An icon in Nelson Cathedral

Yesterday an icon was received from the Eastern European Orthodox Association of Nelson and installed in our Cathedral with due ceremony and prayer. It is a beautiful representation of Christ the Light of the World, painted in the great iconographic tradition of Orthodoxy.

The installation of the icon is both a mark of gratitude for Anglican hospitality and support for the Orthodox community here in Nelson, which has no permanent priest, and a sign of ecumenicity. The latter is worth a note here in the midst of a series of reflections on Anglican-Roman relationships.

A taonga (treasure) of Anglicanism is its capacity to relate to all
branches of Christianity. When Roman-Anglican relationships are much talked about we could be tempted to think our main ecumenical objective is communion with Rome. In fact our main objective is communion with all Christians. It is an objective worth fighting hard to achieve.