Commontide
Proper 21
Liturgical Color: White/Gold
The 17th Sunday after Trinity
O merciful Lord, grant to your faithful people pardon and peace, that we may be cleansed from all our sins and serve you with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Most liturgical texts are from the Book of Common Prayer (2019) of the Anglican Church in North America.
The New Coverdale Psalter, © 2019 by the Anglican Church in North America. Used by permission.
Bishop of Chichester, Ecumenist, and Advocate for Justice
Anglican Commemoration
George Bell was the Anglican Bishop of Chichester who, almost alone among his church's leaders, stood against his own government's obliteration bombing of German cities in the Second World War. He was the closest English friend of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a rescuer of refugees from Hitler's Germany, and a founding architect of the modern ecumenical movement. His refusal to be silent very likely cost him the See of Canterbury. He died in 1958.
George Kennedy Allen Bell (1883–1958) served as Bishop of Chichester from 1929 until his death. Educated at Oxford and Cambridge, Bell was a theologian, liturgist, and ecumenical statesman of profound conviction. As bishop, he earned international respect for his prophetic stands: in 1944, he delivered speeches in the House of Lords criticizing the Allied bombing of German cities as morally unjustifiable, a position that cost him politically. During Nazi occupation, Bell maintained correspondence with Dietrich Bonhoeffer and other members of the German Confessing Church, offering moral and practical support to those resisting totalitarianism. He helped facilitate Bonhoeffer's escape attempts and spoke for persecuted German Christians when diplomatic channels were closed. Bell was instrumental in founding the World Council of Churches and in advancing ecumenical dialogue across denominational and national lines. His liturgical scholarship shaped Anglican worship.
George Bell represents prophetic courage in the face of state power and the willingness to stand alone when conscience demands it. His ecumenical work crossed national and confessional lines to defend the persecuted and advance Christian unity. His relationship with Bonhoeffer exemplifies spiritual friendship grounded in shared resistance to tyranny.