04.11.2019
New Book Marking 150th Anniversary of Disestablishment to Launch This Week
A book of essays marking the 150th anniversary of the Disestablishment of the Church of Ireland will be launched in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, this Friday evening, November 8, at 6.30pm.
Edited by Kenneth Milne and Paul Harron, Irish Anglicanism, 1969–2019 – Essays to mark the 150th anniversary of the Disestablishment of the Church of Ireland will be launched by the Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Revd Dr Richard Clarke.
For three centuries following the Reformation, the Church of Ireland was the ‘Established Church’ (the state Church) of the country. This status was removed by the Irish Church Act of 1869 as part of Prime Minister Gladstone’s policy to meet the grievances of Irish nationalists and thereby win their support for the Union with Great Britain, while at the same time addressing the resentment of other Churches who objected to the privileged position enjoyed by an Established Church that could claim the loyalty of less than 12% of the population.
To mark the 150th anniversary, the publication of this collection of new essays introduced by Archbishop Clarke, tells the story of major aspects of the life of the Church in the past half century. This has been a period of remarkable societal, political and ecclesial change including the ordination of women to the three orders of ordained ministry within the Church of Ireland. The volume includes a diverse range of authorial voices from within the Church of Ireland ‘fold’ and without it, both clerical and lay; some essays are scholarly, yet in some cases conversational, while others take a historical perspective or are highly contextual and forward–looking.
Kenneth Milne is Historiographer of the Church of Ireland and Keeper of the Archives at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. Paul Harron was formerly Church of Ireland Press Officer. He works professionally as a Senior Communications Manager and is also an architectural and art historian.
Irish Anglicanism, 1969–2019 – Essays to mark the 150th anniversary of the Disestablishment of the Church of Ireland is available now both in shops and online at www.fourcourtspress.ie/books/2019/irish–anglicanism costing €35.00/£30.00.