Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from 'The Irish Times'
Saturday 3 July 2010
Remembering George Otto Simms
Tomorrow morning at the Sung Eucharist in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Bishop Samuel Poyntz will give the address on the occasion of the commemoration of the centenary of the birth of George Otto Simms, who retired from the stipendiary ministry as Archbishop of Armagh in 1980.
Dr Simms was ordained in 1935 and after a curacy in St Bartholomew’s, Dublin, was successively chaplain in Lincoln Theological College and Dean of Residence in Trinity College, Dublin, which also involved responsibility for the Church of Ireland Training College. He was appointed Dean of Cork in 1952 but within a year he had been elected Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross. In 1957 he succeeded Arthur Barton as Archbishop of Dublin and in 1969 was elected Archbishop of Armagh and Primate if All Ireland. In retirement in Dublin he continued his ministry being much in demand to preach, to lecture, to write and to visit.
The short period at Lincoln brought him into contact with Eric Abbot, later Dean of Westminster, and Michael Ramsey, subsequently Archbishop of Canterbury, and provided an important foundation for his influential work in the Anglican Communion, especially at the Lambeth conference of 1967. As Archbishop of Dublin he encouraged the Church of Ireland to participate fully in Irish life, aided by his accomplished use of the Irish language, while as Archbishop of Armagh he was courageous and stoical at a time of considerable tension in Northern Ireland.
But although George Simms was a considerable churchman in Ireland and beyond he is perhaps most fondly remembered for his remarkable ability to communicate effectively with all sorts and conditions and men and women. He always seemed to have time for people, whether it was five minutes with an anxious rector after a meeting of the diocesan council, a short but carefully crafted post card or a seemingly effortless letter in his flowing, distinctive hand to congratulate, commiserate or encourage.
He wrote little of substance but he used his considerable learning, which he carried lightly, to great effect. His ‘Thinking Aloud’ weekly column which appeared in The Irish Times for thirty-eight years was popular theology at its best while his lectures on the Book of Kells, pitched at an inclusive level, were remarkable examples of communication which he presented in parish halls and to community groups throughout the country.
A substantial biography by Lesley Whiteside, published by Colin Smythe in 1990 and significant entries in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and the Dictionary of Irish Biography testify to his standing in his own time and to his legacy to the Church of Ireland which he served with distinction and devotion.
Tomorrow (Sunday) the services in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, will be sung by the choir of St Peter’s College, Oxford. At Evensong the Archdeacon of Tuam and Rector of Galway, the Ven. Gary Hastings, will be installed at Prebendary of Kilmactalway. Appointments to twelve of the St Patrick’s canonries are made by the dioceses of the Church of Ireland and Kilmactalway is the representative canonry for the Diocese of Tuam, Killala & Achonry.
In St Brendan’s Church Birr, tomorrow, at 4pm there will be a service of Evening Prayer in thanksgiving for the life and ministry of the late Donald Keegan who served as rector of the Birr group of parishes for thirty years, and as Archdeacon of Killaloe & Clonfert for fourteen years. The preacher will be Bishop Edward Darling.
In St Mary’s church, Moate, Co. Westmeath, on Friday evening a festival of Flowers, designed by Richard Haslam, will be opened and will run until next Sunday evening when there will be a Songs of Praise service at 8pm.