Tuesday 8th January 2002

Archbishop Walton Empey, Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland, today re-affirmed Christ as the centre and heartbeat of the Church of Ireland and said he could not see how it was possible for the Very Rev Andrew Furlong, Dean of Clonmacnoise to minister in a Christian community since he does not subscribe to this central tenet of the faith.

The Archbishop emphasised once again that he was making this statement because the Bishop of Meath and Kildare's obligations to the parish and to the Dean preclude him from commenting on the matter at present.

The Archbishop said that the Dean was asked to take time to reflect quietly because of his publicly stated doctrinal position, not as a result of any lack in his pastoral ministry. However, far from being quiet, he sought every opportunity to propagate his views through the media.

"I was horrified to learn that he had held these views for some thirty years without making them known to those who had appointed him to various positions within the Church. That revelation was quite shocking. It is difficult to understand how he could have preached the Word, celebrated the Sacraments and conducted Christian worship over such a long period while holding these beliefs.

"Within our Anglican Communion there is wide scope for theological exploration and debate. That is as it should be for when God gave us minds He must have expected us to use them! There have been frequent occasions when the strictly orthodox members of the Church have been jolted by such debates. People like John Robinson and his book Honest to God shocked many at the time, as did Bishop Jenkins of Durham with his ruminations on the Resurrection.

“However, these and others like them could always subscribe to the belief that Jesus is Lord, which has to be the final litmus test of all who believe in Christianity. The Dean cannot and does not subscribe to this central tenet of the faith and therefore it is very difficult to see how it would be possible for him to minister in a Christian community. Belief in Christ is absolutely central to our faith. He is 'the Word made flesh who dwelt among us and we beheld his glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth'. That is the very heartbeat of our faith."