Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, 2016-06-03

The Archbishop of Dublin is a senior bishop in the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) 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 ...

, second only to the

Archbishop of Armagh In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the

metropolitan bishop In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis. Originally, the term referred to the b ...

of the Province of Dublin, which covers the southern half of Ireland, and he is styled ''

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of Ireland'' (the Archbishop of Armagh is the "Primate of All Ireland"). The archbishop's throne (''

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

'') is in Christ Church Cathedral in central

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. The incumbent, from 11 May 2011, is

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

who signs as ''+Michael DUBLIN''.

History

The Dublin area was Christian long before Dublin had a distinct diocese. The remains and memory of monasteries famous before that time, at

Finglas Finglas (; ) is a northwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It lies close to Junction 5 of the M50 motorway, and the N2 road. Nearby suburbs include Glasnevin and Ballymun; Dublin Airport is to the north. Finglas lies mainly in the posta ...

Glasnevin Glasnevin (, also known as ''Glas Naedhe'', meaning "stream of O'Naeidhe" after a local stream and an ancient chieftain) is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the River Tolka. While primarily residential, Glasnevin is also home t ...

Glendalough Glendalough (; ) is a glacial valley in County Wicklow, Ireland, renowned for an Early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin. From 1825 to 1957, the head of the Glendalough Valley was the site of a galena lead mine. ...

, Kilnamanagh, Rathmichael,

Swords A sword is a cutting and/or thrusting weapon. Sword, Swords, or The Sword may also refer to: Places * Swords, Dublin, a large suburban town in the Irish capital * Swords, Georgia, a community in the United States * Sword Beach, code name for ...

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, among others, are witness to the faith of earlier generations and to a flourishing Church life in their time. Following a reverted conversion by one Norse King of Dublin, Sitric, his son Godfrey became Christian in 943 and the Kingdom of Dublin first sought to have a bishop of their own in the 11th century under Sitric MacAulaf, who had been on pilgrimage to Rome. He sent his chosen candidate, Donat (or Donagh or Donatus), to be consecrated in Canterbury in 1038 and the new prelate set up the Diocese of Dublin as a small territory within the walled city. The Bishop of Dublin answered to the Archbishop of Canterbury and did not attend councils of the Irish Church.Dublin: Catholic Truth Society, 1911: Bishop of Canea: ''Short Histories of Dublin Parishes, Part VIII'', p. 162 Tallaght Castle was used as an official residence from the mid-15th until the early 19th century. The Archbishop was in union with

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until the 16th century. Following the death of

John Alen John Alen (1476 – 28 July 1534) was an English priest and canon lawyer, whose later years were spent in Ireland. He held office as Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and was a member of the Privy Council of Ireland. In the lat ...

, Henry VIII put pressure on the Chapters of Dublin's cathedrals, who elected (January 1536) an Archbishop of his choice, George Browne. Browne was consecrated by

Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry' ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, at Lambeth. The Diocese of Kildare was united to Archdiocese of Dublin in 1846. Prior to the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland in 1871, the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin was entitled to sit in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

as a

Lord Spiritual The Lords Spiritual are the bishops of the Church of England who serve in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. 26 out of the 42 diocesan bishops and archbishops of the Church of England serve as Lords Spiritual (not counting retired archbi ...

, along with the other Archbishops in rotation. In 1976, the Diocese of Kildare was removed from union with Dublin and placed in union with

Diocese of Meath The Diocese of Meath ( ga, Deoise na Mí) is an Irish diocese which took its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Roman Catholic Church it still exists as a separate diocese, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other ...

. See

Primate of Ireland The Primacy of Ireland was historically disputed between the Archbishop of Armagh and the Archbishop of Dublin until finally settled by Pope Innocent VI. ''Primate'' is a title of honour denoting ceremonial precedence in the Church, and in t ...

for a discussion of the roles and status of the Archbishops of Dublin and Armagh and their functions as Primates.

Cathedrals

Since the Middle Ages, the seat of the Archbishop of Dublin has been

Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Christ Church Cathedral, more formally The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, is the cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of the United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel in the ( ...

, although for many centuries, it shared this status with St. Patrick's Cathedral. See those articles for details of the role of the Archbishop with respect to each.

Notes and references

Sources

* New York, 1909: ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''; Robert Appleton Company

External links

* Church of Irelan
Archbishop of Dublin
{{Anglican Bishops & Archbishops - Great Britain Primates in the Anglican Communion Anglican episcopal offices Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough

History

Cathedrals

See also

Notes and references

Sources

External links