Church of Ireland - Overview

Overview

When the church in England broke communion with the Roman Catholic Church, all but two of the bishops of the Church in Ireland followed the Church of England, although almost no other clergy or laity did so. The church then became the established church of Ireland, assuming possession of most church property (and so retaining a great repository of religious architecture and other items, though some were later destroyed). The substantial majority of the population remained Roman Catholic, despite the political and economic advantages of membership in the state church. The Church of Ireland remained the official state church until it was disestablished on 1 January 1871 by the Liberal government under William Ewart Gladstone.

It is the contention of the Church of Ireland that in breaking with the Holy See, the reformed established church was reverting to a condition that had obtained in the church in Ireland prior to the 12th century - the independent character of Celtic Christianity. Legitimacy for the Norman invasion of Ireland was derived from a Papal Bull of 1155 - Laudabiliter. The bull gave King Henry II of England authority to invade Ireland ostensibly as a means of reforming the Church in Ireland more directly under the control of the Holy See. The authorisation from the Holy See was based upon the Donation of Constantine which made every Christian island in the western Roman Empire the property of the Papacy. By the time of the English Reformation, the Donation had been exposed as a papal forgery.

It is the contention of the Church of Ireland that the church's continuation of the celebration of Irish saints' days, including St Patrick (17 March), St Bridget (1 February) and St Columba (6 June), is a continuation of the independant Celtic Christianity.

The Church of Ireland is now the second largest denomination in Ireland. In Northern Ireland, it is the third largest denomination after the Roman Catholic and Presbyterian churches.