– Westminster Cathedral: The Constantinian Order raised thousands of pounds towards the restoration and completion of the St George’s Chapel and the installation of the commemorative stone marking the State Visit of HH Pope Benedict XVI to Westminster Cathedral in London in 2010.
During the last century the Cathedral was progressively decorated, with most of the side chapels completed. Thanks to the now fully funded appeal, the Chapel of St George and the English Martyrs will shortly undergo its long awaited completion.
In September 2010, Pope Benedict XVI paid an historic visit to Westminster Cathedral in London as part of his Papal State Visit to United Kingdom. The Friends of Westminster Cathedral launched an appeal to pay for a large commemorative floor marble stone to mark the visit. With the support of the knights and dames of the Constantinian Order and others, the marble stone was placed at the Cathedral’s West Door where the Holy Father made his inspiring address to the hundreds of young people gathered in the piazza. In September 2013, then Archbishop of Westminster, The Most Rev Vincent Nichols blessed the newly installed commemorative stone. For more information on Westminster Cathedral, click here.
– St Peter’s Italian Church in London: An appeal was launched in the 150th anniversary of this iconic Italian Church for its restoration and the knights and dames of the Order between 2012-2014 have donated hundreds of pounds to this appeal. For more information on St Peter’s Italian Church in London, click here.
– The Council of Christians & Jews: The Constantinian Order is a longstanding supporter of the work of Council of Christians & Jews.
The Council was established in 1942 to promote religious and cultural understanding between Christians and Jews; to work for the elimination of religious and racial prejudice, hatred and discrimination particularly anti-Semitism and to promote religious and racial harmony on the basis of the ethical and social teachings common to Christianity and Judaism. The Patron is Her Majesty The Queen and His Eminence Vincent, Cardinal Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, is one of the Council’s Presidents.
The British and Irish Delegation made a substantial donation on the occasion of the 70th anniversary celebrations to the work of the Council for Christians & Jews, which was earmarked specifically for projects aimed at promoting greater Catholic-Jewish understanding.
The Constantinian Order is currently supporting a project called ‘Side by Side’ under the supervision of The Council of Christians and Jews, which is a project aiming to directly assist Chaplains in Higher Education with their challenges of campus interfaith and other pastoral issues. The financial support by the Constantinian Order helped pay for the Programme Manager of the project. For further information on The Council of Christians and Jews, click here. To make a donation, click here.
– Forthspring Inter Community Group: Between 2004-2014, the Constantinian Order was a supporter of the Forthspring Inter Community Group in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Group is involved in educational and community projects which undertake much needed work on a local community level to foster relations between the divided communities in Northern Ireland.
It is a multi-religious body incorporating Catholic, Protestant, Methodist and other faith communities and the Constantinian Order has in the past funded the salaries of a number of the community workers.
Following the visit of the Order’s Grand Prefect, His Royal Highness The Duke of Calabria, in November 2002 to Belfast and the subsequent visit to Cardinal Pompedda of Dublin, the Constantinian Order during the early part of 2004 made a sizeable contribution to the work of the Forthspring Inter Community Group in Belfast. Until 2014, the Order continued to contribute towards the work of the Group by donating thousands of pounds. To read more about Forthspring, click here.
– ‘Having Faith in Foreign Policy’ Conference & Report: The British & Irish Delegation of the Constantinian Order and The Foreign Policy Centre launched in 2007 a 112 page new report titled ‘Having Faith in Foreign Policy’. This collection of essays brought together faith leaders and intellectuals. Discussions and debates were held on the relationship between religion and the state in a post-modern society and the interaction between faith, conflict and development. Speakers included The Rt Hon John Battle MP, the Prime Minister’s Envoy to the Faith Communities, The Rt Rev Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, Anglican Bishop of Rochester, the Urmee Khan of The Guardian and the Order’s British & Irish Delegate Mr Anthony Bailey.
To download a copy of the report ‘Having Faith in Foreign Policy’, click here.
– British-Bulgarian Inter-Faith Conference: As part of its international inter-faith activities, the Constantinian Order in Great Britain & Ireland hosted, in conjunction with the Bulgarian Embassy in London, St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and the Three Faith Forum, the first ever exchange visit of Bulgarian Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders to the UK in June 2007.
The two-day visit included a delegation of the leaders of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Muslim and Jewish communities in Bulgaria. A conference was held in London at St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace in the presence of leading British religious figures including the Delegation’s Sub Prior, The Rt Rev George Stack, Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster, His Eminence Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira and Great Britain, the Order’s British & Irish Delegate Mr Anthony Bailey, Sir Sigmund Sternberg and leaders of Britain’s Anglican, Muslim and Jewish communities.
Among the delegation members were His Eminence Metropolitan Dometian, Bishop of Vidin and Head of the International Department of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Mustafa Hadzhi, the Grand Mufti of Bulgaria, the Right Reverend Christo Proikov, Apostolic Exarch of the Roman Catholic Church in Bulgaria and Mr Roberto Jerasy, Head of the Jewish Spiritual Council.
To mark the occasion both the British and Bulgarian Prime Ministers sent messages of congratulations welcoming the initiative, which followed Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union.
To download a copy of the report ‘Religious Tolerance and Understanding’, click here.
Other organisations that have been supported by the Delegation of Great Britain and Ireland include:
- Apostolic Nunciature to Great Britain
- CAFOD, the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales
- Association of Papal Orders in Great Britain
- St James Roman Catholic Church, Twickenham
- The Anglican & Eastern Churches Association
- Society of St John Chrysostom, London
- The Society of St Augustine of Canterbury
- Tyburn Covent, London
- Benedictine Monastery & Parish Christ the King, London