The Church of Ireland
News Briefing

CHURCH OF IRELAND NOTES
For Saturday 12th October 2002

From: The RCB Library
Email: RCB Library

Enthronement of Archbishop of Dublin

This afternoon (Saturday), in Christ Church Cathedral, the Most Revd John Neill will be enthroned as Archbishop of Dublin.

The ceremony will begin with the archbishop knocking three times on the door of the cathedral and on being admitted he will be welcomed by a large congregation representing the dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough, ecumenical visitors from other churches, and leaders of city and state. The archbishop will ask that the people pray for him as he assumes high office and he will make declarations promising to defend the rights of the cathedral, the diocese and the province of Dublin. The climax of the service will be reached as the Dean of Christ Church, the Very Revd John Paterson, seats the archbishop. A Te Deum will be sung and the archbishop will be presented to the people. Gifts symbolic of his sacramental ministry in the diocese will be presented to the archbishop and he will invite the congregation to share the sign of peace. The ceremony will conclude with a liturgy of the word and prayer.

Tomorrow (Sunday) morning Archbishop Neill will preside at the Eucharist in Christ Church Cathedral. RTE will broadcast Sung Matins according to the Book of Common Prayer with the Revd Alan McCormack and students from Trinity College, Dublin.

Today (Saturday) the Bishop of Cork will preach in Porvoo Cathedral at a service to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the signing of the Porvoo Agreement. In Dublin the Leprosy Mission will have a Sale of Work in Christ Church, Rathgar, while in St Patrick's Cathedral there will be a Chorister Audition Day.

The Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh Diocesan Synod will be held today (Saturday) in Rooskey. This will be followed by the Armagh Diocesan Synod on Tuesday, the Dublin and Glendalough Synod on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Ferns Synod on Thursday and the Cashel, Ossory, Waterford, Leighlin and Lismore Diocesan Synod on Thursday in Kilkenny.

The second in the current series of lunchtime history lectures in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, will be given on Tuesday by Dr Howard Clarke, UCD, who will speak on "The Prebend of St Michael's". A rather different educational opportunity will be provided by the Dublin Council of Churches on Wednesday evening when there will be a lecture on "Ethics and the Internet" in Christ Church, Leeson Park, Dublin. The speaker will be Lavinia Byrne who is a tutor in the Anglican theological college, Westcott House, Cambridge, and a regular broadcaster on the BBC.

On Thursday the Archbishop of Armagh will be in England to deliver a lecture in the Diocese of Guildford on "Ministry in Community Divisions". In Dublin the speaker at the lunchtime "I Believe..." series of talks in St George and St Thomas' Church, Cathal Brugha Street, will be Reena McDermott from the St Francis Hospice.

On Friday evening in St Peter's Church, Derry, there will be a service to celebrate thirty years of the Church's Ministry of Healing at which the preacher will be the Bishop of Tuam. In Church of Ireland House, Belfast, the fifth anniversary of the diocesan partnership between the dioceses of Connor and Linkoping in Sweden will be marked by the opening of a two day conference. Bishop Martin Lind and members of the Linkoping Diocesan Council will be joined by the Bishop of Connor and delegates from the diocese to examine their understanding and practice of mission. Since 1997 several links between parishes in Connor and Linkoping have been established and there have been a number of exchange visits involving parishioners.