Michael Geoffrey St Aubyn Jackson (born 24 May 1956) is a Church of Ireland

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

bishop. Since 2011, he has served as the

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin is an archepiscopal title which takes its name after Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Ireland ...

and

Bishop of Glendalough The Bishop of Glendalough ( ga, Easpuig Gleann Dá Loch) was an episcopal title which took its name after the monastery at Glendalough in County Wicklow, Republic of Ireland. An Irish version of the place name, ''Glenndálocha'', is now used fo ...

in the Church of Ireland. He is also the

co-chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the

Porvoo Communion The Porvoo Communion is a communion of 15 predominantly northern European Anglican and Evangelical Lutheran churches, with a couple of far-southwestern European (in the Iberian Peninsula) church bodies of the same denomination. It was establish ...

of Anglican and Lutheran churches.

Early life and family

Jackson was born in

Lurgan Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh. Lurgan is about south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin railway line. It had a population ...

, County Armagh,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, the son of a Church of Ireland rector (latterly appointed

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of most ...

of Elphin & Ardagh), and educated at Ballinamallard Primary School and

Portora Royal School Portora Royal School located in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, was one of the public schools founded by the royal charter in 1608, by James I, making it one of the oldest schools in Ireland at the time of its closure. Origina ...

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,823 a ...

. He achieved the Louis Claude Purser Entrance Scholarship to

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 ...

. In 1976, as only a Junior Freshman, he was elected as a Scholar of the College in classics, the greatest undergraduate achievement. As a Senior Freshman was awarded the Bishop Berkeley Gold Medal for Greek. As a Sophister, he achieved a First in the Moderatorship Part I along with a Mullins Classical Exhibition, before finally taking a first class Moderatorship II in Classics and a Gold Medal, and graduating with a B.A. in 1979. He incepted to M.A. in 1982. He read Theology at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

where he was elected a foundation scholar of

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

and took a First Class Tripos Part II in Theology and Religious Studies. He is married to Inez Cooke, a medical doctor who was born in

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...

, and they have one daughter, Camilla.

Ecclesiastical career

He was

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 vari ...

to the

Anglican ministry The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. "Ministry" commonly refers to the office of ordained clergy: the ''threefold order'' of bishops, priests and deacons. More accurately, Anglica ...

as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chu ...

in 1986 and a priest in 1987. His first pastoral appointment was as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at Zion Parish,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...

, and he also lectured at

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 the Church of Ireland Theological College (now Institute). His next appointment was as college chaplain at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, from 1989 to 1997 where was also a

Student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...

. He returned to Ireland and served as the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-el ...

of St Fin Barre's Union and

Dean of Cork Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral ( ga, Ardeaglais Naomh Fionnbarra) is a Gothic Revival three-spire Church of Ireland cathedral in the city of Cork. It is located on the south bank of the River Lee and dedicated to Finbarr of Cork, patron saint of ...

, from 1997 to 2002. Jackson has held many notable positions in the Church of Ireland, including chairmanship of the Church in Society Committee and, currently, chairmanship of the Board for Social Theology. Jackson also plays an active role in the wider

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

, especially in the areas of ecumenism and inter-faith dialogue. Jackson was elected

Bishop of Clogher The Bishop of Clogher is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Clogher in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Following the Reformation, there are now parallel apostolic successions: one of the Church of Ireland and the o ...

by the Church of Ireland

House of Bishops The House of Bishops is the third House in a General Synod of some Anglican churches and the second house in the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.

on 21 November 2001 and consecrated at St Patrick's Anglican Cathedral, Armagh, on 6 March 2002. On 2 February 2011, he was elected

and

, and enthroned at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, on 8 May 2011, succeeding John Neill. Jackson has caused several controversies during his incumbency in Dublin, including a media fracas regarding comments about sectarianism made in a speech during the 2013 diocesan synod There was also controversy over the closure of the 200 year old

Church of Ireland College of Education The Church of Ireland College of Education or C.I.C.E. as it was more commonly known ( ga, Coláiste Oideachais Eaglais na hÉireann) was one of five Irish Colleges of Education which provided a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) degree, the qualific ...

and its amalgamation into

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its f ...

, ending the historic link with

References

External links

;Church of Ireland press releases *
New Bishop of Clogher
(21 November 2001) – announcing Jackson's election *

(6 March 2002) – announcing Jackson's consecration *

(2002) – joint message by Michael Jackson and Joseph Duffy, his Catholic counterpart *
The Right Reverend Michael Jackson Elected as New Archbishop of Dublin and Glendalough
(2 February 2011) {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Michael 1956 births Living people People educated at Portora Royal School People from Lurgan Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Archdeacons of Elphin Anglican archbishops of Dublin Bishops of Clogher (Church of Ireland) Anglican bishops in Northern Ireland Deans of Cork Scholars of Trinity College Dublin Irish Anglican archbishops