CHURCH OF IRELAND

The 'Church of Ireland' () is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion, operating seamlessly across the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Like other Anglican churches, it considers itself to be both Catholic and Reformed.http://www.ireland.anglican.org/index.php?do=about The Church of Ireland: About us
When the Church in England broke with the Pope and communion with the Roman Catholic Church, the Church in Ireland likewise underwent reformation, with those adhering to the new rules becoming the State Church and holding possession of official Church property, even as doctrine was changed, while the majority of the population remained loyal to the Roman Catholic Church and continue to do so to this day. As the reformed Church of Ireland took possession of practically all official Church property, it retained and retains a great repository of religious architecture (and other items, though some relics were destroyed during the Reformation).
Despite its numerical minority, however, the Church of Ireland remained the official state church until it was disestablished on 1st January 1871.
Church numbers fell sharply during the 20th century, particularly in the Republic following its independence; the latest census records from the Republic (2006), however, include a rare instance of relative increase.^[1]
Today the Church of Ireland is, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest church in the island of Ireland. It is the largest Protestant church in the Republic of Ireland, and the second largest in Northern Ireland (after the Presbyterian Church in Ireland). It is governed by a General Synod of clergy and laity and organized into twelve dioceses. It is led by the Archbishop of Armagh (styled "Primate of All Ireland"), at present Alan Harper; the church's other archbishop is Archbishop of Dublin John Neill.

Contents

History

The Church today

Church facilities

Irish Anglicans

See also

References

External links

History

The Church of Ireland traces its origins back to the missions of Saint Patrick.
A monastically-centered institution, the early Celtic Church of Ireland had a unique calendar and usages, but was a full part of the wider Western Church, remaining in communion with Rome.
In 1166, basing his action on the disputed Papal Bull ''Laudabiliter'', which was claimed to give him lordship over Ireland, Henry II of England came to Ireland and in 1171 made himself "Overlord" of Ireland.
In 1536 Henry VIII had the Irish Parliament declare him head of the Irish Church. When the Church of England travelled in a more Protestant direction under Edward VI so too did the Church of Ireland. All but two of the Irish bishops accepted the Elizabethan Settlement and there is therefore continuity and Apostolic succession in the Church of Ireland, separate from that of the Church of England and the doubts raised by the consecration of Matthew Parker as Archbishop of Canterbury. However, the Roman Catholic Church disputes this, because the sacrificial nature of the priesthood was abandoned by the Church of Ireland through the Elizabethan Settlement and therefore ended, in its view, valid Apostolic Succession in the Anglican Church of Ireland.
The established church in Ireland underwent a period of more radical Calvinist doctrine than occurred in England. James Ussher (later Archbishop of Armagh) authored the Irish Articles, adopted in 1615. In 1634 the Irish Convocation adopted the English Thirty-Nine Articles alongside the Irish Articles. After the Restoration of 1660, it seems that the Thirty-Nine Articles took precedence, and remain the official doctrine of the Church of Ireland even after disestablishment.^[2]
The reformed Church of Ireland undertook the first publication of Scripture in Irish. The first Irish translation of the New Testament was begun by Nicholas Walsh, Bishop of Ossory, who worked on it until his untimely death in 1585. The work was continued by John Kearny, his assistant, and Dr. Nehemiah Donellan, Archbishop of Tuam, and it was finally completed by William O'Domhnuill (William Daniell, Archbishop of Tuam in succession to Donellan). Their work was printed in 1602. The work of translating the Old Testament was undertaken by William Bedel (1571-1642), Bishop of Kilmore, who completed his translation within the reign of Charles the First, although it was not published until 1680 (in a revised version by Narcissus Marsh (1638-1713), Archbishop of Dublin). William Bedell had undertaken a translation of the Book of Common Prayer in 1606. An Irish translation of the revised prayer book of 1662 was effected by John Richardson (1664 - 1747) and published in 1712.
However, the delay in providing scripture and liturgy in the vernacular of the majority of the population caused a rift between the English-speaking minority who mostly adhered to the reformed church or to Presbyterianism and the Irish-speaking majority who remained faithful to the Latin liturgy of Roman Catholicism, which remained the majority denomination in Ireland.
As before the Reformation, some clergymen of the Church of Ireland sat as Lords Spiritual in the Irish House of Lords; under the provisions of the Act of Union 1800, one archbishop and three bishops chosen by rotation would be Lords Spiritual in the newly united United Kingdom House of Lords in Westminster, joining the two archbishops (Canterbury and York) and the twenty-four bishops from the Church of England.
In 1833 the British Government proposed the ''Irish Church Measure'' to reduce the 22 archbishops and bishops who oversaw the Anglican minority in Ireland to a total of 12 by amalgamating sees and to use the revenues saved for the use of parishes. This sparked the Tractarian movement and wider repercussions in the Anglican Communion.
As the official established church, the Church of Ireland was funded partially by tithes imposed on all Irish citizens, irrespective of the fact that it counted only a minority of the populace among its adherents; these were a source of much resentment which occasionally boiled over, as in the "Tithe War" of 1831-36. Eventually, the tithes were ended, replaced with a lower levy called the ''tithe rentcharge''. The Irish Church Disestablishment Act 1869 (coming into effect in 1871) ended the role of the Church of Ireland as state church, terminating both state support and parliamentary authority over its governance, and taking into government ownership much church property. Compensation was provided to clergy but many parishes faced great difficulty in local financing after the loss of rent-generating lands and buildings. The Church of Ireland made provision in 1870 for its own government (led by the General Synod) and financial management (Representative Church Body). With disestablishment, the last remnant of tithes were abolished and the church's representation in the House of Lords also ceased.
Like other Irish churches, the Church of Ireland did not divide when Ireland was partitioned in 1920, and continues to be governed on an all-island basis.

