'We're seeing history in the making'
More than 1200 church leaders from 83 countries attended Alpha’s week for leaders from Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Holy Trinity Brompton last month.
Two archbishops, three bishops and many priests and nuns of all denominations attended the biannual event for church leaders, which was translated simultaneously into six different languages.
Many delegates remarked upon the extraordinary nature of the event. One Middle Eastern delegate said, ‘We are seeing history in the making here. Not for many centuries have Christians of every denomination come together around one piece of Christian teaching in this way.’
The week began with a two-day Alpha conference at which the international delegations were joined by many leaders from around the UK. The conference was opened by Councillor Andrew Dalton, Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
The two Anglican archbishops attending the week were Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini of Rwanda and Archbishop Justice Akrofi, of the Province of West Africa. The bishops included Bishop Paul Yowakim, head of the Coptic Church in north Africa, and Bishop Geoffrey Rwubusisi, of Rwanda.
Many Catholic priests and nuns attended the event, including delegations from eight Latin American countries including Peru, Brazil, and Argentina.
They included Fr Salvador, a Colombian Catholic priest, who is the Director of ITEPAL, the theological arm of the Catholic Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean, and a group from CELAM, the Catholic Bishops Conference for Latin America.
Some of the most inspiring moments of the week came during feedback sessions from delegations from the individual countries. Among the reports were:
France: Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, Archbishop of Paris, has given his support to the growth of Alpha all over France and the course is now running in more than 420 churches, including a fifth of all the Catholic churches in Paris. Last year's National Initiative saw a big increase in those attending courses and another Initiative is planned for this year.
Nigeria: The Anglican Bishop of Lagos has been so impressed by the change brought about through the Alpha course in his cathedral that he has asked for it to be extended to all the Anglican churches in Lagos.
North Africa: Bishop Paul of the Coptic Church in North Africa spoke of his desire to see Alpha running in Coptic churches all over the continent. He said, “Currently we are teaching the Alpha course in different areas in Africa in our Coptic churches. People have a great, great expectation for the Alpha course.”
Czech Republic: An Alpha advertising initiative was held in Brno, the Czech Republic's second largest city with a population of 400,000 last year. The nine churches running Alpha organised advertisements on trams, billboards and through leaflets.
Zimbabwe: An Anglican bishop in Zimbabwe attended an Alpha conference in Kenya last year. On his return he was taking a confirmation service in a local church when he asked one of the candidates 'Who is Jesus?' The person was unable to answer, so he decided that Alpha would be used by every church in his diocese for confirmation training.
Ethiopia: Around 160 delegates attended a Global Alpha Training conference in February and many churches across the country have started running Alpha as a result.
Russia: A representative from the Russian Orthodox Church spoke of how his Moscow church had just finished its 17th Alpha course. We also heard that two Alpha conferences have been held in Moscow during the last year as well as a number of training events across Siberia on the ‘Trans-Siberian Alpha Express’.
