Church of Ireland College of Education bicentenary celebrations

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the Kildare Place Society Training Institution.

Founded in 1811, this charitable, non-denominational organisation pioneered teacher training in Ireland, supplying grants to schools, publishing school books and training teachers in its model schools in Kildare Place, Dublin.

It thrived for a few decades before falling victim to early disagreements about the role of religion in schools which resulted in it losing its considerable annual government grant.

The Kildare Place SocietyBs model schools and teacher education college were taken over by General Synod in 1878, when it became known as the Church of Ireland Training College.

Editorial

While the Church of Ireland has decided to subscribe the Anglican Communion Covenant, the Province of South East Asia has acceded to it. Then again, the Declaration at the end of the Covenant speaks of the Churches stating that they are Lpartakers4 in the Covenant - yet another term. Indeed, the retired Archbishop of Dublin, Dr John Neill, in a letter in this week's Gazette (page 7), points out that different approaches to agreeing to the Covenant were always envisaged.

However, in a Preamble to its "Letter of Accession", the Province of South East Asia has indicated that its decision to accede to the Covenant is not unqualified. It depends upon certain principles which, somewhat abbreviated, are:

• that those provinces which accede to the Covenant will "unequivocally abide" by resolution I.10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference (on human sexuality);

• that those provinces and dioceses, the actions of which "violate" Lambeth Resolution I.10 and subsequent Primates Communiqué statements, are expected "to rescind their actions, and bring their public doctrine and practice in line with Lambeth I.10" before acceding to the Covenant; and

• that Churches that accede to the Covenant should bear "authentic witness to the orthodox faith" by an unequivocal commitment to the standards of moral holiness as set by biblical norms.

 Interestingly, the South East Asia Preamble also states that the Anglican Communion "should adopt more uniform processes in the election and appointment of bishops, to ensure that such processes are not held hostage to local politics and to parochial understandings of the episcopal office". However, if the central bodies of the Anglican Communion attempted to enforce this, one would have to ask just what had become of the individual Churches' autonomy, a matter stressed by the Church of Ireland in connection with its relevant General Synod resolution on the Covenant last month.

With hindsight, it would have been better if all the Churches in the Anglican Communion had been asked to respond to the Covenant in precisely the same terms, whatever procedures they had to follow in accordance with individual internal polity. When different parties enter into an agreement, it is important that not only the text of the agreement is common, but also the wording by which they enter into the agreement. We already have had enough confusion in the Anglican Communion, without adding any more.

Home News

Double King James Bible anniversary celebrations in  Portadown church

The Truro Evening Canticles by Philip Stopford, a former organist and Master of the Choristers of St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast, were recently performed for the first time at Evensong by the choir of Truro Cathedral who had commissioned the new settings of Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis.

The première, in the presence of the composer, was directed by Christopher Gray, formerly of St GeorgeBs parish church, Belfast, and now Director of Music at Truro Cathedral.

Bishop Justin Badi of Maridi Diocese, BSouthern Sudan - one of Down and DromoreBs link Dioceses - recently celebrated ten years of his episcopacy, crowned by the arrival of a new vehicle which will help to launch the second phase of his ministry.

The much-needed, 13-seater Land Cruiser will be used for routine journeys and it will also double as an ambulance or, indeed, a hearse. It was provided through generous gifts from parishes, dioceses and individuals working in a unique partnership across three continents: the Dioceses of Down and Dromore and Albany, USA, sharing together in mission with the Church in Southern Sudan through CMS Ireland (CMSI).

Sixteen churchgoers have been arrested and priests have been turned out of their homes in ZimbabweBs Diocese of Harare, where the Anglican Church is facing persecution at the hands of an excommunicated bishop.

The Rt Revd Chad Gandiya, Bishop of Harare, said the arrests were illegal and that those detained, including a elderly woman, were traumatised.

The diocese is now trying to arrange bail and has asked for prayers for those in prison and their families.

Christians in China need qualified clergy who can contribute to the development of society, China's Minister of State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) has said in Nairobi, where a delegation from China was recently visiting the Anglican Church of Kenya.

"In the past, Christianity was treated as a foreign religion, but now we treat it as ours. There are a lot of Christians there, but they lack clergy. They cannot find qualified clergy to carry out development work among them," said Wang ZuoBan at a meeting with Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Primate of the Anglican Church of Kenya.

Letters to the Editor

The Anglican Covenant

AS ONE deeply involved in the preparation of the Anglican Covenant and, indeed, chairing the final drafting, I feel that too much is being made of the manner in which different Provinces of the Communion will approve it.

During discussions at the drafting stage, it was very obvious that each Province would have different means for its adoption or otherwise.

For some it would de facto be little more than Episcopal or even simply primatial approval, whilst for those in Europe and North America, it would be very definitely a synodical matter, but even in the latter case, there would be differing approaches. This is nothing new. For example, the Church of Ireland agreed to sign the Porvoo Common Declaration by a simple resolution of General Synod, whereas the Welsh Church apparently made the statement part of their official provincial documentation.

There are those who would have seen no difficulty had the Church of Ireland approved the Anglican Covenant and the Porvoo Common Declaration by a two year (doctrinal) Bill, and thus avoided any ambiguity. The problem with this approach in relation to either of these documents is that they are documents of the late 20th century and the 21st century respectively - and if approved by a two-year Bill, they would have assumed for us a level comparable to that of the historic formularies of the Church of Ireland.

This would not only have caused difficulties in itself, but it would also have meant that every phrase in the new documents would have been likely to have been tested against the historic formularies. Indeed, neither modern document might have received sufficient support if this course had been followed.

