Bishop of Connor - History

History

The diocese of Connor was one of the twenty-four dioceses established at the Synod of Rathbreasail in 1111. It is located in the northeast corner of the Ireland and includes much of the city of Belfast. By some of the Irish annalists it was called by its territorial name The See of Dalaradia.

For a brief period in the early 12th-century, the see of Connor was united with Down under Máel Máedóc Ua Morgair (Saint Malachy), who also was Archbishop of Armagh. On 29 July 1439, plans for a permanent union of the two sees were submitted to King Henry VI of England for his sanction. Exactly twelve months later, 29 July 1439, Pope Eugene IV issued a papal bull stating that Down and Connor were to be united on the death or resignation of either bishop. In 1442, John Sely, Bishop of Down, was deprived of his see by Pope Eugene IV, thereby effecting the union of the two dioceses. John Fossade, who had been bishop of Connor since 1431, became the bishop of the united see of Down and Connor in late 1442. However, due to strong opposition to the union in the diocese of Down, three more bishops of Down were appointed before the two sees finally united.

After the Reformation, the united see of Down and Connor had parallel episcopal successions. In the Roman Catholic Church, they still remain united to the present today. In the Church of Ireland, Down and Connor were united further with Dromore in 1842 to form the bishopric of Down, Connor and Dromore. They continued until 1945 when they were separated into the bishopric of Down and Dromore and the bishopric of Connor.