The United Dioceses of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh is a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, prov ...

of 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 ...

located in central

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

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 ...

. It is one of eleven

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

dioceses in the island of Ireland. The geographical remit covers all of

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim, County Leitr ...

, almost all of counties

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road (Ireland), N3 road that links Dublin ( ...

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It had a population of 10,952 at the 2022 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of ...

and

Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...

, plus smaller parts of counties

Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

Sligo Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...

, Donegal and

Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh (), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of alleged Laigin or ...

Cathedrals

* St Fethlimidh's Cathedral, Kilmore * St John the Baptist Cathedral, Sligo. There had been two other cathedrals, but are now in ruins. * St Mel's Cathedral, Ardagh was severely damaged by warfare in 1496 and was never restored. * St Mary's Cathedral, Elphin was destroyed by a violent storm on 4 February 1957 and abandoned in favour of St John the Baptist, Sligo in 1961. The historic sees of Kilmore and Ardagh were intermittently united in the 17th and 18th centuries until they were finally united in 1839. They were further merged with the see of Elphin in 1841 to form the current Diocese of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh. It is for this reason that the united diocese has two cathedrals in current use as well as a number of deconsecrated cathedrals.

Parishes

Each of the dioceses is divided into a number parish groups. ;Diocese of Kilmore ;Diocese of Elphin Sligo Cathedral - geograph

* Boyle and

Riverstown Riverstown, historically called ''Ballyederdaowen'' (), is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. Known for its musical tradition it is located at a bridging point of the River Unshin (Arrow), 17.2 km (10 miles) south of Sligo town and 4 ...

* Calry *

Drumcliff Drumcliff or Drumcliffe () is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. It is north of Sligo, Sligo town on the N15 road (Ireland), N15 road on a low gravel ridge between the mountain of Ben Bulben and Drumcliff Bay. It is on the Drumcliff River, o ...

(Cathedral) ;Diocese of Ardagh * Ardagh * Mostrim ( Edgeworthstown) * South Leitrim * Templemichael (

)

List of bishops

* John Powell Leslie (1841–1854) * Marcus Gervais Beresford (1854–1863) * Hamilton Verschoyle (1863–1870) * Charles Leslie (1870) * Thomas Carson (1870–1874) * John Richard Darley (1874–1884) * Samuel Shone (1884–1897) * Alfred George Elliott (1897–1915) * William Richard Moore (1915–1930) * Arthur William Barton (1930–1939) * Albert Edward Hughes (1939–1950) * Frederick Julian Mitchell (1950–1955) * Charles John Tyndall (1956–1958) * Edward Moore (Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh) (1959–1981) * William Gilbert Wilson (1981–1993) * Michael Hugh Gunton Mayes (1993–2000) * Kenneth Herbert Clarke (2001–2012) * Samuel Ferran Glenfield (2013–present)

Archdeacons

Overview

The three dioceses of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh were first created in the early and mid 12th-century. The sees of Elphin and Ardagh were 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 Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

in 1111 and the see of Kilmore (originally called Tirbrunensis, Triburnia or Tybruinensis) 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 1152. Following 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 ...

in the 16th century, the church in "communion with the Bishop of Rome" used the term "Catholic" to distinguish itself from the various

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

churches.McBrien, Richard (2008). ''The Church''. Harper Collins. p. xvii. Online version availabl
Browseinside.harpercollins.com
. Quote: " e use of the adjective 'Catholic' as a modifier of 'Church' became divisive only after the East-West Schism ...and the Protestant Reformation ...In the former case, the West claimed for itself the title ''Catholic'' Church, while the East appropriated the name ''Holy Orthodox'' Church. In the latter case, those in communion with the Bishop of Rome retained the adjective "Catholic", while the churches that broke with the Papacy were called ''Protestant''." The

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland () was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until the end of 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chambers: the Irish Hou ...

broke communion when it created the

as the State Religion in the

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland (; , ) was a dependent territory of Kingdom of England, England and then of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1542 to the end of 1800. It was ruled by the monarchs of England and then List of British monarchs ...

assuming possession of most Church property. The English-speaking minority mostly adhered to the either the Church of Ireland or, despite the political and economic advantages of membership in the state church, to

Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Relation with Anglican realignment

The Diocese of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh is theologically conservative. Bishop Ferran Glenfield is a supporter of

GAFCON The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (branded as GAFCON or Gafcon) is a communion of conservative Anglicanism, Anglican churches, aligned with the Confessing Movement, that formed in 2008 in response to ongoing theological disputes in th ...

Ireland and he attended GAFCON III, held in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, on 17–22 June 2018.IRELAND: Bishops' presence at Gafcon an "absolute disgrace", Virtue Online, 24 June 2018
/ref>

References

External links

Diocese of Kilmore, Elphin and ArdaghKilmore Cathedral architecture & stainglass windows (Gloine website)

Diocese of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh official page
{{Authority control Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh Religion in County Cavan Religion in County Leitrim Religion in County Roscommon Religion in County Westmeath Religion in County Sligo Religion in County Donegal Religion in County Fermanagh Church of Ireland in the Republic of Ireland Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh