The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland is the most senior office-bearer within the

Presbyterian Church in Ireland The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI; ga, Eaglais Phreispitéireach in Éirinn; Ulster-Scots: ''Prisbytairin Kirk in Airlann'') is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the Republic of Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in ...

, which is Northern Ireland's largest Protestant denomination. The Moderator is elected by the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

and serves for one year as the public representative of the denomination. The moderator may be either a teaching or ruling elder from within the denomination but, as yet, no ruling elder has ever been elected to the role. The appointee's formal role involves acting as the

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator. The Oxford Dictionary states th ...

. During the rest of the year, the moderator acts as an ambassador for the General Assembly and for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland as a whole. The government of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland has a form known as

Presbyterian polity Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or ...

, and is much like that of other Presbyterian churches around the world. Individual churches are represented at both the Presbytery (local) level and General Assembly (

All Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

) level. The serving moderator is given the honorific

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

Right Reverend The Right Reverend (abbreviated The Rt Revd, The Rt Rev'd, The Rt Rev.) is a style applied to certain religious figures. Overview *In the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church in Great Britain, it applies to bishops, except that ''The M ...

'' (Rt. Rev.). Former moderators are known as ''

Very Reverend The Very Reverend is a Style (manner of address), style given to members of the clergy. The definite article "The" should always precede "Reverend" as "Reverend" is a style or fashion and not a title. Catholic In the Catholic Church, the style i ...

'' (Very Rev.).Example listing all living former moderators and describing them as Very Rev. i
2007 Directory, page 124
Retrieved 3 January 2017 The moderator and the two

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 ...

and two

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

archbishops are thirteenth to seventeenth in the

order of precedence in Northern Ireland An ''unofficial'' order of precedence in Northern Ireland, according to ''Burke's Peerage''106th Edition this is not officially authorised by or published with authority (''cum privilegio'') from either Buckingham Palace (the Royal Household) ...

, according to the seniority of their consecration or election. The current moderator is John Kirkpatrick.

Past Moderators

# 1840

Samuel Hanna Samuel Hanna (1772?–1852), Irish presbyterian divine, was born at Kellswater, near Ballymena, Co. Antrim. Education and training He was educated at the University of Glasgow, graduating M.A. in 1789. In 1790 he was licensed by Ballymena presby ...

D.D. (Rosemary Street, Belfast) # 1841 Henry Cooke D.D., LL.D. (May Street, Belfast) # 1842 John Edgar D.D., LL.D. (Fitzroy, Belfast) # 1843 Robert Stewart D.D. (First Broughshane) # 1844 John Brown (Aghadowey) # 1845

James Carlile James Carlile (1784–1854) was a Scottish clergyman from Paisley. He was a joint minister of a Scots church in Dublin and an Irish commissioner of education. He introduced a different style of education in Ireland whereby children of differen ...

(Dublin) # 1846 James Morgan (Fisherwick, Belfast) # 1847 William McClure (Londonderry) # 1848 Henry Jackson Dobbin (First Ballymena) # 1849 John Barnett (Moneymore) # 1850

William Bailey Kirkpatrick William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

(Abbey, Dublin) # 1851 John Coulter (Gilnahirk) # 1852 John Bleckley A.M. (First Monaghan) # 1853 Henry William Molyneaux D.D. (First Larne) # 1854 David Hamilton (Belfast) # 1855 Robert Allen A.M. (Ballina) # 1856 Robert Wilson (

Assembly's College ''This page is about a college in Northern Ireland. For institutions with similar names, see Union Theological Seminary and Union School of Theology'' , mottoeng = ''“Buy the truth and sell it not”'' (taken from Proverbs 23:23) , establi ...

, Belfast) # 1857

Alexander Porter Goudy Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants li ...

(Strabane) # 1858 John Johnston A.M., D.D. (Tullylish) # 1859

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ...

(Assembly's College, Belfast) # 1860

Samuel Marcus Dill Samuel Marcus Dill (20 December 184323 January 1924) was an Irish-born minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1912. Life He was born on 20 December 1843, the eldest son of Prof Robert Foster Dill MD ...

