Annual Festival of Willibrord Society & The Charter for Compassion

(London) Thursday, 18 November, starts this year's annual festival of Willibrord Society in London. The festival begins with a solemn Eucharistic celebration in the Church of St Peter's (Eaton Square).The first Willibrord Society was founded in England in 1908. Its initial aim was to work for closer links between the Church of England and the Old Catholic churches. St Willibrord came from England in the 7th century. He was a missionary to the Frisians, and in 695, he became the first Archbishop of Utrecht. He thus witnesses to the long-standing relationship between the Church of England and the Union of Utrecht, and has been adopted as patron of the relationship between Anglicans and Old Catholics.The Anglican and Old Catholic churches have always been close theologically, and have always enjoyed a good relationship. The Bonn Agreement of 1931 established full intercommunion between the two.The Willibrord Society and its national associations are working for a practical realization of this agreement in the lives of their respective churches.

Old Catholic Bishop Dr. Matthais Ring holds lecture at this year's St. Willibrord Festival in London on the role of the German Old Catholic Church in the Third Reich. I am sure more information about the Bishop's speech will follow. 

On a separate note, across the world people celebrate the one year anniversary of the Charter for Compassion. The Charter for Compassion (2009) is a document which urges the peoples and religions of the world to embrace the core value of compassion. The charter is currently available in thirty languages, and is being translated into more.