Press Releases
Archbishop Eames' Statement to Synod
Members of the General Synod,
I was made a deacon in 1963 in the diocese of Down and Dromore. I was ordained priest in 1964, elected to the episcopate in 1975, translated in the episcopacy in 1980 and elected Primate in 1986.
For the past 20 years it has been both my privilege and responsibility to exercise the duties of the Primacy of our historic Church.
I have decided after much prayer, thought and discussion with those I love that I should retire from my position as Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland. Accordingly I will be informing the House of Bishops next October of my wish to retire on 31 December this year. I am announcing my intentions today as this will be the last occasion I preside over the General Synod of the Church of Ireland.
As you will all understand I have many personal thoughts this morning. 43 years of full-time Ministry, 31 of which have been exercised in the episcopate, contain memories which are impossible to describe adequately. To be honest with you, my memories are of people rather than events. I have always regarded pastoral ministry, often on a person to person basis, as my priority. Those faces and voices will remain for me nothing less than a privilege beyond words. To you all and to those who have opened their homes, their parishes and their hearts to me and my wife I express my sincere gratitude. For the love, support and understanding of my colleagues, for the friendships made, for the sadness and joy I have shared with so many in equal measure, for the confidences given to me at different levels of our society which must remain so and for so much more I thank you all.
I look back this morning on so many shared experiences in Church and community life which have allowed me such privileged opportunities to examine my own Ministry and hopefully support the Ministry of others. Among those lasting memories will be of course the dark years of the Troubles in this part of Ireland when I saw the heights of compassion and nobility as well as the weakness and evil of human character, the struggle to maintain normality and preach the Gospel imperatives in a society which was driven to the edge but always managed to keep going, the suffering of families and those numerous funeral services in parishes across this Province. Now the struggle to build a new society of justice, equality and reconciliation demands renewed faith and renewed courage. Within the Church I have so many memories : the decisions to admit women to the ordained Ministry of the Church of Ireland, the decision to adopt new and compassionate attitudes to the remarriage of divorced parishioners in church, the preparation and consecration of those called to be bishops, the support of parochial clergy in the dioceses in which I have served, the selection and support of those called to training for the Ministry and debates in the General Synod on a myriad of subjects when we have witnessed the wisdom, good sense and integrity which has prevailed even when we were sharply divided. Then I recall the many opportunities I have had to play some part in the life of the Anglican Communion : the so-called ?Eames Commission? on Women in the Episcopate, the Virginia Report on the nature of Communion, the Windsor Report on ways to address our divisions on sexuality issues, the responsibilities in Primates Meetings as senior Primate of the Communion and the various duties undertaken at the request of Archbishops Runcie, Carey and Rowan Williams. Just some of my memories ?.
In my years of Ministry I have been privileged to work with a succession of Chief Officers, staff and elected members of the Representative Body and the Standing Committee. Too rarely does the Church at the local level appreciate the work and service of Church House, Dublin. What could be termed the ?civil service? of our Church deserves our appreciation. Numerous elected and volunteer clergy and laity continue to give so freely and faithfully of their time to serve at different levels of our central structures. But it is to the staff that we must pay tribute also. Too often we take them for granted. I recall the Chief Officers who have carried special responsibility on our behalf during my own years of service : Mr Derrick Pratt, Mr John Briggs, Mr Harry Roberts, Mr Robert Sherwood and now Mr Denis Reardon. Then there were those who have led administrative support for the Standing Committee and General Synod : Mr John Buttimore, Mr David Meredith, Mrs Valerie Beatty and now Mrs Janet Maxwell. For many years Mr Derek Phillips has served Standing Committee and General Synod as Synod Officer. There were those who spearheaded the Church of Ireland relationships with the media : Mr Charles Freer, Mr Alan Johnston, Mr Robert Byers, Mrs Liz Gibson-Harries, the Reverend Brian Parker and now Miss Sarah Williams. I thank them all not only for their work and expertise but for their friendship, personal support and guidance. To them all, past and present, we express our gratitude. The Church of Ireland has been well served by our staff.
While I express my sincere gratitude to the many who have shared responsibility with me over the years there is one name I must mention in particular. I refer to my secretary and personal assistant, Mrs Roberta Haffey.
Roberta is known by name and personally throughout the Church of Ireland. For nineteen years she has been Primate?s Secretary and my close colleague. In that role she has carried immense responsibilities, shared many confidences and been involved in the various aspects of my work. She has never ceased to amaze me by her capacity for long hours of work, faithfulness to her work and ability to win and keep the trust of all sorts and conditions of people here and abroad. She has become known to many she will never meet. Within the Church of Ireland she has become the watch-word for dependability and trust. Her work has involved the acceptance of so much which by its nature must always remain confidential and highly sensitive. I have never known her to breach a confidentiality. My dependence on her has been rewarded by the most positive attitude to life you could ever imagine and by a sense of humour which at all times is compassionate and understanding. Roberta, on my own behalf and on behalf of the Church of Ireland I thank you for all you have done for the Church which means so much to you.
I thank God for my home and for the strengths of a family home. I want to acknowledge in public this morning the debt I owe my wife, Christine and my sons Niall and Michael. Christine has given me constant support and care. She has given total commitment to my work and has loved our life in the Church and her contacts with our people. She has shown understanding in good times as well as times when the pressures were great. I thank Christine, Niall and Michael and now their families, for their love and support and for providing me with the stability and reassurance of family life and home.
I want to thank Archbishop Neill for his friendship and support. I recall his predecessors in Dublin with whom I have shared leadership: Archbishop Caird and Archbishop Empey. To my fellow bishops and their predecessors I express my sincere thanks for their support, collegiality and loyalty over the years. This Church is served and led by men whose gifts, wisdom and integrity is not always given the acknowledgement it deserves. As they prepare for the next Lambeth Conference they deserve and I hope will receive the prayerful support of the Church.
So, Members of Synod, in the next seven months much remains to be done and I look forward to it all. I will take my leave of you at the turn of the year with a heart full of thankfulness for the opportunities God has given me to serve Him, you and others. When my successor is chosen he will experience I assure him a life of constant demand, constant responsibility ? but a life of constant joy and privilege.
To all of you, I simply say: thank you and may Almighty God guide and bless you and our beloved Church in the years to come.