Invitation to the Convocation

The year 2012 is not the end of the world but the year destined for the CEC family to gather together to listen to God’s voice from His apostle that we may continue to make visible the Kingdom of God in our generation.

The choice of the venue was providential and was confirmed. This time it is going to be Europe, a continent that undoubtedly needs revival.

The spiritual terrain of the world has been shaped, to a large extent, by the events that took place in Europe. There were, for instance, the great schism, the age of enlightenment, the reformation, the crumbling down of the Berlin wall, to name a few. I therefore wonder what would happen when “people gather from the ends of the earth” in Europe to pray and celebrate the Holy Eucharist.

Christianity’s growth is in the Global South, yet God’s eyes are upon Europe. People from the third world are at the center of God’s altars. The World Youth day gathered 1.5 million of people praising God in the streets of Madrid. It will be followed by the gathering of the CEC family that embodies the unity of the church. Hence, we can expect something to happen: either the widening of the crack on the wall or even the toppling down of the wall that hinders a revival to come to pass.

The bonus is a large number of holiday destinations for families and delegates. Madrid prides itself of the Prado Museum that houses Spanish Romanesque, Gothic and Early Renaissance, Italian and Flemish paintings, works of Velazquez, Francisco de Goya, Titian, Rubens and Bosch. The Museo del Prado, Museo Thyssen Bornemisza and Museo Reina Sofia are found close to each other in what is known as “Triangulo de Oro” (Golden Triangle) of Fine Arts in Madrid. You can experience in the city, the unequaled tasca hopping, the traditional Spanish “Castizo”.

Within an hour and a half travel from the capital there is Toledo, where the Filioque was added to the Latin text of the creed at the Council of Toledo in 589, Avila, 117 km. east of Madrid, the birthplace of the mystic Maria Teresa de Avila. For those who would like to explore Spain further, there is Granada, once an Ibero-Celtic settlement, then called Lilliberis under Ancient Roman rule, then taken by the Moors in 711 and became the Caliphate of Cordoba.

Come to the Convocation 2012, an experience of a lifetime ...

Bishop Jose Elmer M. Belmonte