(First Ballymena) # 1861 John Macnaughton (Rosemary Street, Belfast) # 1862 Henry Cooke (May Street, Belfast) # 1863 John Rogers (Second Comber) # 1864 John Rogers (Second Comber) # 1865 David Wilson (Limerick) # 1866 David Wilson (Limerick) # 1867 Robert Montgomery (India) # 1868 Charles Lucas Morell (Dungannon) # 1869 Richard Smyth (First Derry) # 1870 Richard Smyth (First Derry) # 1871 Lowry Edmonds Berkley (First Lurgan) # 1872 William Johnston (Townsend Street, Belfast) # 1873 William Johnston (Townsend Street, Belfast) # 1874 William Magill (Trinity, Cork) # 1875

Josias Leslie Porter Josias Leslie Porter DD LLD (1823–1889) was an Irish Presbyterian minister, missionary and traveller, who became an academic administrator. He was Moderator of the Irish General Assembly in 1875. Early life Born on 4 October 1823, he was you ...

(Belfast) # 1876 John Meneely (First Ballymacarrett, Belfast) # 1877 George Bellis (Belfast) # 1878

Thomas Witherow Thomas Witherow (1824–1890) was an Irish Presbyterian minister and historian. Life The son of Hugh Witherow, a farmer at Aughlish, near Dungiven, County Londonderry, and his wife Elizabeth Martin, he was born at Ballycastle on 29 May 1824. He r ...

(

Magee College , image = , caption = ''Top:'' ''Ulster University's coat of arms'Bottom:'' ''The Magee main building'' , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 – Magee Univers ...

, Londonderry) # 1879

Robert Watts Robert Watts (born 23 May 1938)Adam Pirani, ''Robert Watts: Secrets of "The Temple of Doom"'', Starlog #94, April 1985, pp 23–26,62. is a British retired film producer who is best known for his involvement with the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana ...

(Belfast) # 1880 Jackson Smyth (First Armagh) # 1881

William Fleming Stevenson William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

(Rathgar, Dublin) # 1882

Thomas Young Killen Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

(Duncairn, Belfast) # 1883 Hamilton Brown Wilson (First Cookstown) # 1884 James Maxwell Rogers (Great James Street, Londonderry) # 1885 James Weir Whigham (Ballinasloe) # 1886 Robert Ross (Carlisle Road, Londonderry) # 1887 John Henry Orr (High Street, Antrim) # 1888 Robert John Lynd (May Street, Belfast) # 1889 William Clarke (Trinity, Bangor) # 1890 William Park (Rosemary Street, Belfast) # 1891 Nathaniel McAuley Brown (Drumachose, Limavady) # 1892 R. McCheyne Edgar (Adelaide Road, Dublin) # 1893 W. Todd Martin (Belfast) # 1894 W. Todd Martin (Belfast) # 1895 George Raphael Buick (Cuningham Memorial, Cullybackey) # 1896

Henry McIlree Williamson Henry McIlree Williamson (1824–1898) was an Irish-born minister of the Free Church of Scotland who served as Moderator of the General Assembly to the Presbyterian Church in Ireland in 1896. Life He was born in Lisnadill in County Armagh in ...

(Fisherwick, Belfast) # 1897 Matthew Leitch (Assembly's College, Belfast) # 1898 William Beatty (Knock, Belfast) # 1899 David Alexander Taylor (Second Comber) # 1900 John McC. Hamilton (Donore, Dublin) # 1901 James Heron (Belfast) # 1902 John Edgar Henry (Strand, Londerderry) # 1903 John MacDermott (Belmont, Belfast) # 1904 Samuel Prenter (Ormond Quay, Dublin) # 1905 William McMordie (Mourne, Kilkeel) # 1906 William McKean (First Ballymacarrett, Belfast) # 1907 John Davidson (Glennan) # 1908 John McIlveen (Crescent, Belfast) # 1909 John Courtenay Clarke (Galway) # 1910 John Howard Murphy (Trinity, Cork) # 1911 John Macmillan (Cooke Centenary, Belfast) # 1912 Henry Montgomery (Shankill Road Mission, Belfast) # 1913 William John Macauley (First Portadown) # 1914 James Bingham (Dundonald) # 1915 Thomas Hamill (Belfast) # 1916 Thomas West (First Antrim) # 1917 John Irwin (Belfast) # 1918 James McGranahan (First Derry) # 1919

John Morrow Simms John Morrow Simms (23 November 1854 – 29 April 1934) was a Presbyterian minister and unionist politician in Northern Ireland. Born in Newtownards, Simms studied at the Belfast Academy, the Coleraine Academical Institution, Queen's Universi ...

