AMONG those who have an acquaintance, whether passing or intimate, with the Anglican church, a multitude of associations may be raised if asked to essay a thumbnail sketch of a typical Anglican priest.

The vast vaulted ceilings of the Broad Church encompass a wide span under their shelter, from the jolly parsons beloved of fiction writers, to High Church adherents, to Muscular Christians, liberation theologians, and to those who spurn the scent of incense for a contemporary, cutting-edge Protestantism.

The spare frame of James Ramsay, 50, supports a man who bears in him an Oxford-educated erudition and, most importantly, a man whose vocation is in no doubt when he speaks with striking sincerity of the joy and glory intrinsic to faith and a relationship with God. He identifies the church, as many of his fellow Anglicans still do, as a reformed catholic church: the Anglican Catholic Church, some term it, in contrast to the church headquartered in the Vatican and headed by the Pope.

Based in Bucharest at the Church of the Resurrection, his "parish" is Romania and Bulgaria. Prior to his appointment as chaplain in August 2002, he served for more than 12 years at the Church of the Holy Family, Blackbird Leys, an "urban priority area" parish on the edge of Oxford, where he was involved in ecumenical and community development work. Before ordination, he worked as a freelance translator, having studied Modern Languages at Wadham College, Oxford, and having lived in France and Italy.

The chaplaincy is part of the Church of England's Diocese in Europe, which stretches from the Canaries to Vladivostock, from Casablanca to Helsinki.

As chaplain, he is Apokrisarios (representative) of the Archbishop of Canterbury to Bulgarian Patriarch Maxim and to Romanian Patriarch Teoctist.

Asked about relations between the Anglican church and the Orthodox churches, he identified some points of view held in common.

Anglican orders are recognised by the Romanian Orthodox Church, except with regard to the ordination of women. He was not sure whether the Bulgarian Orthodox Church ever recognised Anglican orders.

Ramsay pointed out that the Romanian and Bulgarian Orthodox churches were in different situations.

In Romania, the church has a vigorous institutional life, doing well in its number of priests and monks. In the context of the Orthodox churches, the Romanian church was well-known for being open to a relationship with Western churches.

By contrast, the church in Bulgaria has been through a schism, and its monastic life is mainly that of a handful of mostly elderly monks, characterised by a certain defensiveness and lack of confidence in the future.

Against the background of the contest over authority between the Orthodox churches and Rome, and as in the case in Bulgaria, even within a church over authority, Ramsay made a compelling point about potential for a healthy ecumenical relationship.

The Orthodox churches, he said, regard Roman Catholics and Protestants as "equally wrong". But for Ramsay, the Anglican church has as its essence a church which rather than being Protestant in the sense of protesting against something, instead is centred on giving glory to God for His holiness, goodness, and Divine love. At the same time, it is a church that retains a tradition of protest against injustice and abuse of privilege.

This emphasis on giving glory to God, rather than asserting spiritual authority, puts it closer to the Orthodox tradition than other Western churches.

And while in the imagery of the Western churches there is a strong emphasis on the suffering of Christ, "almost with the Resurrection tacked on afterwards" the iconography of the Eastern church has an emphasis on glory. Popular themes are Christ's Nativity, Baptism, Transfiguration; even those with an Easter theme depict Christ as trampling down the gates of hell and freeing Adam and Eve.

The tradition in Anglican theology of focusing on the mystery, joy and glory of God, rather than being tied to the suffering and death of Jesus, creates a link with the Orthodox view.

More directly, Anglican rejection of the claims of the Pope has much in common with the Orthodox view, which always has been that the Bishop of Rome could be first among equals, but could have no authority more magisterial than that.

There is common ground in how the respective churches, Anglican and Eastern Orthodox, relate to the state, with a symbiotic link between national identity and a church liturgy which, in part, expresses this.

Orthodox and Anglican churches also share the tradition of use of the vernacular. They also have in common the practice of allowing clergy to marry.

Ramsay also believes that a common thread may be found in the place that is found in the world view of the churches of respect for the "holy fool".

His preparation for his appointment, and his first months in the post, have helped to alter his view of the evolution of the Christian church, which for most in the West has been a Western-centred interpretation.

The Orthodox church's view of itself, and its role in the respective national lives of Eastern European countries, may go some way to explain why some Protestant missionaries find themselves running into such trouble, as has been documented elsewhere, with some having difficulty in getting visas.

"Gung-ho Protestants are every bit as bad as Islamic fundamentalists. The Orthodox church has every right to be concerned about that."

While Ramsay emphasised that he did not agree with the strategies used to counter their work, he felt the methods used by some Western evangelists to be "extraordinarily barbaric" and insensitive.

By virtue of being based in Bucharest rather than Sofia, he has had more opportunity to develop ties with the Romanian church. As to Maxim, he has had just one meeting: "A very pleasant chat".

As to his work as "parish priest" he makes sure to open the doors of the Church of the Resurrection as early and as often as possible to all who would enter. In Sofia, he leads a service once a month, in the basement of the British Residence.

Ramsay believes it is important to build a sense of community.

He has conducted more weddings in his first months in Romania than he did in a year in Oxford. Notably, all the weddings were mixed Romanian-foreigner ones. No weddings in Sofia, so far, but this past week he officiated at a baptism. There is also a possibility in Sofia of a confirmation, the Anglican ritual whereby a youth of suitable age directly confirms the vows taken by parents at an infant baptism ceremony.

There is a regular turnover in the mainly expatriate congregations, as people come and go according to the terms of their postings.

The church, he believes, should be a place "of friendship, of networking support". In doing so, it can help alleviate the sense of isolation some expatriates can experience.

The work done by some foreigners can expose them to situations that can be "distressing emotionally and psychologically," Ramsay said. They can be helped, through fellowship and a sense that their work matters and needs to be done, "to not lose hope and to continue enjoying what they are doing".

This goes back, he says, "to the theology of glory, and delight, and joy".

"The danger is when one loses that sense of joy and freshness. We are called to joy and to God's delight in creation."

In Bucharest, a singing group has been set up, and Ramsay would like to start one in Sofia. "No experience needed, enthusiasm is what matters. We just sing."

His background in the work done at the parish in Oxford has been helpful to the socio-economic realities of this part of Eastern Europe.

He would also like to work with Orthodox priests in the two countries who have an interest in setting up a hospice movement, given that such palliative treatment is largely unknown outside the domestic setting.

He has also had some initial talks with a Romanian priest who has started a project to accommodate elderly people in a house behind his church.

Naturally, to help feed the spiritual and physical hungers among the communities with which the church comes into contact, more money is needed. Ramsay would like there to be a time when the church does not simply get by from month to month, and could be in a position to work on a longer-term basis.

And while he has a family; his wife, Celia Ward, is an artist, and they have two daughters, aged 11 and eight, he acknowledges that his post is a difficult one to be in, regarding the need for regular contact with a spiritual counsellor.

"Everyone does need to have a point of spiritual nourishment, support and re-direction; to express God's forgiveness for the things we do, because we all do terrible things."

He does share time with some Orthodox fellow priests, feeling blessed by the sense of fellowship.

It would seem to go some way towards the symmetry in life even a priest needs, inasmuch as the work of a priest is to help unveil life's greater symmetry - including on the broad canvas of Romania and Bulgaria.

*Anglican services are held every third Sunday of the month at 10am in the British Residence. For more information and contact details, see www.resurrection.ro.