CHURCH OF IRELAND NOTES
For Saturday 2nd October 1999
From: The
RCB Library
Email: RCB Library
Conference on the History of Irish Christianity
The Church of Ireland Historiographer, Dr Kenneth Milne, has recently
returned from a conference on the history of Irish Christianity which
was held in Varese, north of Milan, under the auspices of the Ambrosian
Foundation of Paul VI.
Twenty-two papers were read by an international group of scholars,
tracing the story of the Irish Church from its Patrician origins to the
present day. Naturally, much attention was given to the experience of
the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland from the time of the Reformation,
the interaction of religion and politics, and the diaspora of Irish
Catholics as students to the Irish colleges on the European continent
and emigrants to Britain and America in later years. However, other
religious traditions were not neglected. Dr Raymond Gillespie, of
NUI-Maynooth and a contributor to the forthcoming history of Christ
Church Cathedral, Dublin, spoke on lay Protestant religion, 1559-1800,
while Dr Milne's subject was the Church of Ireland since partition.
While much of the programme related to the study of the past in the
light of modern scholarship, contemporary issues facing the Irish
Churches were discussed and the audience, which was mainly Italian, were
given some impression of the context in which religion now finds itself
in Ireland. The proceedings are to be published in both Italian and
English.
Tomorrow (Sunday) BBC Radio Ulster will broadcast Morning Service
from St Aidan's Church, Grange, Armagh, conducted by the Revd Ian Ellis,
and in the evening, at 6.00 p.m., Dublin South Community Radio (FM
104.9) will include an interview with the Archdeacon of Dublin, the Ven.
Gordon Linney, in its "Vision" programme. The Bishop of Cork,
the Rt. Revd Paul Colton, will preside at the Dedication Festival in the
Church of St Brendan the Navigator, Bantry, while a former Bishop of
Cork, Dr Samuel Poyntz, will preach at the Harvest Festival in Sandford
Parish Church, Dublin.
The Archbishop of Armagh, Dr Robin Eames, will be the preacher at the
Harvest Thanksgiving in St Polycarp's Church, Belfast, and on Tuesday he
will be in Strasburg where he will preach at a service to mark the
opening of the new session of the European Parliament.
On Tuesday a new series of lunchtime lectures begins in Christ Church
Cathedral, Dublin, on the theme of "The Future of the Church".
The first speaker will be the Chaplain of Trinity College, Dr Alan
McCormack, the title of whose talk is "The Cathedral as Aesthetic
Focus - Will Beauty Save the Church?"
In Linkoping Cathedral, Sweden, a European Cathedrals Conference
begins at which Christ Church will be represented by the Dean, the Very
Revd John Paterson, the Administrator, Mr Christopher Sheil, and a
member of the Cathedral Board, Mr Stuart Kinsella.
The Dean of St Patrick's, Dr Robert MacCarthy, will chair a lecture
on Thursday in Milltown Institute where Canon Oliver O'Donovan, Regius
Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology in the University of Oxford,
will speak on the politics of the abortion debate.
In Christ Church Cathedral, Waterford, on Friday, the Bishop of
Limerick, the Rt. Revd Edward Darling, will lead a service of
introduction to the new hymnal, for clergy, choirs and people from the
Dioceses of Cashel and Ossory. The new hymnal will be published in
September 2000.
The RCB Library's exhibition "The Dublin
City Churches Re-visited", in the Dublin Civic Museum, has been
extended until the 31 October. The Dublin Civic Museum is at 58 South
William Street, Dublin 2 (beside the Powerscourt Town House) and is open
10.00-6.00, Tuesday to Saturday, and 11.00-2.00 on Sundays. Admission is
free.
Church of Ireland Notes appear in the Irish
Times whose web site may be found at
http://www.ireland.com/ |
