All our chaplaincies are unique: but St. Nicholas Ankara is more unique than most! To begin with, it is the only building we have that lies entirely within an embassy compound. Though perhaps not the most beautiful building to look at from the outside, it is set in lovely grounds with commanding views over the city of Ankara.
Just 100 metres down the hill stands the impressive Residence of the British Ambassador.
Having a building on someone else’s land only works with the goodwill of the landowner. And we are very fortunate that Ambassador Sir Dominick Chilcott (front centre) and his wife Lady Jane Chilcott (front left) are friendly and supportive. To mark my arrival at St Nicholas, they organised a dinner for members of the Church Council in the splendid public rooms of the Residence. This was greatly enjoyed by all. Good links between our churches and diplomatic communities are very precious to us.
People gathered with excitement for our confirmation service on Sunday morning. Many of the congregation have to travel many hours by bus to get to church, so I was impressed that the group of confirmation candidates assembled to meet me at 9:00a.m. That is quite early on a Sunday morning for most of us. Having said that, the local muezzin had woken me shortly after five…
St. Nicholas Ankara is made up of two groups: the bigger group are Farsi-speaking Iranians. The smaller group are English speaking ex-patriots. Holding both groups together in a single community is a real challenge.
So I was delighted when we were able to appoint The Revd. Mohammad Eghtedarian as chaplain. He is one of the very few Farsi-speaking Oxford trained Anglo-Persian Anglican priests. His appointment was made possible through a partnership with ICS and CMS. Relocating Mohammad, Maryam and their family from Liverpool to Ankara, finding schooling for the children, and getting Turkish residence visas sorted was a long and sometimes stressful project, but we got there.
This is Mohammad’s first incumbency, so we are working together to help him with the big step up from a curacy at Liverpool Cathedral to incumbency in Turkey.
Sometimes when I meet with a Chaplaincy Council, it proves hard to escape concerns about money or buildings or the lack of young people. By contrast, my conversation with the Council at St. Nicholas was almost entirely about their passionate concern for outreach amongst the Iranians. I found it truly remarkable that people who are away from home themselves, have the energy to focus not so much on their own needs but on the needs of the refugees.
The fruit of this concern is shown in the picture above: a wonderful all-age array of Iranian confirmation candidates. In terms of the largest confirmation services I have ever taken, Ankara now holds first and second place. St. Nicholas is playing its own, prominent, role in the growth and nurture of Farsi-speaking Christian faith that we witness across Europe.
Please do pray for St. Nicholas: for Mohammad and Maryam, for wardens and council shortly to be elected at an annual meeting, and for all involved in the community’s governance to exercise, wise and careful oversight of this embassy-based chaplaincy engaging in a remarkable work of outreach in the capital of Turkey.
Bishop in Europe 