Diocese of Down and Dromore

United Dioceses of Down and Dromore
Deoise An Dúin agus An Droim Mór

Coat of arms of the United Dioceses of Down and Dromore

Coat of arms
Location
Ecclesiastical province Armagh
Archdeaconries Down, Dromore
Statistics
Parishes 77
Churches 111
Members 64,500
Information
Denomination Church of Ireland
Cathedral 1) Down Cathedral
2) Dromore Cathedral
Current leadership
Bishop Harold Creeth Miller,
Bishop of Down and Dromore
Archdeacons David McClay,
Archdeacon of Down
Roderic West,
Archdeacon of Dromore
Website
downanddromore.org

The Diocese of Down and Dromore (also known as the United Dioceses of Down and Dromore) is a diocese of the Church of Ireland in the south east of Northern Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Armagh. The geographical remit of the diocese covers half of the City of Belfast to the east of the River Lagan and the part of County Armagh east of the River Bann and all of County Down.

Overview and history

Diocese Highlighted

When the Church in England broke communion with the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of England was established by the state as the established church. Later, by decree of the Irish Parliament, a similar new body became the State Church in the Kingdom of Ireland. It assumed possession of most Church property (and so retained a great repository of religious architecture and other items, though some were later destroyed). The substantial majority of the population remained faithful to the Roman Catholicism, despite the political and economic advantages of membership in the state church. They were obliged to find alternative premises and to conduct their services in secret. The English-speaking minority mostly adhered to the Church of Ireland or to Presbyterianism. On the death of Archbishop Trench of Tuam in 1839, the Province of Tuam was united to the Armagh. Over the centuries, numerous dioceses were merged, in view of declining membership. Until 1944, the dioceses of Down and Dromore were part of the United Dioceses of Down, Connor and Dromore. In 1944, the Diocese of Connor gained a separate existence under its own bishop. It is for this reason that the united diocese has three cathedrals.

Cathedrals

Holy Trinity Cathedral
Dromore Cathedral
St Anne's Cathedral

The Diocese is the second largest of the Church of Ireland in terms of church population, with around 91,000 people and more than one hundred serving ordained Clergy. It is divided up into 79 parishes, with a total of 115 churches.

Bishops

Although the United Diocese works under a single Bishop, currently the Rt Revd Harold Miller, each of the two dioceses within it has its own set of officers.

Bishops of Down and Connor[1][2]
Bishops of Down, Connor and Dromore[6]
Bishops of Down and Dromore[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1986). Handbook of British Chronology (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 388–389. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
  2. ↑ Cotton, Henry (1849). The Succession of the Prelates and Members of the Cathedral Bodies of Ireland. Fasti ecclesiae Hiberniae. Vol. 3, The Province of Ulster. Dublin: Hodges and Smith. pp. 202–218.
  3. ↑ s:Leslie, Henry (DNB)
  4. ↑ Jeremy Taylor at satucket.com
  5. ↑ s:Boyle, Roger (1617?-1687) (DNB00)
  6. 1 2 Fryde, ibid., p. 389.
  7. ↑ Charles Frederick d'Arcy at belfastcathedral.org
  8. ↑ Ordination and consecration of Bishop of Down and Dromore on 25 April 1997 at ireland.anglican.org

External links

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