THE CHURCH OF IRELAND is composed of twelve dioceses, each with a single bishop (there are no suffragans or assistants in Ireland). The Church, which was disestablished in 1871, is unashamedly an all-Ireland body with several of the dioceses straddling either side of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Like the Church of England, it has two provinces, each with an Archbishop, but these provinces predate the 1922 partition of Ireland, and so do not align with the political boundary."

The Church of Ireland is small with less that 500 clergy and a church population of 350,000. In an island where Roman Catholicism is the main denomination, the Church of Ireland has, until recent times, tended to be on the Low Church and Protestant side of Anglicanism. However, the desire for civic peace and the ascendancy of theological liberalism have moved the Church away from some of its Protestant convictions. Those who wish to make a stand for gospel distinctives within the church, therefore, are often branded 'sectarian.'

Broadly speaking, about 75 percent of Irish Anglicans live in the five northernmost dioceses (Armagh, Clogher, Down, Derry, Connor) which mainly cover Northern Ireland and the border counties of the Irish Republic. It is in Northern Ireland that far greater concentration of evangelical clergy and laity is to be found. Towards the south and west of the island the Church tends to be more liberal, yet these dioceses enjoy a disproportionate level of representation in the decision-making process of the Church.

There is one theological college to serve the entire church; ordinands are discouraged from seeking training at any Anglican college elsewhere. This, I was told, is to preserve a sense of community among the clergy and to instill a sense of 'the Church of Ireland ethos', whatever that is. The Church of Ireland Theological College (CITC) in Dublin is financed largely by the wealthy, growing parishes in the North, yet promises an ethos and theological outlook alien to many of them.

The academic staff at the College is predominantly liberal, with no evangelical member among their number. It is not representative of the wider church. For example, no member of the staff has exercised pastoral ministry as a rector in Northern Ireland where the vast majority of orthodox people live. In recent years, students have reported that a member of staff have denied the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the idea has also been taught that 'Justification by Faith' was purely a Pauline innovation.

It has also been alleged that a guest lecturer from the Diocese of Southwark in England was invited to speak to students in the Pastoral Study Classes for gay couples in long term relationships.

There have also been reports of drunkenness within the student body, with students being forbidden to attend evangelical churches in Dublin and evangelical speakers having to be approved before they can address the off-hours College Fellowship.

More recently, under the tenure of Principal Adrian Empey the college introduced a Covenant to which all students are expected to subscribe too; this has had the effect of persuading (perhaps coercing might be a better word) many evangelical students into silence on the teaching within the College.

In 2004, the Church of Ireland published a new edition of the Church of Ireland Book of Common Prayer. While there had been an earlier update of the BCP (in 1926), these had consisted of minor changes to the 1662 edition. The 2004 book was a new departure, with modern language services alongside services with traditional language (and theology!) Inevitably the modern services are more ambiguous in their language about God - 'he' or 'his' in relation to the Father or the Spirit is consistently avoided. e.g. 'peace to God's people on earth'. The most worrying aspect is that this book is called the Book of Common Prayer and such forms part of the doctrinal corpus which newly-ordained clergy have to subscribe too.

HUMAN SEXUALITY

The Irish bishops have been careful to avoid the extremes found elsewhere in Western Anglicanism. However, their September 2003 Pastoral Letter outlined four mutually incompatible positions which they identified among themselves and within the wider church. The Evangelical Fellowship of Irish Clergy and other individuals have challenged the bishops about his, and have submitted statements to them as part of the ongoing process of 'listening' within the Church about matters of human sexuality.

St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church in Galway (Tuam diocese) held a lesbian blessing ceremony in September 2002. The former Limerick rector was not disciplined, and merely promised his bishop he would not repeat this service. The ongoing diocesan link relationship between New Hampshire and Limerick remains a matter for concern, and it will be interesting to see if it is renewed for a third term at the end of 2005. In contrast with the Church of England, no official comment has ever been made as to whether V. Gene Robinson, an openly homoerotic bishop would be allowed to exercise ministry in Ireland.

AT the consecration of U.S. Bishop V. Gene Robinson, the Bishop of Limerick Michael Mayes was present in the congregation "in a private capacity" and did not robe or take part in the consecration. In a newspaper interview shortly afterwards, Bishop Mayes defended his decision to attend saying, "Gay relationships have always been there. They didn't come down in the last shower of rain and the Church of Ireland needs to accept that." The companion relationship continues, despite calls from EFIC and Reform, amongst others, for it to be ended.

In response to these events, and the growing controversy in the wider Anglican Communion, the Church of Ireland bishops issued a Pastoral Letter on Sexuality 2003, in which they announced a process of listening to opinions within the Church on sexuality. Critiques of this Pastoral Letter were issued by the Evangelical Fellowship of Irish Clergy and the Church of Ireland Evangelical Fellowship. These two groups also met with the bishops to present their views in December of 2004.

In the North, evangelical ministry continues in large urban parishes in Belfast, Carrickfergus, Coleraine, Portadown, Lurgan and Enniskillen. In the republic, the Church of Ireland population has experienced growth, largely due to African Anglicans coming to Ireland. A few Bible-teaching churches can be found in the Dublin area, with the Irish Church Missions pioneering gospel work amongst the student and business communities at the very heart of the city.

Evangelical and orthodox views are defended and promoted within the Church by organizations such as the Evangelical Fellowship of Irish Clergy (EFIC), Reform Ireland, the Church of Ireland Evangelical Fellowship (CIEF), and mission agencies such as Crosslinks and SAMS (South American Mission Society).

Motions on Human Sexuality have been presented at many of the northern diocesan synods in the past couple of years, and most of them have clearly affirmed biblical teaching on the subject. The Irish Angle web site broke down the data as follows:

Clogher - The Synod voted overwhelmingly to reaffirm biblical teaching on marriage and sexuality expressed in Lambeth Resolution 1.10 - September 2003.

Armagh - Synod voted in favor of Lambeth resolution 1.10 as "the basis for all discussion on sexuality." - October 2003.

Down and Dromore - Synod also reaffirmed the biblical teaching on marriage and sexuality expressed in Lambeth resolution 1.10 - June 2004.

Kilmore - Synod endorsed Lambeth 1.10 - October 2004

Derry and Raphoe - Although not present at Lambeth in 1998, Bishop Ken Good has said he would have voted for Lambeth 1.10.

Connor - a motion reaffirming biblical traching on sexual ethics failed to receive an overall majority at their diocesan synod - June 2004.

Dublin - Archbishop John Neill signed the Haines Pastoral Letter to Gay and Lesbian Christians in 1998 and the comments of his archdeacon, Gordon Limnney, received huge publicity, and, it seems, the official backing of the diocesan spin-machine.

Meath and Kildare - another signatory of the Haines Letter, Bishop Richard Clarke has also stated publicly that he did not vote for Lambeth 1.10 (Archbishop Robin Eames of Armagh also signed the Haines Letter, but the vote of his diocesan synod reflects more accurately opinion within his diocese.)

Tuam - The Rev, Patrick Towers of Galway performed a "blessing" ceremony of a lesbian couple in September 2002 disregarding Lambeth 1.10's recommendations.

Limerick - A companion diocese of New Hampshire, Bishop Michael Mayes attended the consecration of V. Gene Robinson.

Cashel and Cork - Bishops have raised questions about affirming and not discriminating against homosexual person, but have not made their own position clear.

http://www.virtueonline.org

End of Part 1.