The Church today

''(See List of Church of Ireland dioceses.)''

The contemporary Church of Ireland, despite having a number of High Church (often described as Anglo-Catholic) parishes, is generally on the Low Church end of the spectrum of world Anglicanism. Historically, it had little of the difference in churchmanship between parishes characteristic of other Anglican Provinces, although a number of markedly liberal, High Church or evangelical parishes have developed in recent decades. It was the second province of the Anglican Communion after the Anglican Church of New Zealand (1857) to adopt, on its 1871 disestablishment, synodical government, and was one of the first provinces to ordain women to the priesthood, in 1991. It is a member of many ecumenical bodies, including the World Council of Churches and the Irish Council of Churches. The Church of Ireland is also a member of the Porvoo Communion.
The church maintains the traditional structure dating to pre-Reformation times, a system of geographical parishes organized into dioceses. There are twelve of these, each headed by a bishop. The leader of the five southern bishops is the Archbishop of Dublin; that of the seven northern ones the Archbishop of Armagh; these are styled Primate of Ireland and Primate of All Ireland respectively, suggesting the ultimate seniority of the latter; although he has relatively little absolute authority, the Archbishop of Armagh is respected as the church's general leader and spokesman.
Canon law and church policy are decided by the church's General Synod, and changes in policy must be passed by both the House of Bishops and the House of Representatives (Clergy and Laity). Important changes, e.g. the decision to ordain female priests, must be passed by two-thirds majorities. While the House of Representatives always votes publicly, often by orders, the House of Bishops has tended to vote in private, coming to a decision before matters reach the floor of the Synod. This practice has been broken only once, when in 1999 the House of Bishops voted unanimously in public to endorse the efforts of the Archbishop of Armagh, the Diocese of Armagh and the Standing Committee of the General Synod of the Church of Ireland in their attempts to resolve the crisis at the Church of the Ascension at Drumcree, near Portadown.
The Church of Ireland experienced major decline during the 20th century, both in Northern Ireland, where 75% of its members live, and in the Republic of Ireland. However, recent censuses have shown an unexpected increase in Church membership, the first in almost a century. This is perhaps largely explained by the great number of Anglican immigrants who have moved to Ireland recently, particularly ex-colonists from Africa; but some parishes, especially in middle-class areas of the larger cities, report significant numbers of Roman Catholics joining. A number of clergy originally ordained in the Roman Catholic Church have now become Church of Ireland clergy and many former Roman Catholics also put themselves forward for ordination after they have become members of the Church of Ireland.

Church facilities

The Church of Ireland has two cathedrals in Dublin: within the walls of the old city is Christ Church Cathedral, the seat of the Archbishop of Dublin, and just outside the old walls is St. Patrick's Cathedral, which the church treats as a National Cathedral for Ireland. Cathedrals also exist in the other dioceses.
The church operates a seminary, the Church of Ireland Theological College, in Rathgar, in the south inner suburbs of Dublin, and the church's central offices are in Rathmines, adjacent to the Church of Ireland College of Education, a teacher training college for all Protestant primary school teachers in the Republic of Ireland.

