Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland (Irish: Eaglais na hÉireann, pronounced [ˈaɡlˠəʃ n̪ˠə ˈheːɾʲən̪ˠ]; Ulster-Scots: Kirk o Airlann, IPA: [kɪrk ə ˈerlən(d)]) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second-largest Christian church on the island after the Roman Catholic Church. Like other Anglican churches, it has retained elements of pre-Reformation practice, notably its episcopal polity, while rejecting the primacy of the pope.
Church of Ireland | |
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| Eaglais na hÉireann (Irish) Kirk o Airlann (Scots) | |
Holmpatrick St Patrick Church in Skerries, County Dublin | |
| Type | Communion |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Anglican |
| Scripture | Bible |
| Theology | Anglican doctrine |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Primates | Archbishop of Armagh – John McDowell Archbishop of Dublin – Michael Jackson |
| Associations | |
| Region | Ireland |
| Language | English, Irish |
| Headquarters | Church of Ireland House Church Avenue Rathmines Dublin D06 CF67 Ireland |
| Independence | 1871 (disestablishment) |
| Separated from | Roman Catholic Church in 1536 |
| Branched from | Theologically: Church of England |
| Congregations | 1100 places of worship 450 parishes |
| Members | 343,400 |
| Official website | ireland.anglican.org |
| Part of a series on |
| Anglicanism |
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| Christianity portal |
In theological and liturgical matters, it incorporates many principles of the Reformation, particularly those of the English Reformation, but self-identifies as being both Reformed and Catholic, in that it sees itself as the inheritor of a continuous tradition going back to the founding of Christianity in Ireland. As with other members of the global Anglican communion, individual parishes accommodate different approaches to the level of ritual and formality, variously referred to as High and Low Church.