Summer school 2026 begins!

On Sunday 19 July 2026, the course '“Anglicanism in European Perspective” at the University of Utrecht started. The Registrar and Interim-Principal of the AIB, as well as the Chaplain-President will be present during the week. Faculty and students gradually arrived and began the program with a special Eucharist with Bishop Mark Edington presiding and Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht, Bernd Wallet preaching, demonstrating the unique ecumenical relationship and communion between the two churches.

In Archbishop Bernd’s sermon, he spoke of how the Cathedral of St. Gertrude and the history of the Old Catholic Church in Utrecht has demonstrated both continuity and rupture in its relationship with other churches. He gently reminded the faculty, staff and students of the summer school that:

 “Churches have been built and demolished. Communities have been divided and reconciled. Empires have come and gone. Yet through all those centuries people have continued to gather to hear the Scriptures, to break the bread, and to discover again that God continues to walk with us, even when everything seems to go awfully wrong on our part.” 

With those wise words and the Eucharist service, the summer school was joyfully ushered in prayer and communal worship. The service was followed by dinner and then everyone found a place to watch the World Cup final or recover from their jetlag.