The United Dioceses of Cashel and Ossory (''Full title'': The United Dioceses of Cashel, Waterford and Lismore with Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin, ga, Deoise Chaisil, Phort Láirge, Leasa Móire, Osraí, Fhearna agus Leithghlinne) is a

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 ...

of 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 ...

in the south-eastern part of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

The United Dioceses of Cashel and Ossory
''Official Diocesan website''. Retrieved on 8 January 2009. that was formed from a merger of older dioceses in 1977. The diocese is in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of sev ...

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 ...

.Cashel & Ossory
''Church of Ireland website''. Retrieved on 8 January 2009.

Overview and history

Reformation

When the Church in England broke communion with 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 ...

, the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

was established by the state as the

established church A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...

. Later, by decree of the Irish Parliament, a similar new body became the

State Church A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...

in the

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label= Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from ...

. It assumed possession of most Church property (and so retained a great repository of religious architecture and other items, though some were later destroyed). The substantial majority of the population remained faithful to the

Latin Rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church '' sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language onc ...

of Roman Catholicism, despite the political and economic advantages of membership in the state church. They were obliged to find alternative premises and to conduct their services in secret. The English-speaking minority mostly adhered to the

or, especially in

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 ...

, to

Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

. In 1833, the two provinces of

and Cashel were merged. Over the centuries, numerous dioceses were merged, in view of declining membership. The same is true for this diocese where it can be seen that each of the entities listed in the title would have been a diocese in its own right. It is for this reason that the united diocese has six

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

Previous entities

The bishoprics of

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 ...

and Leighlin were united in 1597. Over 238 years, there were twenty-nine bishops of that united diocese. Under the Church Temporalities (Ireland) Act 1833, the united bishopric of Ferns and Leighlin merged with the bishopric of Ossory to form the United Dioceses of Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin on 12 July 1835. Over the next 142 years, there were twelve bishops of that united diocese. Under the same Act, the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly merged with the United Dioceses of Waterford and Lismore from 14 August 1833. The resultant union was styled the "United Dioceses of Cashel and Waterford". In 1977, the see of "Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin" merged with the neighbouring see of the United Dioceses of Cashel and Waterford. The resultant union was styled the "United Dioceses of Cashel and Ossory"; it is this entity which continues in existence today. At a specially convened Synod of the United Diocese of Cashel and Ossory and the Diocese of Ferns held on Saturday 25 May 2013, it was decided that the Diocese of Ferns, which had operated as an autonomous entity with its own Diocesan Council and Synod, would be fully merged with the Diocese of Cashel and Ossory to constitute the United Diocese of Cashel, Ferns and Ossory. This change came into effect on the occasion of the Diocesan Synod held at Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford on Wednesday 23 October 2013. The ''Ossory Clerical Society/Association'' was an evangelical organisation founded by Church of Ireland Clergy in Ossory in 1800.

Cathedrals of the united diocese

St. John's Cathedral, Cashel The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Patrick's Rock is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. Previously the cathedral of the Diocese of Ca ...

. * Christ Church Cathedral, Waterford. * St Carthage's Cathedral, Lismore. * St. Canice's Cathedral,

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 ...

(Ossory). * St Edan's Cathedral, Ferns. *

St Laserian's Cathedral, Old Leighlin St Laserian's Cathedral, Old Leighlin, previously the cathedral of the Diocese of Leighlin, is now one of the six cathedral churches in the Diocese of Cashel and Ossory of the Church of Ireland. It is situated on the site of a mediaeval monaste ...

List of Bishops of Cashel and Ossory

* 1977–1980: John Armstrong * 1980–1997: Noel Willoughby * 1997–2002: John Neill * 2002–2006: Peter Barrett * 2006–2022: Michael Burrows

Education and Faith Development

From 2010 the diocese ran the Certificate in Christian Studies for lay Anglicans, accredited by

St. Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland ...

(Pontifical University),SPCM Certificate in Christian Studies
NUIM Kilkenny Campus. and hosted at the NUI Maynooth Campus,

St. Kieran's College St Kieran's College (Coláiste Chiaráin) is a Roman Catholic secondary school, located on College Road, Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, Ireland. History St Kieran's College was founded in Kilkenny, in the diocese of Ossory in 1782, after the pa ...

References

External links

Diocese of Cashel and Ossory

Crockford's Clerical Directory – Listings
{{authority control Archdeacons of Ossory and Leighlin Bishops of Cashel and Ossory Cashel Church of Ireland in the Republic of Ireland Religion in County Kildare Religion in County Kilkenny Religion in County Waterford Religion in County Wexford