The Lord Bishop of Leighlin was a separate
episcopal title which took its name after the small town of
Old Leighlin
Old Leighlin () is a small village in County Carlow, Ireland, 3.5 km west of Leighlinbridge. The site was at one time one of the foremost monastic houses in Leinster, with 1500 monks in residence. It was the location for a church synod in ...
in
County Carlow
County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a county located in the South-East Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Carlow is the second smallest and the third least populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties. Carlow Cou ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
.
The title is now united with other bishoprics. 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 ...
, it is held by the
Lord Bishop of Cashel and Ossory, whose full title is the Lord Bishop of Cashel, Waterford, Lismore, Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin. In the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, it is held by the
Lord Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin.
History
The diocese of Leighlin was one of the twenty-four dioceses established at the
Synod of Rathbreasail
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mean ...
in 1111. Following the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
, there are parallel
apostolic succession
Apostolic succession is the method whereby the ministry of the Christian Church is held to be derived from the apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been associated with a claim that the succession is through a series of bish ...
s. 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 ...
, Leighlin was combined with
Ferns
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except th ...
in 1597 to form the united
bishopric of Ferns and Leighlin. In the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, the see was governed by bishops or
vicars apostolic, and from 1678 to 1694 it was administered by the
Bishops of Kildare
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
. The formal union of Kildare and Leighlin was decreed on 29 November 1694, thereby forming the united
Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin (; ga, Deoise Chill Dara agus Leithghlinn) is a Roman Catholic diocese in eastern Ireland. It is one of three suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin and is subject to the ...
.
Pre-Reformation bishops
Post-Reformation bishops
Church of Ireland succession
Roman Catholic succession
Notes
* Thomas O'Fihelly was bishop of both successions.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop Of Leighlin
Leighlin
Leighlin
Roman Catholic Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin
Bishops of Kildare or Ferns or Leighlin or of Ossory
Former Roman Catholic bishoprics in Ireland