Alfred Edwin Monahan (1877–1945) was the Anglican

Bishop of Monmouth The Bishop of Monmouth is the diocesan bishop of the Church in Wales Diocese of Monmouth. The episcopal see covers the historic county of Monmouthshire with the bishop's seat located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Woolos in Newport, whi ...

from 1940 until his death in 1945.Diocese of Monmouth

Biography

Monahan was educated at

St Andrew's College, Dublin St Andrew's College ( ga, Coláiste Naomh Aindriú) is a co-educational, inter-denominational, international Private day school, founded in 1894 by members of the Presbyterian community, and now located in Booterstown, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdo ...

and

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

and

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

in 1905. He was Assistant Missioner at the Wellington College Mission,

Walworth Walworth () is a district of south London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the Old ...

and then Curate of St Swithun and Old St Martin,

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

. He was then successively the

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

(1912–1930), Archdeacon ( 1930–1940) and finally

(1940–1945). Manohan has been described as "a firm churchman of authoritarian personality who attracted and repelled according to taste, but he was a strong and effective teacher, preacher and spiritual director". The 1928 Prayer Book was the basis for his compilation ''The Churchpeople's Prayer Book''. Bishop Monahan accepted the principle of

reservation of the blessed sacrament During the Mass of the Faithful, the second part of the Mass, the elements of bread and wine are considered to have been changed into the veritable Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The manner in which this occurs is referred to by the term transu ...

in church and also permitted devotional services of

Benediction A benediction ( Latin: ''bene'', well + ''dicere'', to speak) is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service. It can also refer to a specific Christian religious service including the exposit ...

., which his immediate successor would later forbid. Despite his Anglo-Catholic churchmanship, however, Dr. Monahan's episcopate was notable for his deposing, in 1942, the extreme priest Edmund Loftus Macnachten,

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of St Thomas, Overmonnow, who had adopted such Roman Catholic practices as processions of the

Blessed Sacrament The Blessed Sacrament, also Most Blessed Sacrament, is a devotional name to refer to the body and blood of Christ in the form of consecrated sacramental bread and wine at a celebration of the Eucharist. The term is used in the Latin Church of the ...

and who, according to records, had also absented himself from his parish without making provision for services to be taken. During Dr Monahan's time in the

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

many clergy who had trained at

St Stephen's House, Oxford St Stephen's House is an Anglican theological college and one of five permanent private halls of the University of Oxford, England. It will cease to be a permanent private hall in 2023. The college has a very small proportion of undergraduate s ...

were recruited to the diocese, and for all the furore caused by the proceedings against MacNachten, the character of Monmouth became considerably more "

High Church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...

" under his leadership. Records which came to light after his death show that Monahan had wished to appoint the Warden of

Pusey House, Oxford Pusey House is an Anglican religious institution located on St Giles', Oxford, United Kingdom, immediately to the south of Pusey Street. It is firmly rooted in the Anglo-Catholic Prayer Book tradition of the Church of England, and was founded i ...

, Canon Frederic Hood, as

Dean of Monmouth Newport Cathedral (Welsh; ''Eglwys Gaderiol Casnewydd''), also known as St Gwynllyw's or St Woolos' Cathedral, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Monmouth within the Church in Wales, and the seat of the Bishop of Monmouth. Its official title is ...

, but was prevented from doing so by the refusal of the then Dean to retire. Bishop Monahan died in post on 10 August 1945.''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', 11 August 1945, p. 6; Issue 50218; col F ''Obituary The Rt Rev A.E. Monahan''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monahan, Alfred Edwin 1877 births 1945 deaths Christian clergy from Dublin (city) People educated at St Andrew's College, Dublin Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Bishops of Monmouth 20th-century bishops of the Church in Wales Anglo-Catholic bishops Archdeacons of Monmouth Welsh Anglo-Catholics 19th-century Anglican theologians 20th-century Anglican theologians