Church of Ireland

The Church of Ireland is a Protestant Catholic church. It is a church of the Anglican Communion and an apostolic church, which means that it traces its origins through an unbroken line to the apostles of Jesus Christ and Christ’s teachings. It is Catholic because its uninterrupted tradition of faith and practice is based on scripture and early Christian practices. The men and women of its orders adhere to vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

The Church of Ireland had approximately 343,000 members as of 2025. Around 219,000 are in Northern Ireland, while more than 124,000 live in the Republic of Ireland.

History

Saint Patrick (387–461 CE) is one of the primary patron saints of Ireland. Patrick was born in Scotland to Romans. He was captured during a raiding party as a young teen and made an enslaved person. He tended sheep for his captors in Ireland, where he learned the pagan and Druid customs and languages. Christianity was already known in Ireland at this time. Patrick sought God's help through prayer. When he was twenty, he followed instructions from God, which he received in a dream. He went to the coast, where some sailors returned him to his family in Britain.

Patrick studied for the priesthood and was ordained. He later returned to Ireland as a bishop. Patrick began converting kings and chieftains to Christianity. He built churches as his followers carried the message of Jesus Christ across Ireland, and the monasteries were recognized as centers of education. Many of his disciples, including Auxilius, Beningnus, Fiaac, and Iserninus, were also later canonized. Ireland's other major patron saints include Saint Brigid (circa 451–525) and Saint Columba (521–97).

Irish Christians maintained their own traditions for centuries and rejected those established in Rome. During the eighth century, however, Norse invaders affected Irish culture and education. Many monasteries and churches were pillaged, and Viking settlements were eventually established. In the wake of this cultural shift, the Roman Church interceded and persuaded the Irish to adopt its traditions, including the liturgy of the English Church. Rome appointed English leaders to oversee the Irish Church throughout the Middle Ages (1154–1485).

The Reformation, the sixteenth-century religious revolution that led to the creation of Protestantism, brought greater changes to Ireland. Passage of the Irish Supremacy Act of 1537 established the English monarch as the head of the church, though most of the Irish Christians continued to follow Rome. The official Church of Ireland was Anglican, though its membership was in the minority. The considerable advantages enjoyed by the Anglicans deeply upset the majority Roman Catholic population in Ireland.

The 1869 Irish Church Act of Disestablishment severed the link between church and state, effective January 1, 1871.

During the twentieth century, the church increasingly focused on ecumenism, or unity among different branches of Christianity. A particular focus within Ireland was creating relationships and harmony through the Church of Ireland–Methodist Covenant.

Beliefs

The Church of Ireland does not accept the idea that the pope has a divine right to be the leader of the Catholic Church. It rejects the Roman Catholic belief in the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary—the idea that she became pregnant through a miracle—and the belief that after death, Mary was transported, body and soul, to Heaven. The Church of Ireland maintains that neither Scripture nor early understandings of Scripture support these ideas.

The church accepts the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. The church expresses its faith as professed by the Primitive Church and accepts the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Creed of Saint Athanasius.

Worship services use the Book of Common Prayer and follow a liturgical pattern. Services recognize the saints, including Mary, on special days as well. The central act of worship at Sunday services is Holy Communion. Worship style varies from High Church—which focuses on catholicity, or inclusiveness, and sacrament—to Low Church, which places greater emphasis on preaching and scripture. The Church of Ireland also places considerable emphasis on hymns as part of worship. The Church Hymnal, published in 2000, is the primary source. In 2015, a supplement titled Thanks & Praise, which had been put together over the span of two years and contains two hundred hymns, songs, and liturgical settings, was published.

The church administers the sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist and the sacramental ministries of confirmation, ordination, holy matrimony, absolution, and healing.

Remaining rather divided over the issue of same-sex marriage, in 2017, the General Synod voted down a motion to create a public thanksgiving service for same-sex couples who had been legally married. The following year, it was announced that the church's position on marriage had still not changed despite further discussion, as no consensus had been reached. In 2025, the church openly accepted members of the LGBTQIA+ community as members but remained divided over same-sex marriage.

Organization

The Church of Ireland reorganized in 1870 in preparation for its mandated autonomy in 1871 under the Irish Church Act of Disestablishment. The new constitution established the General Synod of bishops and clerical and lay representatives as its governing body, with diocesan synods to administer local matters. An electoral college was established to elect diocesan bishops. This structure later served as a model for other Anglican churches.

The Church of Ireland has two provinces, Armagh and Dublin. Each is the seat of an Archbishop: the Archbishop of Armagh is the Primate of All Ireland, while the Archbishop of Dublin is the Primate of Ireland. Eleven bishops oversee eleven dioceses, which include more than 450 parochial units or parishes and 500 stipendiaries, or paid, clergy. Ministry of the church includes bishops, priests, and deacons. In the mid-2020s, there were about 1,100 places of worship within the Church of Ireland.

Members are represented at the local level by elected members at Select Vestries, or councils. Each diocese holds an annual Diocesan Synod, a meeting that representatives of the parishes attend.

Each diocese elects representatives to attend the General Synod. These members—432 laity and 216 clergy—form the House of Representatives, while the eleven bishops form the House of Bishops.

Bibliography

"About Us." Church of Ireland, www.ireland.anglican.org/about/about-us. Accessed 13 Jan. 2025.

"The Church of Ireland." Anglican Communion, www.anglicancommunion.org/structures/member-churches/member-church.aspx?church=ireland. Accessed 13 Jan. 2025.

"Church of Ireland." Churches in Ireland, www.irishchurches.org/members/church-of-ireland. Accessed 13 Jan. 2025.

"Disestablishment." UK Parliament, www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/legislativescrutiny/parliamentandireland/overview/disestablishment. Accessed 13 Jan. 2025.

"Ireland Country Profile." BBC, 9 Apr. 2024, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17473476. Accessed 13 Jan. 2025.

McCreary, Alf. "Church of Ireland Faces North-South Divide Over Gay Marriage Stance." Belfast Telegraph, 6 May 2017, www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/church-of-ireland-faces-northsouth-divide-over-gay-marriage-stance-35686003.html. Accessed 13 Jan. 2025.

McGarry, Patsy. “Two Out of 10 Church of Ireland Bishops Affirm Same-Sex Relationships at International Conference.” Irish Times, 4 Aug. 2022, www.irishtimes.com/ireland/social-affairs/2022/08/04/two-out-of-10-church-of-ireland-bishops-affirm-same-sex-relationships-at-international-conference/. Accessed 13 Jan. 2025.

"St. Patrick." Catholic Online, catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint‗id=89. Accessed 13 Jan. 2025.