The Bishop of Connor is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Connor in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

, Northern Ireland. The title is currently used by 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 ...

, but 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 has been united with another bishopric.

History

The diocese of Connor 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 meani ...

in 1111.How was the Diocese of Connor created?
. ''Church of Ireland Diocese of Connor''. Retrieved on 27 August 2009. It is located in the northeast corner of Ireland and includes much of the city of

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

. By some of the Irish annalists it was called by its territorial name ''The See of Dalaradia''. For a brief period in the early 12th-century, the see of Connor was united with Down under Máel Máedóc Ua Morgair (

Saint Malachy Malachy (}; Modern ga, Maelmhaedhoc Ó Morgair; ) (1094 – 2 November 1148) is an Irish saint who was Archbishop of Armagh, to whom were attributed several miracles and an alleged vision of 112 popes later attributed to the apocryphal ...

), who also was Archbishop of Armagh. On 29 July 1439, plans for a permanent union of the two sees were submitted to

King Henry VI of England Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne at ...

for his sanction. Exactly twelve months later, 29 July 1439,

Pope Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV ( la, Eugenius IV; it, Eugenio IV; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 3 March 1431 to his death in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and ...

issued a papal bull stating that Down and Connor were to be united on the death or resignation of either bishop. In 1442, John Sely,

Bishop of Down The Bishop of Down was an episcopal title which took its name from the town of Downpatrick in Northern Ireland. The bishop's seat (Cathedra) was located on the site of the present cathedral church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the Church ...

, was deprived of his see by Pope Eugene IV,Kilclief Castle, County of Down
''Library Ireland''. Retrieved on 25 August 2009. thereby effecting the union of the two dioceses. John Fossade, who had been bishop of Connor since 1431, became the bishop of the united see of Down and Connor in late 1442. However, due to strong opposition to the union in the diocese of Down, three more bishops of Down were appointed before the two sees finally united. 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 united see of Down and Connor had parallel

episcopal succession The historic or historical episcopate comprises all episcopates, that is, it is the collective body of all the bishops of a church who are in valid apostolic succession. This succession is transmitted from each bishop to their successors by the r ...

s. In the

, they still remain united to the present today. In the

, Down and Connor were united further with Dromore in 1842 to form the bishopric of Down, Connor and Dromore. They continued until 1945 when they were separated into the bishopric of Down and Dromore and the bishopric of Connor.

Present bishop

The present bishop is George Davison, previously Archdeacon of Belfast, who was elected by the House of Bishops in February 2020, and consecrated on 3 September 2020.

List of bishops

Pre-Reformation bishops

Church of Ireland bishops

References

External links

Church of Ireland Diocese of Connor
''(Official website)''
Christ Church Cathedral, Lisburn

St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connor, Bishop of Connor Connor Religion in County Antrim Roman Catholic Diocese of Down and Connor Bishops of Down or Connor or of Dromore Former Roman Catholic bishoprics in Ireland Diocese of Connor