“As a small yet vibrant community, you still exhibit the same bold convictions and commitments that led to your founding as a synod in 1880,” said Pillay. “In this second session of your one-hundredth synod—a true milestone in the history of your church—you will also reflect and deliberate on how to witness to Christian hope in your communities, in today’s more diverse and pluralistic Portuguese society, and to the larger ‘polycrisis’ that confronts us all.”
The theme of the synod is “Called to Hope and Holiness in Christ.”
“Your emphasis on the need for personal holiness and imitation of Jesus sums up the imperative of discipleship today,” said Pillay. “Yet it also hints at the ways in which that personal transformation in faith can lead to genuine, realistic hope for transformation of your communities, of society, even of the globe.”
Pillay concluded: “We in the wider ecumenical family of churches prize your presence and unique witness in Portuguese society, in the Anglican Communion, and in the ongoing ecumenical Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity. We congratulate you on this milestone gathering, and we pray for continued success for your ecclesial life and ministry.”