Diocesan News04 Nov 14

First Female Bishop Receives New Crozier

Bishop Pat Storey receives new crozier from Mr Robert Dier – during Harvest Service in Kentstown (Navan Union of Parishes).

The Church of Ireland Bishop of Meath and Kildare, Bishop Pat Storey has been presented with a beautiful new wooden crozier. Made by Mr Robert Dier, a member of Navan Union of Parishes, he presented it to her as a gift from the Navan Union of Parishes at an October Harvest Service in Kentstown.

Since Bishop Pat took up her role as Bishop of Meath and Kildare in November 2014 she has used a very fine diocesan crozier. It was originally designed for use by a 6 foot four inch male.

A Bishop’s crozier, known as the pastoral staff, from the Latin pastor or shepherd, is shaped like a shepherd’s crook. A bishop carries this staff as a symbol of their role as a ‘shepherd of the flock of God’.

Bishop Pat said “I am deeply moved not only by the beauty of this new crozier but also by the thought and care that Bob Dier brought to its creation.” As he presented the crozier Mr Dier described how the various timbers demonstrated the continuity of links within the Dioceses from the 1700’s to the present day.

The crook of the crozier is crafted from a Cedar tree which grew on the grounds of An Tobar, Ardbraccan, Navan, for over 200 years. Prior to 1958, An Tobar, was then known as Bishopscourt, as it was the former residence of the Church of Ireland Bishop of Meath for the previous 73 years.

The section of Yew attached to the crook was sourced from the nearby grounds of Ardbraccan House. Ardbraccan House was the former Bishop’s Palace from the 1770’s until 1885 after which the Bishop of Meath moved to Bishopscourt.

The centre section was pruned from a Yew tree growing beside St. Mary’s Church, Kilmessan, Co. Meath. This church was built in 1731 by the Preston family of Swainstown, Kilmessan. The last Service in St. Mary’s at which Dean Perry officiated was on Trinity Sunday 1966.

The Yew in the bottom section of the crozier was sourced from Bettystown from a local wood–turner. The Ebony inserts came from a woodturning supply agent in Kilcock, Co. Kildare. They were turned from Ebony off–cuts from the musical instrument industry.