The Bishop of Cloyne is an episcopal title that takes its name after the small town of

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 ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

. 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 ...

, it is a separate title; but, 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 secon ...

, it has been united with other

bishopric 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 associate ...

Pre-Reformation bishops

The diocese of Cloyne has its origins in the monastic settlement founded by St Colman in the 6th century. Cloyne was not one of the 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 meani ...

in 1111, but a bishop of Cloyne was ruling the diocese by 1148, which was recognised at the

Synod of Kells 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 o ...

in March 1152. In 1326, Pope John XXII issued a papal bull for the union of the dioceses of Cork and Cloyne to be united on the death of the bishop of either see. But on the death of Philip of Slane, Bishop of Cork in 1327, the two dioceses remained separate. Bishop Payn of Cloyne obtained a confirmation of the union of the two dioceses from Pope Martin V on 21 September 1418. However, the union did not take effect due to opposition by Bishop Milo fitzJohn of Cork. Bishop Payn of Cloyne resigned in 1429 and Jordan Purcell was appointed bishop of the united see of Cork and Cloyne on 15 June 1429.Fryde, ibid., p. 345.

Post-Reformation bishops

Church of Ireland succession

After 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 ...

, the

see of Cork and Cloyne continued until 1583 when they were united with Ross. For a short while they were separated in 1638 into the bishopric of Cork and Ross and the bishopric of Cloyne, but were reunited again in 1660. Cloyne once again became separate bishopric in 1679. Since 1835, Cloyne has been part of the united

diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross The Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, also referred to as the United Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, is a diocese in the Church of Ireland. The diocese is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. It is the see of the Bishop of Cork, Cloyn ...

.Fryde, ibid., pp. 384–385.

Roman Catholic succession

The

Roman Catholic Diocese of Cloyne The Diocese of Cloyne ( ga, Deoise Chluana) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is one of six suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, Cashel (also known as ...

remained united with Cork until 10 December 1747 when

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Be ...

approved their separation. On the same day it was decreed that Cloyne to be united with Ross. Following a recommendation at the Synod of Thurles, Cloyne and Ross were separated on 24 November 1850.Fryde, ibid., pp. 420–421. The current bishop of Cloyne is the Most Reverend William Crean, who was appointed by the Holy See on 25 November 2012 and installed on 27 January 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cloyne, Bishop Of Lists of Irish bishops and archbishops Religion in County Cork Roman Catholic bishops of Cloyne Bishops of Cork or Cloyne or of Ross Anglican bishops of Cloyne

Pre-Reformation bishops

Post-Reformation bishops

Church of Ireland succession

Roman Catholic succession

See also

References