Irish Anglicans

Members of the Church of Ireland include or have included:

★ David Adams, ''Irish Times'' journalist

★ Mrs CF Alexander, hymnographer

★ The Right Reverend Alexander Arbuthnot, Bishop of Killaloe

★ Andrew Maxwell, talented and well known Irish comedian from the Dublin Northside area of Kilbarrack. Well known in the UK and makes frequent appearances on RTÉ's 'The Panel'

★ Samuel Beckett, playwright and Nobel Prize laureate

★ Bryan Dobson, well known RTÉ news reader and former executive member of the Church of Ireland Youth Council

★ Heidi Bedell, Irish Green Party councillor. Married to Trevor Sargent and first cousin of U2 bassist, Adam Clayton

★ William Bedell Stanford, former member of the Irish Senate (1948), Regius Professor of Greek in TCD from 1940-1980, and Chancellor of the University of Dublin from 1982-1984.

★ Thekla Beere, first woman secretary of the newly established Department of Transport and Power (1959) and chairwoman of the new Commission on the Status of Women (1979)

★ George Berkeley, philosopher

★ Jack Boothman, the first member of the Church of Ireland to have been elected president of the GAA

★ Elizabeth Bowen, writer

★ Patrick Brontë, incumbent of Haworth and father of the Brontë sisters

★ Sir Basil Brooke (Prime Minister of Northern Ireland)

★ Phyllis Browne, author of "Thanks for the Tea, Mrs Browne", published by New Island Books. Married to the late Noel Browne, the Minister for Health famously remembered for the Mother and Child showdown of 1951

★ Edmund Burke, statesman and philosopher

★ Robert Malachy Burke, contested Dáil elections in Galway for the Irish Labour Party from 1933-1948 when he was elected to the Upper House. Donated Toghermore House to the State, originally as a rehabilitation centre for TB patients.

★ Ernest Blythe, Minister for Finance in W.T. Cosgrave's pro-Treaty government. Served as managing director of the Abbey Theatre 1941-67

★ Edward Carson, Dublin-born Unionist - political leader and lawyer

★ Roger Casement, Irish republican leader

★ Erskine Hamilton Childers, fourth President of Ireland

★ Hazel Blair, mother to the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair. She was born in ancient coastal town of Ballyshannon, Donegal, in 1923 (two years after partition kept it in the South)

★ Countess of Wicklow, Irish Labour Party Senator (1948-52) and member of the Irish delegation which helped to draft the statute of the Council of Europe. Although very critical about the partition of Ireland, she was one of the founders and first chairman of the Glencree Reconciliation Centre and she joined hands with the Peace Movement in NI in the mid-1970s.

★ Cecil Day Lewis, poet

★ Chris de Burgh, singer

★ Susan Denham, the second most senior Supreme Court judge in Ireland (in terms of years served)

★ Tom Doorley Irish Times journalist and restaurant critic and former Roman Catholic

★ Robert Dowds, Irish Labour Party county councillor

★ Myles Dungan, RTÉ broadcaster and former Roman Catholic

★ Robert Emmet, Irish republican leader

★ George Fitzmaurice, writer

★ Arlene Foster, Democratic Unionist politician in Northern Ireland

★ Roy Foster, Professor of Irish history at Oxford University

★ Johnny Fox, Former TD - father of Mildred Fox who has recently retired as TD for Wicklow

★ Percy French, songwriter

★ Douglas Gageby, Former editor of the Irish Times

★ Alan Gillis, former president of the Irish Farmers' Association and former Fine Gael MEP. Among one of the very few MEPs to have spent time in prison, as a result of his involvement in the farmers' rights struggle of 1966.

★ Henry Grattan, defender of Irish parliamentary independence

★ Alice Stopford Green, historian

★ Arthur Guinness, (Brewer)

★ TC Hammond, evangelist, later Principal Moore Theological College, Sydney

★ Rainsford Hendy, Fine Gael county councillor

★ Mary Henry, Senator for the University of Dublin

★ Paul Hewson (Bono), lead singer of Irish rock band U2, parents of mixed religion, and has claimed to be a blend of Anglican and Roman Catholic.

★ Alison Hewson, Bono's wife

★ Maurice Hewson, former judge and former District Commissioner and member of the Colonial Administration of the Gold Coast, West Africa . Distant relative of Bono and son of Gilbert Hewson, the Independent TD who represented Limerick in the 5th Dail.

★ Rev R.M. "Bob" Hilliard, the colourful Irish Republican Army member who opposed the Treaty and later joined the Communist Party of Ireland. Hilliard fought in the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War. He was killed fighting during the Battle of Jarama on 14 February 1937. His bravery was remembered by both Christy Moore and Luke Kelly in their respective versions of Vive La Quinte Brigada.^[3]

★ Rev Stephen Hilliard, Irish Times journalist and alleged IRA member, killed by intruder in Rathdrum rectory. Also nephew of Bob Hilliard (above).

