On Sunday, May 11, 2025, Dr. Ashley Null was consecrated Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of North Africa. For the international guests of the consecration and the local Christian community, the Wittenberg Center for Reformation Studies offered a program of tours and lectures on ancient Christianity and the significance of the Latin Church Fathers for the Reformation (see flyer).
On Friday, May 9, a day trip took a group of 35 to El-Djem to see the impressive Roman amphitheater and the museum with its stunning mosaics, including the depiction of Africa with her elephant hat.
On Saturday, May 10, there was a morning tour of the archaeological sites of Carthage with readings from Augustine’s Confessions (books 3 to 5).
In the afternoon, the Wittenberg Center hosted two lectures on the Augustinian legacy of the English Reformation and the bishops of the German and English Reformation. Dr. Justyn Terry (Wycliffe Hall, Oxford) analyzed the 39 Articles of the English Reformation Church in light of Augustine’s influence, revealing the lasting impact of the North African church father on the English church. Dr. Dorothea Wendebourg (Humboldt University, Berlin) presented the changing understanding of Christian ministry in the German Reformation and its consequences for the practice of church organization in Germany and England.
On Sunday, May 11, a morning visit was made to the Bardo Museum and its Christian exhibits. A look at one of the cruciform baptismal fonts helped to understand the meaning of sin and grace for North African Christianity. The mosaic “Ecclesia mater” (Mother Church) gave an understanding of why the church was so important to North African Christians. And an inscription to the martyr St. Stephen showed the importance of martyrdom. The group also visited the museum’s famous mosaics and the exhibition of Punic artifacts.
During Saturday’s lectures, WCRS Director Andreas Stegmann presented Ashley Null with a booklet containing twelve contributions on Augustine’s quotations from scholars around the world associated with the Wittenberg Center (download).
The Wittenberg Center congratulates Ashley Null on his new ministry.
