THE creation of the diocese of Cyprus & the Gulf 50 years ago was commemorated with thanksgiving services last weekend, celebrating an “ecumenical milieu” that presented an opportunity to deepen mutual understanding with other traditions. Cyprus & the Gulf is the second largest Anglican diocese, after Europe. “We hadn’t lived [there] previously, and those years were challenging, but obviously Cyprus & the Gulf as a diocese left its impression on me,” he said. They are welcoming, and they are very gracious and tolerant of Christianity by and large, which is a narrative you don’t always hear,” Bishop Semple said. So that’s a very different context from being a bishop of Anglican churches in Western countries, and particularly in Britain.