Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland (Irish: Eaglais na hÉireann, pronounced [ˈaɡlˠəʃ n̪ˠə ˈheːɾʲən̪ˠ]; Ulster-Scots: Kirk o Airlann, IPA: [kɪrk ə ˈerlən(d)])[3] is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second-largest Christian church on the island after the Roman Catholic Church. Like other Anglican churches, it has retained elements of pre-Reformation practice, notably its episcopal polity, while rejecting the primacy of the pope.
Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland House
Church Avenue
Rathmines
Dublin D06 CF67
Ireland
1871 (disestablishment)
Roman Catholic Church in 1536
Theologically: Church of England
1100 places of worship
450 parishes[1]
343,400[2]
In theological and liturgical matters, it incorporates many principles of the Reformation, particularly those of the English Reformation, but self-identifies as being both Reformed and Catholic, in that it sees itself as the inheritor of a continuous tradition going back to the founding of Christianity in Ireland.[4] As with other members of the global Anglican communion, individual parishes accommodate differing approaches to the level of ritual and formality, variously referred to as High and Low Church.[5]
Overview[edit]
The Church of Ireland sees itself as that 'part of the Irish Church which was influenced by the Reformation, and has its origins in the early Celtic Church of St Patrick'.[6] This makes it both "catholic", as the inheritor of a continuous tradition of faith and practice, and protestant, since it rejects the authority of Rome and accepts changes in doctrine and liturgy caused by the Reformation.[6]
Following the Synod of Ráth Breasail (also known as Rathbreasail) in 1111,[7] Irish Catholicism transitioned from a monastic to a diocesan and parish-based mode of organisation and governance. Many Irish present-day dioceses trace their boundaries to decisions made at the synod. The work of organizing the Church was completed by the Synod of Kells which took place in 1152, under the presidency of Giovanni Cardinal Paparoni. Diocesan reform continued and the number of archbishoprics was increased from two to four. The synod granted the Primacy of Ireland to the Archdiocese of Armagh.
Some modern scholarship argues that early Irish Christianity was functionally separate from Rome but shared much of its liturgy and practice, and that this allowed both the Church of Ireland and Irish Catholicism to claim descent from Saint Patrick.[8] It is also said that the Catholic Church in Ireland was jurisdictionally independent until 1155, when Pope Adrian IV purported to declare it a papal fief and granted Henry II of England the Lordship of Ireland in return for paying tithes; his right to do so has been disputed ever since.[9]
In 1534, Henry VIII broke with the Papacy and became head of the Church of England; two years later, the Irish Parliament followed suit by appointing him head of the Irish church. Although many bishops and most of the clergy refused to conform, the new Church of Ireland retained possession of diocesan buildings and lands, since under the feudal system bishops held that property as vassals of the Crown.[6] Despite the political and economic advantages of membership in the new church, a large majority of the Irish remained loyal to the Church of Rome, while in Ulster the church was outnumbered by Presbyterians. However, it remained the established church of the whole of Ireland until the First Gladstone ministry's Irish Church Act 1869 disestablished it, with effect from 1 January 1871.[10]
The modern Church of Ireland is the second largest religious organisation in the Republic of Ireland, and the third largest in Northern Ireland, after the Roman Catholic and Presbyterian churches.[11]
Present[edit]
Membership[edit]
The Church of Ireland experienced a major decline in membership during the 20th century, both in Northern Ireland, where around 65% of its members live, and in the Republic of Ireland. The church is still the second-largest in the Republic of Ireland, with 126,414 members in 2016 (minus 2% compared to the 2011 census results)[48] and the third-largest in Northern Ireland, with around 260,000 members.[49][50] The most recently available figures published by the Church of Ireland, dating to 2013, found that average Sunday attendance across the church was 58,257, with 74 per cent of this attendance in the Province of Armagh. Attendance varied strongly across dioceses; the most-attended diocese was Down and Dromore, with 12,731 in average Sunday attendance, while the least-attended was Meath and Kildare with 1,463.[51] Similarly, in 2016, a peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of Anglican Studies by Cambridge University Press found that the Church of Ireland has approximately 384,176 total members and 58,000 active baptised members.[52]
Cathedrals[edit]
The Church of Ireland has two cathedrals in Dublin: within the line of 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 designated as the National Cathedral for Ireland in 1870. Cathedrals also exist in the other dioceses.
There is also the metropolitan cathedral church of Ireland, situated in Armagh, St Patrick's Cathedral. This cathedral is the seat of the archbishop and metropolitan, the Most Reverend John McDowell.
Offices, training of priests and teachers[edit]
The church's central offices are in Rathmines, adjacent to the former Church of Ireland College of Education, and the church's library is in Churchtown. Teacher training now occurs within the Dublin City University Institute of Education, overseen by the Church of Ireland Centre, based at the former All Hallows College. The church operates a seminary, the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, in Rathgar, in the south inner suburbs of Dublin.