Anglicans have worshipped in Brussels, Belgium since the 16th century and have had their own church building (Holy Trinity Pro-Cathedral) since the mid 1800s.

All Saints’ Church grew out of a prayer group of Holy Trinity members living south of Brussels seeking to discern the need for, and viability of, a possible church in the Anglican tradition to reach the growing local English-speaking community. A number of large American institutions were already established there, as were several English-speaking schools, and Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland acceding to the European Community (now the European Union) in 1973 increased that population still further.

All Saints’ Church was founded in 1979 as a daughter church of Holy Trinity Pro-Cathedral, with the American curate on the staff there appointed priest-in-charge by the Archdeacon, the Venerable Peter Duplock.

The decision was taken that worship at All Saints’ would follow the American Episcopal Book of Common Prayer and the parish be administered according to American Episcopal custom, with a vestry, licensed Eucharistic ministers, and maximum lay participation. Sunday services were held at a church and retreat house complex, owned by an order of worker priests, Les Aumôniers du Travail, where All Saints’ rented the use of the church and rooms for Sunday School, coffee hour and occasional parish meetings. Other group gatherings (e.g. for study, outreach, choir) took place in members’ homes.

After 10 years as a thriving daughter church of Holy Trinity Pro-Cathedral, it was clear that All Saints’ needed to regularize its position by becoming independent and establishing its own separate legal status. Our wish was to be a church of the Church of England in the diocese of Europe, while retaining and formalizing the links already built up with the Convocation of Episcopal (then American) Churches in Europe.

The draft constitution (including the right of the congregation to call its own male or female priests), while acknowledged as legally acceptable canonically, proved unacceptable to the Church of England authorities and after much discussion in a number of meetings, the congregation voted overwhelmingly to apply for membership of the Convocation.

All Saints’ became a member church of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe in 1990, since which time All Saints’ Church has been actively involved, sending delegates to Convention annually, and with both clergy and lay people taking on responsibilities in the Council of Advice (our standing committee), COMB (the Commission on Ministry of the Baptized) and EICS (the Episcopal Institute for Christian Studies, the formation body of the Convocation). Several members, clergy and lay, have also served as Deputies to the General Convention in the USA.

From 1979 to mid-2024, we have been served by occasional interim priests and six full-time priests, the most recent incumbent, the Rev. Sunny Hallanan, having been with us from 2012 until August 2024. In 2007, the church and retreat house complex of Les Aumôniers du Travail was sold and after a long, fruitful, ecumenical friendship with the staff (clergy and lay), All Saints’ had to move. The search for new accommodation resulted in All Saints’ Church buying our current premises, previously the Swedish Lutheran Church in Brussels, situated in a more visible location, where we have a worship space and generous accommodation for parish meetings, including a cafeteria, offices, an undercroft and some residential accommodation, including a two-bedroom apartment for the rector. We are, of course, also faced with all the challenges that owning a beautiful home brings with it, and especially a major challenge – still with us after 16 years – arising out of the financing of the purchase.

Since its inception, All Saints’ has had a heart for outreach at home and abroad. Generosity to maintain our many projects has always been a priority. Perhaps the greatest surprise in our history is that God has continued to call people out from among us to pursue ordained ministry. Over the years we have celebrated nine ordinations to the priesthood and one to the permanent diaconate. Currently, we are praying for one about to go to seminary and one in discernment.

The spirit of God’s inclusive love motivates our worship and activities, as we seek to share God’s hospitality with those who enter our doors, whatever the day of the week: a French-speaking Alcoholics Anonymous group hold thrice-weekly meetings at All Saints’; the American Women's Club come for a meeting with lunch at least once a month; we host a twice-monthly social gathering for elderly English speakers, The Wednesday Club; the Reformed Seventh Day Adventists worship here on a Saturday; and, after a few false starts, All Saints’ opened its undercroft for use by a new, small, independent crèche. A youth theatre group meets each week during term time, as does a local choir. Over the years local Girl Guide and Scout groups have met in the building but due to downsizing have moved elsewhere, although the Scouts still have storage space and use the building for their larger meetings. All these ventures contribute in some way to our understanding of the good stewardship of our lovely premises.

So, what will the next chapter of All Saints’ history relate? We hold to God’s promise of good things. The opportunities for becoming a vibrant part of the local community are here. We thank God for all the love and experience of the past and look forward to the future with confidence, praying for the wisdom to do God’s will.