Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland notes from 'The Irish Times'
Saturday 6 September 2008
New Theological Institute
In accordance with the new scheme for theological training which has been devised by the House of Bishops, the Church of Ireland Theological College, has, following the retirement of Dr Adrian Empey last week, been replaced with the Church of Ireland Theological Institute.
Just as the Divinity Hostel was replaced by the Theological College in 1980 there is a degree of seamlessness about the new arrangements. The Institute will, for the present, occupy the same premises as the College and the administrative staff will remain unchanged. With the exception of a new director, the teaching staff will be the same although two new posts have been advertised. Two years of the current B.Th course and three years of the non-stipendiary training remain to be completed but, as part of the transition arrangements, there will be no intake of ordinands this autumn for full time training.
When the new structures are fully implemented there will be a one year foundation course, which is already underway, followed by a three year M.Th course, two years of which will be spent in the Institute and a third year will be an internship in a parish. The same course may be followed through part time distance learning over six years.
The Director of the new Institute is the Revd Dr Maurice Elliott who is a native of Lisburn Cathedral parish in the Diocese of Connor. A graduate of St Andrews University, Maurice Elliott undertook postgraduate studies in TCD and Queen’s University, Belfast, where he wrote his doctoral thesis on ‘Episcopacy in the thinking of Thomas Cranmer’. After training in the Church of Ireland Theological College, he was ordained in 1993 for the curacy of Coleraine where his rector was the present Bishop of Kilmore, the Rt Revd Ken Clarke. In 1998 he was appointed Rector of Greenisland in the Diocese of Connor and since 2002 has been Rector of Shankill, in the Diocese of Dromore.
Today (Saturday) the Bishop of Cashel & Ossory has arranged for members of the diocese to visit the new Bishop’s House at Troysgate and the former Bishop’s Palace which has been restored as the headquarters of the Heritage Council. This evening at 8pm the Dublin & Glendalough Mothers’ Union Diocesan Festival Service will be held in St Saviour’s Church, Arklow, where the preacher will be the Revd Daniel Nuzum, Rector of Templebreedy, Crosshaven.
On Monday, the Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Bishop of Cork will institute the Revd Michael Thompson to the incumbency of the Youghal union of parishes in St Mary’s Collegiate Church. In Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, at 7pm there will be another in the Spiorad series of services – a service of meditation which explores the life and ministry of a Celtic saint.
The Annual Conference of the Irish College of Preachers will be held from Wednesday until Friday in the Church of Ireland Theological Institute. The guest speaker will be the Director of the Institute, the Revd Dr Maurice Elliott, and the Archbishop of Dublin will be the celebrant at the Conference Eucharist on Friday morning.
On Thursday evening Dr Kerry Houston, Director of Chapel Music in TCD, will give a lecture on the organ in St Finian’s Church, Durrow as part of the Durrow Arts Festival. The organ was originally built for the TCD Chapel which opened in 1798.After the lecture there will be a short recital with Kerry Houston (organ) and Rachel Talbot (soprano & recorder).