Anybody who doubts this risk should be reminded of the difficulties for the Church of Ireland when asked to approve the ARCIC Statement on the Eucharist. The immediate response was to test it not against the Gospels and our ancient common Christian tradition as we were invited to do, but rather to test it against the documents of the 16th century.

By agreeing to 'subscribe' the Covenant, surely the General Synod meant that we should sign the Covenant, but, as was quite clearly stated, it did not become one of our formularies or, indeed, anything like such.

'Adoption' would, in the light of our synodical process, have given the Covenant a status which would have been extremely ambiguous.

The Covenant is an expression of what belonging to the Anglican Communion means, and what is expected of that membership. We have agreed to sign it as part of our continuing membership. In the light of recent problems, the Anglican Communion must have its ground rules for belonging, but if such belonging becomes impossible in the future for any member-Church, that Church is free to leave.

The Church of Ireland existed before the Anglican Communion and though committed to communion with the Church of England, it is not of its very nature dependent on the Anglican Communion.The Covenant is not a formulary of the Church of Ireland. I am glad that the Church to which I belong still values membership of the Anglican Communion and has agreed to subscribe the Anglican Covenant.

Archbishop Gregg and  the Irish Free State

I READ with great interest in your 13th May issue the review by Bishop Samuel Poyntz of my Aunt Barbara Fitzgerald's novel, We Are Besieged, first published in 1946, which has just been re-issued by the Somerville Press. In the light of the Queen's recent visit to Ireland, and the moving quotation from the novel about the role of the Anglo-Irish Protestant minority in the new Republic, with which Bishop Poyntz concludes his review, I wondered if it would be of interest to your readers to be reminded of the enormous importance of the role played by the author's father, Archbishop John Allen (not Henry, as stated in the review) Fitzgerald Gregg, in the constructive attitude to the new state shown by those of the Protestant minority who chose to remain there.

His belief in the sanctity of constitutional government clearly influenced his daughter's ideas and her writing, as it did those of his elder daughter, my mother, whose pride in his leadership and Christian example to his Protestant flock amid the horrors of those first Troubles was a powerful influence on my own thinking in later years.

On 7th December 1921, in a public statement on the terms of the Irish Settlement, I find in George Seaver's biography of him that the Archbishop pledged his loyalty to the new Irish Free State in the following terms: "We may not all like the facts; many of us had no desire for a change of Constitution. But it will be our wisdom to acknowledge them and reckon with them. Ireland in future must depend upon itself ... It concerns us all that we should have a strong, capable and wise Government. And therefore it concerns us all to offer to the Irish Free State so shortly to be constituted our loyalty and goodwill. I believe there is a genuine disposition on the part of those from whom we have so differed in political outlook to make room for us and to welcome our cooperation. And we should be wrong, politically and religiously, to reject their advances. The new Constitution will claim our allegiance with the same solemn authority as the one that is now being constitutionally annulled."

THE MARRIAGE Council item in the 20th May Gazette reported that one speaker at the General Synod identified easy divorce as "the devil's way" of destroying marriage and the Church as the main promoter of stable marriages.

However, we must think of the ones who are being abused or the children who are at risk and also violence in the home. Divorce in these cases can't come quickly enough. In these cases, it's not the devil's way out.

As a member of the Mothers' Union for 40 years, I've learnt a lot about marriage. one thing a lot of people suggest for happy marriages is give and take, sit down and sort problems out and do not argue, and as for husband and wife, each must be a good listener.

Focus on The King’s Hospital

One body and one Spirit - a school and a way of life

Simon Palmer gives an overview of the life and work of the King’s Hospital, Palmerstown, Dublin.

 Michael Hall, the comparatively new headmaster of the Dublin secondary school, The King's Hospital, recalls that these words from Ephesians 4: 4 were used by the Revd Peter Campion, the school's resident chaplain, in the first service which he [Mr Hall] attended after taking up his position in September 2010.

The Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland celebrates 75th anniversary

Down at St. Davids

Alison Rooke

Good fences make...

Book Reviews

THE CELTIC WAY OF PRAYER: THE RECOVERY OF THE RELIGIOUS IMAGINATION Author: Esther De Waal Publisher: Canterbury  Press

GOD AND STEPHEN HAWKING: WHOSE DESIGN IS IT ANYWAY? Author: John C. Lennox Publisher: Lion; pp96

RISK-SHAPED DISCIPLESHIPAuthor: Terry BiddingtonPublisher: Columba Press; 208pp

News Extra

Belfast City Council tribute to former Dean of Belfast

The Very Revd Dr Houston McKelvey and his wife, Roberta, are pictured in Belfast City Hall following a reception recognising Dean McKelvey's ministry with (from left) Peter McNanney, Belfast City Council Chief Executive; Cllr Tom Hartley; Cllr Jim Rodgers; the former Lord Mayor, Cllr Pat Convery; the Deputy Lord Mayor, Cllr William Humphries; and Cllr Tom Eakin.

The former Lord Mayor of Belfast, Cllr Pat Convery, along with the then Deputy Lord Mayor, four former Lord Mayors and councillors from all political parties, were present at a recent civic luncheon in Belfast City Hall to pay tribute to the former Dean of Belfast, the Very Revd Dr Houston McKelvey, who retired earlier this year.

Bishops' Appeal appoints new Education Officer

Bishops Appeal - the Church of Ireland's World Aid and Development programme- recently announced the appointment of Lydia Monds as its new Education officer, in succession to Martin O'Connor, with effect from July.