“AS THE diocese on the forefront of this war, we are offering a ministry of prayer and presence,” the Bishop in Cyprus & the Gulf said as the Middle East entered a second week of conflict.
The Rt Revd Sean Semple spoke to the Church Times from Cyprus. He was in Limassol on the morning of 2 March, when RAF Akrotiri was hit by a one-way attack drone. “It’s an extremely difficult time, but, at the moment, Cyprus is as safe as anywhere in the region, so I’m not feeling any personal danger,” he said.
“As Anglican dioceses go, we are at the very forefront of this war, although we don’t want to take anything away from our brothers and sisters in the diocese of Jerusalem, because obviously there’s great conflict going on in Jerusalem (Comment, 6 March), and in Lebanon (News, 4 March), and equally in the diocese of Iran,” he continued.
The Bishop has been contacting clergy and people within his diocese by means of WhatsApp, emails, and video calls, over the past two weeks, but is hoping to go to the Gulf by the end of next week. “I do have to obviously think about matters of security, but, at the same time, it’s really important to be with your people at a time like this.”
When praying online with people in Bahrain, he can often hear sirens sound in the background. “Sometimes, you can hear the explosions of intercepted missiles and drones. It heightens the sense of danger that we are really living under at this time,” he said.
In his diocese, there are eight countries under attack. “The UAE has been the hardest hit, followed by Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. What is happening in some of those countries is that we can’t even have in-person church services, because it’s far too dangerous.”
Yet recently, congregations have begun returning to churches in the UAE, “and, in some places, up to three-quarters of the normal congregation is coming to worship, which is rather extraordinary,” he said.
“Where there is only the opportunity for us to connect virtually with one another, we’re doing that, but there are also opportunities to connect physically in some countries, and so, as Christians, we have been hosting people who have been either displaced by the war or have found themselves stranded because of flights being cancelled.”
No in-person church services remain in Qatar, owing to safety concerns, and, in the past couple of days, St Christopher’s Cathedral, in Bahrain, has been closed for public worship.
“What’s been been most impressive to me is how quickly our cathedral in Bahrain immediately began to host a service of evening prayer online, and they have made that available to the diocese and the wider world. We’re starting to draw people from across the world to pray with us,” he said.
Many of the clergy within the diocese are drawing on lessons learned during the Covid pandemic. “They have been absolutely wonderful in adjusting very quickly to the crisis. They’ve taken some of those skills, and immediately gone online where they’ve needed to; they’ve used whatever technology they’ve had at their disposal to connect with people, and to ensure that people feel connected and cared for, which is a really, really important feature of the way in which we are continuing ministry at this time.”
Lent and Ramadan are falling at the same time (Quotes, 20 February) this year, and Bishop Semple has been invited to Iftar meals at various Muslim mosques. “We promote a positive relationship, dialogue, and understanding between ourselves and Muslim people,” he said.
“Our notion of being present in this region is grounded in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter five, where we understand ourselves to be attempting to live out being the salt of the earth, the light of Christ in these dark times, and through our interfaith work, particularly, we are attempting to be those peacemakers that build understanding and peace between people.”
Bishop Semple said that: “In years to come, there’s going to be a great need to rebuild and stabilise and heal what has been broken and damaged by this war. As a diocese we will continue, by God’s grace, to be present and prayerful. We would value, firstly, prayers now, for our ministry, our witness in this area, for the work that we are trying to do, not just in managing the crisis, but also in terms of constantly trying to be that positive presence in these countries.”
