Rev Thomas Wharton, vicar of Romsey Abbey, has just returned from Burundi, a country with which the abbey has a longstanding companion link dating back to the 1970s. 

In the words of the Archbishop of Burundi in his welcoming address to the group, “We are friends from long ago.”

However, in recent decades the partnership has been inhibited due to various factors, including a long-running civil war and an unstable political situation, including periods of genocide similar to those in Rwanda, which has made travel and sustainable relations with the country very difficult.

This summer however, a team from the Diocese of Winchester, including Mr Wharton, was able to travel to visit the Anglican Church in Burundi, to take part in a three-day clergy conference in the capital city Bujumbura, on the theme of unity, leadership and social transformation. 

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After the conference, the team travelled around Burundi to meet church leaders and communities, and were amazed by the joyful services and remarkable hospitality everywhere they went.

Romsey Abbey has been partnered with the church in Burundi for many years. A group from Romsey, including town councillors, young people and the previous vicar of the abbey Canon Tim Sledge visited 10 years ago; memories of the friendship still run deep in the town and have been revitalised by the recent visit. 

The abbey community have been sponsoring young people to study at Bujumbura Christian University through the charity Love Burundi. One young clergyman, Eustache Muryango, has been supported by the abbey to study for a masters degree through Winchester University and will come over to the UK in November to attend his graduation ceremony at Winchester Cathedral.

Mr Wharton said: “It was a huge joy and honour to be able to visit our friends in Burundi. While we were there we learned a Burundian proverb which is: 'To grow, a friendship must be watered by the feet' – meaning that we have to physically get together in person. Certainly the friendship between Romsey Abbey and the Anglican Church in Burundi has been well watered by our visit and more exchange visits are being explored in the near future.”