(Newtownards) # 1920 Hugh Patterson Glenn (Bray) # 1921 William James Lowe (Clerk of the General Assembly) # 1922 William Gordon Strahan (First Newry) # 1923 George Thompson (Cliftonville, Belfast) # 1924 Robert Wilson Hamilton (Railway Street, Lisburn) # 1925 Thomas Haslett (First Ballymena) # 1926 Robert Kennedy Hanna (Adelaide Road, Dublin) # 1927 James Thompson (Great James Street, Londonderry) # 1928 Thomas Alexander Smyth (Great Victoria Street, Belfast) # 1929 John Love Morrow (Clontarf, Dublin) # 1930 Edward Clarke (Strabane) # 1931 James Gilbert Paton (Malone, Belfast) # 1932 James Jordan Macaulay (Rathgar, Dublin) # 1933 William Corkey (Windsor, Belfast) # 1934 Thomas McGimpsey Johnston (Newington, Belfast) # 1935 Andrew Frederick Moody (Cliftonville, Belfast) # 1936 F. W. S. O'Neill (Belfast) # 1937 John Waddell (Fisherwick, Belfast) # 1938 William John Currie (First Bangor) # 1939 James Haire (Assembly's College, Belfast) # 1940 James Barkley Woodburn (Fitzroy) # 1941 W. A. Watson (Belfast) # 1942 Wilson Moreland Kennedy (First Derry) # 1943 Phineas McKee (Downshire Road, Newry) # 1944 Andrew Gibson (Trinity, Cork) # 1945

Robert Corkey Robert Corkey (1881 – 26 January 1966) was a Presbyterian minister, a professor of theology and a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland. Biography He was born at Glendermott Parish, Waterside, Derry, the son of Rev. Dr Joseph Corkey. He wa ...

