Imiliano Diaz who visited Down and Dromore last year. The fellowship was warm and the conversations regarding the potential shared ministry opportunities between the two dioceses were productive.
On Saturday the Diocese of Santiago hosted a lunch in La Trinidad Church for all the international guests who had gathered for the consecration and installation. Bishop David and I joined representatives from Australia, USA, Uganda, England, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina.
That evening Bishop David preached at a church plant in Santiago’s city centre. Iglesia Santiago Apóstol (Church of St James the Apostle) was originally planted in a movie theatre, but for logistical reasons has recently moved to an old Church building in that same area. The pastor of the church is Archdeacon Cristóbal Cerón.
Historic day
Sunday brought a very significant and historic day for the Diocese of Santiago and for the Anglican Church in Chile. It was a privilege for Bishop David to join with the other bishops in the laying on of hands at the consecration of Revd Juan Esteban Saravia as a Bishop in the Church.
Immediately following the installation of Bishop Juan Esteban as the Diocesan Bishop of Santiago, The Most Revd Enrique Lago was installed as the 2nd Archbishop of Chile. He is the son-in-law of Bishop Colin Bazley.
During the service there was a real sense of celebration and giving thanks to God as to how the Church in Chile has grown over the past number of years. As the occasion also marked the formal retirement of Archbishop Tito Zavala, there was a very visible passing on of the baton from one generation to the next.
At the reception after the service both Bishop David and I brought greetings from the Diocese of Down and Dromore and from SAMS Ireland.
At La Trinidad Church on Sunday evening Bishop Alf Cooper invited Bishop David to speak to the congregation about the link between the two dioceses. Bishop Alf asked me to speak about ministry in the Church of Ireland and share the greatest need in Ireland at present. The service concluded with a very powerful time of prayer ministry.
Visits
Revd Max Imiliano Diaz is on the Ministry team of La Providencia Church in the heart of the city, and we visited it the next day. This is a growing church with two very distinct congregations (one English and one Spanish) and a variety of ministries on offer. In the afternoon we spent some time with two of the other international guests whose church also works alongside one of the congregations in Santiago.
On Tuesday we visited SEP (the Theological Seminary) and spent some time chatting with one of the current students. Following this we visited Iglesia de la Resurrecion (Church of the Resurrection) which will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year. This church is in one of the more deprived areas of Santiago. Here there was a wonderful time of sharing, teaching and prayer ministry with the Pastor.
We visited the Diocesan Office on Wednesday and spent some time with Archdeacon Cristóbal Cerón. This gave us the opportunity to discuss the logistics around the link between the two dioceses and chat through the possibilities of partnering with each other.
Thank you for your prayers as we visited Chile and please continue to pray for the flourishing of this precious link with the Diocese of Santiago.
Revd Mark Lennox
Pictured above with Bishop David and Revd Mark: Bishop Juan Esteban and Archbishop Tito (now retired).
