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Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, The Most Revd John McDowell’s official welcome to ACC–19 delegates in Belfast
The traditional words of welcome in the Irish language are “Céad míle fáilte”– a hundred thousand welcomes. And it is with these words that I am happy to greet you. I hope you will feel at home among us as you settle into the rhythms of this conference and of your encounters with one another. As Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, I want also to welcome you in the name of the Church of Ireland as we host this significant gathering of the Anglican family from around the world. There are many Christian traditions – many ways of living out being disciples of Jesus Christ – and we Anglicans have particular ways of doing that, including in a gathering like this. I’m not sure whether it’s the best way, or the “optimal” way as they would say these days. But it is our way – the family way – and it is one of the particular gifts which we bring to the treasury of the Catholic Church.
It is of course my particular pleasure to welcome the Archbishop of Canterbury to Ireland on her first official visit in that capacity. Archbishop Sarah is no stranger to Ireland and the Irish and our peculiar ways, but you are especially welcome as primus inter pares in the Communion.
We, in the Church of Ireland, have our origins in the mission of St Patrick to the Irish people in the fifth century of the Common Era. Like all missionaries Patrick was an itinerant; he traveled a great deal from place to place in Ireland to proclaim the Good News of God reconciling love in Jesus Christ. But he made his missionary base in Armagh and I am the 106th successor in the line of abbots and bishops that stretches from Patrick down to the present day.
In his Confessio which he wrote towards the end of his life, Patrick talks a great deal about being sent by God to Ireland as a place which is at the ends of the earth – and it may have felt that way to you too as you travelled here because we are indeed on the edge of the edge of Western Europe. The Roman armies which conquered much of Europe, the Near East and North Africa two thousand years ago never made it to Ireland. Presumably they looked across the narrow sea from England and said to themselves “I don’t think we’ll bother. It’s just not worth the effort”. We are very glad that you did not share that indifference!
But it was for that reason too that, when much of the world nearly lost its Christian Faith, it was kept alive in the remote monasteries of Ireland and formed the foundations of Irish missionaries around these islands, such as Iona and Lindisfarne.
That is part of our history; but what of our present? The Church of Ireland has around 350,000 members. About two thirds of whom live in this part of the island, Northern Ireland, and the other third live in the Republic of Ireland. Our administrative headquarters is also in the Republic of Ireland, in Dublin. So, we are rather peculiar in that we are a single Province of the Anglican Communion but we stretch across two political jurisdictions – the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Many of our eleven dioceses have parishes in both jurisdictions and have to deal with different legal systems, different systems of education and different currencies. I always have both sterling and euro in my wallet.
So, although the island was divided into two political units just over a hundred years ago, the Church of Ireland did not follow that line of division and, in our own very inadequate way, we have tried to witness to what it is to have our principle identity in Jesus Christ. However, the legacy of division is all around us, especially in Northern Ireland, where about half of the population have a strong political and cultural allegiance to the United Kingdom and about half identify culturally and politically with the Republic of Ireland.
At its worst, this division led to the dark years of what became known as “The Troubles” when political violence was a feature of everyday life. Since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, the violence has more or less ended. But the divisions remain. If you walked around this city, for instance, you would see the flags of both the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland flying in different areas. And, at this time of year, you will see many bonfires being built and which will be lit in about two weeks’ time to commemorate a battle which was fought nearly 350 years ago. We have long memories in Ireland.
And, I have to say that we in the Churches have not always done as much as we should have to witness against division. But if we have been sometimes part of the problem, we are also now part of the solution and, when we go on our Pilgrimage to Derry/Londonderry, I hope you will see how the Churches and other people in civic society have been very energetic and successful in finding ways in which a divided city can be brought together and live at peace and with hope for the future.
The theme of this gathering is Called to One Hope, a phrase taken from the Letter to the Ephesians. The writer of that letter represents the Church in one of its ideal forms – as a wholly reconciled body, the bride of Christ, without spot or wrinkle …that may not be the present reality here in the Church of Ireland or indeed in any of your Provinces. Yet it remains the hope of our calling as our discipleship of Jesus Christ and our trust in Him deepens.
As your hosts it is our prayer that ,in fellowship with you, we in the Church of Ireland will also grow over this next week in love, in faith and, of course in hope. So I say again Céad míle fáilte– a hundred thousand welcomes.
Ends