★ The Rev. Edward Hincks, noted Assyrologist and one of the decipherers of cuneiform.

★ Douglas Hyde, first President of Ireland

★ Lady Valerie Goulding, Fianna Fáil Senator and founder of the Central Remedial Clinic, Dublin, which provides physiotherapy for children who had been disabled by polio. Converted to Roman Catholicism in 1962

★ Jennifer Johnston, Award-winning novelist

★ Seán Lester, Director of Publicity at the Department of External Affairs (1924), Diplomat at the League of Nations, serving as its last secretary-general

★ C.S. Lewis Belfast-born scholar and author of The Chronicles of Narnia (raised Anglican in the Church of Ireland, became atheist and then converted back to Anglicanism while in the Church of England; his good friend Tolkien was disappointed that he didn't convert to Catholicism)

★ Louis MacNeice, Poet

★ Catherine McGuinness, a former independent senator who came to the Bar in middle age. Served as a judge of the Circuit Court (1994) and High Court (1996) before being appointed to the Supreme Court in 2000. Dublin & Glendalough Diocesan Chancellor of the Church of Ireland

★ Sam Maguire Irish Republican and Gaelic Footballer

★ Martin Mansergh, Fianna Fáil Senator and newly elected TD

★ Violet Martin ("Martin Ross"), writer

★ Van Morrison, Belfast born singer

★ James Molyneaux leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (1979-95) and now sits in the House of Lords as Baron Molyneaux of Killead.

★ Joe Neville, Fianna Fáil county councillor and Peace Commissioner

★ David Norris, Senator and gay rights campaigner

★ Graham Norton, comedian

★ Seán O'Casey, playwright

★ Terence O'Neill (Prime Minister of Northern Ireland)

★ Jan O'Sullivan, Irish Labour Party TD and daughter of the late Ted Gale, (the well-known Limerick Leader journalist, and former treasurer of the National Union of Journalists)

★ Charles Stewart Parnell, Irish nationalist leader

★ Howard Robinson, a successful businessman and banker, he created the City of Dublin Bank (commonly known today as the Anglo-Irish Bank), Father-in-law to Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland

★ Trevor Sargent, leader of the Irish Green Party

★ William Sheldon, had the distinction of being the Independent TD on whom Éamon de Valera depended for an overall majority during the minority Fianna Fáil government of 1951-1954.

★ Richard Brinsley Sheridan, playwright

★ Edith Somerville, writer

★ Bram Stoker, from Fairview in north Dublin, creator of Dracula

★ Jonathan Swift, writer (who served as Dean of Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin)

★ Julie Parsons, novelist and former RTÉ producer. Married to John Caden, a lifetime producer of the Gay Byrne radio show.

★ George Plant, Tipperary IRA man who was executed by the State in controversial circumstances in 1942

★ William Trevor, writer

★ Theobald Wolfe Tone, eighteenth century revolutionary

★ Canon George Townsend, Church of Ireland clergyman who became the first Irish convert to the Bahá'í Faith in 1917

★ Hilda Tweedy, founding member of the Irish Housewives' Association, an influential pressure group that spoke out about injustices and the needs of Irish women, inside and outside the home. Held high office in the IHA and the CSW (now the Women's National Council of Ireland). In 1975, International Women's Year, she led the Irish delegation to the UN meeting in Mexico and was a board member of the International Alliance of Women.

★ James Ussher, scholar, Archbishop of Armagh

★ Oscar Wilde, writer; converted to Roman Catholicism on his deathbed.

★ Ivan Yates, Owner of Celtic Bookmakers and former Fine Gael cabinet member

★ Jack Butler Yeats, painter, writer and brother of William Butler Yeats.

★ John Butler Yeats, painter and father of Jack and William Butler Yeats.

★ William Butler Yeats, poet and Nobel Prize laureate

See also

★ List of Church of Ireland dioceses

★ Religion in the United Kingdom

★ Religion in the Republic of Ireland

★

★ Fellowship Of Vocation

★ Bishops' Selection Conference

References

1. Church membership increased by 8.7% in the period 2002-2006, during which the population as a whole increased by only 8.2%. Republic of Ireland Central Statistics Office, ''Census 2006: Principal Demographic Results''.
2. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds1.ix.vi.x.html
3. http://cao.gaa.ie/archive.html. Bob Hilliard from Kerry.


★ ''Anglicanism'', Stephen Neill, Harmondsworth 1965

External links

★ Church of Ireland website

★ IRISH ANGLE: Church of Ireland news