18/09/2025
For those who are around Glastonbury! This Sunday, 11 am
The 16th Anniversary of the Twinning in Perpetuity between Glastonbury and Patmos.
In 2007, one of our parishioners, Nigelle de Visme, while sitting in prayer in the Cave of the Apocalypse on the holy island of Patmos, received a deep insight. She realised that Patmos and Glastonbury are spiritually connected through two saints who knew Jesus himself: St John the Theologian and St Joseph of Arimathea. With the blessing of the Abbot of Patmos, she brought this vision to Glastonbury Town Council. Both Glastonbury and Patmos embraced the proposal, and on 21st September 2009, the two sacred places were formally twinned in perpetuity. Remarkably, this was the first municipal twinning between Great Britain and Greece.
Following this historic act, Katerina Karoussos, custodian of the Karoussos Foundation, offered three icons painted by her father, the renowned iconographer Iannis Karoussos, to the Shrine of Our Lady of Glastonbury. On 5th September 2018, the icons – a of the Virgin Mary, Christ the Life-Giver, and St John the Theologian with Prochorus – a were joyfully received. Bishop Declan Lang welcomed His Eminence Archbishop Gregorios, who came from London to bless them in the traditional Greek manner.
We give thanks for this bond between two holy places, and we pray that it may continue to bear spiritual fruit for generations to come.
This Sunday, 21st September, marks the 16th Anniversary of the Twinning in Perpetuity between Glastonbury and Patmos. To mark the occasion there will be a special Mass at 11.00am in the Shrine of Our Lady of, Glastonbury. As part of the commemoration, a 7-day candle will be placed on the altar in the Lady Chapel, below the Karoussos Icons, and will be lit during the during the Mass. All are welcome!
(Photograph copyright © 2018 - Nigelle de Visme. Used with permission.)