The Synod of Kells (, ) took place in 1152, under the presidency of Giovanni Cardinal Paparoni, and continued the process begun at the Synod of Ráth Breasail (1111) of reforming the Irish church. The sessions were divided between the abbeys of Kells and

Mellifont Mellifont Abbey ( ga, An Mhainistir Mhór, literally 'the Big Monastery'), was a Cistercian abbey located close to Drogheda in County Louth, Ireland. It was the first abbey of the order to be built in Ireland. In 1152, it hosted the Synod of ...

, and in later times the synod has been called the Synod of Kells-Mellifont and the Synod of Mellifont-Kells. Its main effect was to increase the number of

archbishop 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 ...

s from two to four, and to redefine the number and size of

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 associ ...

s. The

Primacy 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 ...

was granted to the Archdiocese of Armagh.

Background

Máel Máedóc Ua Morgair ( Saint Malachy) was made a priest in 1119, as vicar to

Celsus Celsus (; grc-x-hellen, Κέλσος, ''Kélsos''; ) was a 2nd-century Greek philosopher and opponent of early Christianity. His literary work, ''The True Word'' (also ''Account'', ''Doctrine'' or ''Discourse''; Greek: grc-x-hellen, Λόγ� ...

. His first sees were Down and Connor, and he was located at Bangor Abbey. On the death of Celsus in 1129, Malachy was nominated as his successor at

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the ...

, now the prime see in Ireland. An internal church dispute over the succession and proposals for reform obliged him to concede the position to Gelasius. In 1137, Gelasius, lacking papal confirmation of the appointment of Malachy by Rome asked him to secure the archbishop's

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropol ...

at the hands of the Pope or his legate. Malachy reached Rome but the Pope,

Innocent II Pope Innocent II ( la, Innocentius II; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as pope was controversial and the fi ...

, would only grant the pallia to Malachy at the request of an Irish National Synod. To facilitate this, he made Malachy his papal legate. Malachy then returned to Ireland accompanied by a number of

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...

monks provided by St. Bernard.

The Synod of Kells

In 1148 a synod of bishops was assembled at Inispatric. Malachy set out on a second journey to Rome, but died on the way at Clairvaux, France, in November. A synod was summoned to Kells in 1152. This synod approved the consecration of four archbishops. Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair, the

High King of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ga, Ardrí na hÉireann ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and later sometimes assigned an ...

, approved the decrees, and the pallia were conferred by the

Papal Legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

, Giovanni Cardinal Paparoni (also known as John

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

Paparo). Ireland was divided into thirty-six sees, and four metropolitan sees: Armagh, Cashel, Tuam, and Dublin. Armagh was granted Primacy (see

). The diocese of Dublin, ruled by the Ostmen ( Hiberno-Norse), seceded from Canterbury and was united with Glendalough. Gregory, the incumbent bishop, accepted the new title and Ostman separatism came to an end.

The diocesan system

The diocesan system was further reorganised, with the number of metropolitan provinces being increased from two to four, by raising the dioceses of

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 ...

and Tuam to archdioceses. The four provinces of Armagh, Cashel, Dublin and Tuam corresponded to the contemporary boundaries of the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following t ...

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...

and

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and ...

respectively. In most cases the dioceses corresponded with the territories controlled by the

Irish clans Irish clans are traditional kinship groups sharing a common surname and heritage and existing in a lineage-based society, originating prior to the 17th century. A clan (or ''fine'' in Irish) included the chief and his patrilineal relatives; howe ...

, and the clan chiefs liked to appoint family members as bishops, nuns and church officials. The diocesan structure established by the synod largely survived until the sixteenth century, and still forms the basis of the territorial structure of both the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

and 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 sec ...

, with many of the sees now merged.

Provinces and dioceses

Province of Armagh

* Ardagh: reduced in size by creation of Diocese of Kells *

* Clonard: confirmed as see for East Meath * Connor * Dar-Luis: status of area uncertain * Down * Duleek * Kells: established as see for the Kingdom of Breifne. Absorbed by Diocese of Meath in 1211 * Louth: see moved from Clogher and area extended at the expense of Armagh. See returned to Clogher by 1192 *

Maghera Maghera (pronounced , ) is a small town at the foot of the Glenshane Pass in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Its population was 4,220 in the 2011 Census, increasing from 3,711 in the 2001 Census. It is situated within Mid-Ulster Distri ...

: see transferred to Derry in 1254 *

Raphoe Raphoe ( ; ) is a historical village in County Donegal, Ireland. It is the main town in the fertile district of East Donegal known as the Laggan, as well as giving its name to the Barony of Raphoe, which was later divided into the baronies of R ...

: created in the late 12th century subsequent to the synod

Province of Cashel

* Ardfert: lost territory to Scattery Island * Cashel *

Cloyne Cloyne () is a small town to the southeast of Midleton in eastern County Cork. It is also a see city of the Anglican (Church of Ireland) Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, while also giving its name to a Roman Catholic diocese. St Colman's Ca ...

: formed from part of Cork *

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

: lost territory to Cloyne and Ross * Emly * Kilfenora: formed from part of Diocese of Killaloe; corresponded with the sub-kingdom of Corco Mruiad * Killaloe: lost territory to new dioceses of Kilfenora, Roscrea and Scattery Island *

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

: lost territory to Scattery Island * Lismore: formed from part of Waterford *

Roscrea Roscrea () is a market town in County Tipperary, Ireland, which in 2016 had a population of 5,446. Roscrea is one of the oldest towns in Ireland, having developed around the 7th century monastery of Saint Crónán of Roscrea, parts of which rem ...

: formed from part of Killaloe, only existed until the 1160s * Ross: formed from part of Cork *

Scattery Island Inis Cathaigh or Scattery Island is an island in the Shannon Estuary, Ireland, off the coast of Kilrush, County Clare. The island is home to a lighthouse, a ruined monastery associated with Saint Senan, an Irish round tower and the remains of ...

: formed from parts of Ardfert, Killaloe and Limerick. Incorporated into Limerick by end of 12th century *

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

: lost territory to create Lismore

Province of Dublin

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 ...

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 min ...

: united to Dublin in 1216 *

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

* Leighlin

Province of Tuam

Achonry Achonry (; ) is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. The old name is Achad Cain Conairi. St. Nath Í ua hEadhra (O'Hara) founded a monastery here. The foundation gave the later diocese its name. The monastery was founded on land granted by th ...

* Clonfert * Killala *

Kilmacduagh Kilmacduagh () is a small village in south County Galway, near Gort, in Ireland. It is the site of Kilmacduagh monastery, seat of the Diocese of that name. The diocese is now part of the Diocese of Galway and Kilmacduagh in the Roman Cathol ...

* Mayo: merged with Tuam 1209 *

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who buil ...

moved to Elphin 1156 * Tuam * Annaghdown was created circa 1179

Notes

Sources

* Peter Galloway, ''The Cathedrals of Ireland'', Belfast 1992 * {{cite book , last1= Healy , first1=John , author-link1=John Healy (bishop) , year=1892 , chapter= Synod of Kells , title= The ancient Irish church, language= English, edition=1 , location=London , publisher=Religious Tract Society , pages=176–180 * Geoffrey Keating. Foras Feasa Book I–II Geoffrey Keating

The History of Irelan

External links

1152 in Ireland Christianity in medieval Ireland History of County Meath History of County Louth Kells-Mellifont Kells