Good morning. The opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games tried to convey what it was to be British-and clearly succeeded with the general public for it received a
remarkably high approval rating. If Danny Boyle, its creator, had been with the European leaders meeting in Brussels yesterday and was asked to devise another ceremony
expressing what it was to be European I wonder what he would have included? For whatever view you take about the European Union as a political institution we have
shared historical memories, many of them painful, a cultural heritage that crosses all borders and democratic ideals in common.
I think of Greek philosophy which has influenced so much of our thought and the Latin language which underlies our speech. I rejoice in people like Boniface from
Exeter, who brought the Christian faith to Germany and Willibrord from Ripon who took it to Fresia and Denmark. Coming the other way, the great Cathedrals built by the
Norman French continue to awe and inspire us. There are other less well known streams too feeding into this great European river, such as maths and science from the
Islamic world. Whether a reference to God should be included in the European Constitution as part of this identity remains a contentious matter. The current resistance
to it reminds us that we are also heirs of the secular progressive movements of the 19th century which have helped to shape so many of our political values.
Identity, however, is not just about what comes to us from the past. It is a construct and therefore part of a continuing conversation. British Identity was forged at
a particular time in response to particular historical circumstances. Similarly modern European identity took shape after the two terrible wars of the 20th century. As
the Queen put it this week in Berlin “In our lives we have seen the worst but also the best of our continent. We have witnessed how quickly things can change for the
better.”
Identities can be used to divide us from other people or to affirm our sense of belonging with them. Jesus taught that we are to love our neighbours as ourselves-
teaching which can be found in all the great religions. In short he urges us to use our imaginations to see others as alongside us, as like us; to construct an
identity that includes. Whatever view we take of its fiscal and political arrangements, we remain Europeans; and what this means is not just something given us by our
geography and history. It is a work still in progress.