(Assembly's College, Belfast) # 1946 Thomas Byers (Ormond Quay & Scots, Dublin) # 1947 Robert Boyd (Belfast) # 1948 Alfred William Neill (First Armagh) # 1949 Gordon Douglas Erskine (Rosemary, Belfast) # 1950 Joseph Hugh Rush Gibson O.B.E., M.A. (Clerk of the General Assembly) # 1951 Hugh McIlroy B.A. (Ryans) # 1952 John Knox Leslie McKean M.A. (First Comber) # 1953 James Ernest Davey M.A. (Assembly's College, Belfast) # 1954 John Knowles B.A. (Tullylish) # 1955 James Carlile Breakey B.A. (Fortwilliam Park, Belfast) # 1956 Thomas McCurdy Barker M.A. (Donegal) # 1957 Robert John Wilson M.A. (Assembly's College, Belfast) # 1958 William McAdam M.A. (First Newry) # 1959 Thomas Alexander Byers Smyth B.A. (Rathgar, Dublin) # 1960 Austin Alfred Fulton M.A., PhD (Assembly's Foreign Mission) # 1961 William Alexander Albert Park M.A. (Ballygilbert, Bangor) # 1962 John Higginson Davey B.A. (Missionary to India) # 1963 William Alexander Montgomery M.A. (Strand, Londonderry) # 1964 James Dunlop M.A. (Oldpark, Belfast) # 1965 Samuel James Park M.A. (Dún Laoghaire) # 1966 Alfred Martin M.A. (Lowe Memorial, Finaghy) # 1967 William Boyd M.A. (First Lisburn) # 1968 John Herbert Withers B.A. (Fisherwick, Belfast) # 1969 John Talbot Carson B.A. (Trinity, Bangor) # 1970 James Loughridge Mitchell Haire M.A., M.Th. (Assembly's College, Belfast) # 1971 Frederick Rupert Gibson B.A. (Superintendent of The Irish Mission) # 1972 Robert Victor Alexander Lynas O.B.E., B.A., B.D.(Gardenmore, Larne) # 1973 John Whiteford Orr B.A. (Bloomfield, Belfast) # 1974 George Temple Lundie M.A., LL.B. (First Armagh) # 1975 George Frederick Hampton Wynne B.A. (Great James Street, Londonderry) Died one month in office and Temple Lundie retook the job for the year. # 1976 Andrew John Weir MSc (Clerk of the General Assembly) # 1977 Thomas Algeo Patterson B.A. (Portaferry) # 1978 David Burke B.A. (Hamilton Road, Bangor) # 1979 William Magee Craig M.A., B.D. (First Portadown) # 1980 Ronald Gavin Craig B.A. (First Carrickfergus) # 1981 John Girvan B.A. (Hill Street, Lurgan) # 1982 Eric Paul Gardner B.A. (First Ballymena) # 1983 Thomas John Simpson M.A., LL.B., Dip.Ed., D.Litt. (Clerk of General Assembly) # 1984 Howard Cromie M.A., B.D. (Railway Street, Lisburn) # 1985 Robert Dickinson M.A., B.D., PhD, Th.D. (Tobermore and Draperstown) # 1986 John Thompson B.A., B.D., PhD (Union Theological College, Belfast) # 1987 William Fleming B.A. (Abbot's Cross, Belfast) # 1988 Andrew William Godfrey Brown B.A., B.D., PhD, Litt.D. (Ballycastle) # 1989 James Alexander Matthews B.A., B.D. (First Lurgan) # 1990 Robert Finlay Gregg Holmes M.A., M.Litt. (Union Theological College, Belfast) # 1991 Rodney Sterritt B.A. (Greenwell Street, Newtownards) # 1992 John Dunlop C.B.E., B.A. B.D., LL.D. (Rosemary, Belfast) # 1993 Andrew Rutherford Rodgers M.A. (Dungannon) # 1994 David Joseph McGaughey B.A. (Mourne, Kilkeel) # 1995 John Ross B.A. (High Street, Holywood) # 1996 David Henry Allen M.A., B.D. (New Row, Coleraine) # 1997 Samuel Hutchinson B.A., B.D., M.Th. (Clerk of the General Assembly) # 1998 Samuel John Dixon B.A. (First Antrim) # 1999 John William Lockington B.A., B.D., M.Th., PhD (Gardenmore, Larne) # 2000 Trevor William John Morrow M.A., B.D., M.Th., PhD(Lucan, Dublin) # 2001 Hugh Alastair Dunlop B.A., B.D. (Knock, Belfast) # 2002 Russell Ivan Birney B.A., B.D., D.Min. (High Kirk, Ballymena) # 2003 Ivan Alexander McKay B.A., B.D. (Dundonald) # 2004 Kenneth Norman Ernest Newell B.A., B.D., M.Th. (Fitzroy, Belfast) # 2005 Robert Ernest Henry Uprichard B.A., B.D., M.Th., Ph.D., D.D.(Trinity, Ahoghill) # 2006 David Clarke LL.B., B.D. (Terrace Row, Coleraine) # 2007 John Mateer Finlay B.A., B.D. (Harryville, Ballymena) # 2008 William Donald Patton B.S.Sc., B.D., PhD (Old Congregation, Randalstown) # 2009 John Stafford Carson BSc, M.A., MAR, M.Th. (First Portadown) # 2010 Thomas Norman Hamilton O.B.E, B.A., B.D. (Ballysillan, Belfast) # 2011 Ivan James Patterson B.A., M.Th. (Newcastle) # 2012 Robert Alexander Patton B.A., B.D. (Ballygilbert) # 2013 Robert Lyle Craig B.A., B.D. (Kilfennan, Londonderry) # 2014 Michael Alexander Barry B.A., B.D., D.Min. (First Newry) # 2015 David Ian James McNie B.D., M.Min. (Trinity, Ballymoney) # 2016 Frank Sellar B.A.(Hons), P.G.C.E., B.D., M.Min. (Bloomfield, Belfast) # 2017 Noble McNeely B.Ed. B.D. D.D. (First Holywood) # 2018 Charles McMullen M.A., M. Litt., B.D. (West, Bangor) # 2019 William Henry B.Sc. (Maze) # 2020 David Bruce B.S.Sc. B.D. (Secretary of the Council of Mission in Ireland) # 2021 David Bruce B.S.Sc. B.D. (Secretary of the Council of Mission in Ireland) # 2022 John Kirkpatrick (Portrush)

References

PCI General Assembly website

External links

Presbyterian Church in Ireland website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moderators Of The Presbyterian Church In Ireland, List Of Ecclesiastical titles Irish Presbyterian ministers Lists of Presbyterians Presbyterian Church in Ireland Christian religious leaders in Ireland

Past Moderators

See also

References

External links