The Archbishop of Armagh is an

archiepiscopal 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 archdioc ...

title which takes its name from the see city of

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

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. Since the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, there have been parallel

apostolic succession Apostolic succession is the method whereby the Christian ministry, ministry of the Christian Church is considered by some Christian denominations to be derived from the Twelve Apostles, apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been ...

s to the title: one in 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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and the other in the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

. The archbishop of each denomination also holds the title of

Primate of All Ireland The Primacy of Ireland belongs to the diocesan bishop of the Irish diocese with highest precedence. The Archbishop of Armagh is titled Primate of All Ireland and the Archbishop of Dublin Primate of Ireland, signifying that they are the senior ...

. In the Church of Ireland, the

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 archdi ...

John McDowell John Henry McDowell (born 7 March 1942) is a South African philosopher, formerly a fellow of University College, Oxford, and now university professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Although he has written on metaphysics, epistemology, anci ...

, who is the ecclesiastical head of the

and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Armagh. He was elected as archbishop in March 2020 and translated to the role on 28 April 2020. In the Catholic Church, the archbishop is

Eamon Martin Eamon Columba Martin KC*HS (born 30 October 1961) is an Irish Catholic prelate from Northern Ireland who has served as Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland since 2014. Early life and education Martin was born in Pennyburn, Derry ...

, who is the ecclesiastical head of the

Catholic Church in Ireland The Catholic Church in Ireland, or Irish Catholic Church, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Holy See. With 3.5 million members (in the Republic of Ireland), it is the largest Christian church in Ireland. In ...

, metropolitan of the

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

of Armagh and the ordinary of the Archdiocese of Armagh. He succeeded on 8 September 2014, having been ordained Coadjutor Archbishop of Armagh on 21 April 2013 at

St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh There are two St Patrick's Cathedrals in Armagh, Northern Ireland: * St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh (Church of Ireland), the Anglican cathedral (and the Catholic cathedral prior to the Protestant Reformation) * St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh (Roma ...

History

In the medieval Irish church, the earliest bishops doubled as

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

s, with the bishop becoming the junior of the two positions. From the 8th century, if not earlier, the house of Armagh claimed foundation from

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...

, and the position of ''comarba Pátraic'' ("successor of Patrick") was held by the abbot of Armagh until the position of abbot and bishop were merged again in the 12th century, with the creation of the archbishopric of Armagh.

History

Early abbots and bishops of Armagh

Later abbots and bishops of Armagh

Abbots of Armagh

Bishops of Armagh

Pre-Reformation archbishops

Archbishops during the Reformation

Post-Reformation archbishops

Church of Ireland succession

Catholic succession

See also

Notes

References