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Archbishop of Dublin and CITI lecturer teach in Bujumbura

The Revd Dr Paddy McGlinchey teaching at Bujumbura Christian University. Photo (c) CMS Ireland.
The Revd Dr Paddy McGlinchey teaching at Bujumbura Christian University. Photo (c) CMS Ireland.

Archbishop Michael Jackson and the Revd Dr Paddy McGlinchey have just completed two days of teaching at Bujumbura Christian University (BCU) in Burundi. Their time at BCU was the latest part of their programme in a partner visit facilitated by the Church Mission Society Ireland (CMSI).

As Archbishop Jackson explains in his latest blog update on the CMSI website, the university is a relatively new venture: ‘Three years ago, Bishop Eraste, bishop of Bujumbura, decided to use the old cathedral as a university. This is a refreshingly ancient and modern vision. There is a beautiful new cathedral dedicated to The Holy Trinity in the same grounds, open for public use all day long. The old cathedral lent itself, with some adaptation, to becoming Bujumbura Christian University.’

Bishop Eraste … decided to use the old cathedral as a university. This is a refreshingly ancient and modern vision.

There are currently 42 students studying across three year groups at BCU and all of them participated in the teaching sessions led by Archbishop Jackson and Dr McGlinchey. The topics included Missiology, the Five Marks of Mission, and Interfaith Encounter. There was also an opportunity for the students to develop liturgical resources, based on the Five Marks, which are suited to the Burundi context.

In his blog, Archbishop Jackson also highlights some fruitful discussions that emerged from the students’ concerns about society and church in Burundi: ‘At the end of our six sessions of teaching and learning, we returned to the anxieties the students had expressed right at the beginning and reviewed them in the light of our honest and open interchanges over the two days.’

Archbishop Jackson and Dr McGlinchey are the latest of a number of Church of Ireland clergy who have engaged in theological education and clergy training with CMSI’s partners in recent years. Such visits reflect CMSI’s commitment to helping its partner dioceses to build firm foundations: raising Church leaders who are devoted to Jesus and rooted in God’s Word.

Students in discussion at Bujumbura Christian University. Photo (c) CMS Ireland
Students in discussion at Bujumbura Christian University. Photo (c) CMS Ireland



To read more from the team in Burundi, visit their blog on the CMSI website: www.cmsireland.org

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