Diocesan News
Christ Church Cathedral installs first Lay and Ecumenical Canons
On Sunday October 1, for the first time, Christ Church Cathedral will admit honorary Lay and Ecumenical Canons to its Chapter. Former President of Ireland Dr Mary McAleese and Professor Jim Lucey, Medical Director of St Patrick’s Mental Health Services and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin will be installed as Lay Canons. The Revd Lorraine Kennedy–Ritchie, of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and Dr David Tuohy SJ will be installed as Ecumenical Canons.
The installations take place during a Service of Choral Evensong in Christ Church Cathedral on Sunday October 1 at 3.30 pm. During the service, Dublin & Glendalough’s new Youth Ministry Coordinator, Susie Keegan, will be commissioned. All are welcome to attend.
A Bill allowing for the appointment of the honorary Canons was passed at the General Synod of the Church of Ireland in May. The move reflected the desire to honour lay people who had given particular and distinguished service to cathedral or public life. The appointment of the Ecumenical Canons reflects the cathedral’s mission and ministry in the city amid a changing ecumenical culture. Each will serve for five years.
Looking forward to the installation the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson, said: “The opportunity afforded to Christ Church Cathedral by the decision of the General Synod of the Church of Ireland is one we value and appreciate. In a small yet significant way I hope that the cathedral will be able to recognise, in the year of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, the distinct and unique contributions of a wide range of people associated with public and religious life in Ireland from a wide variety of perspectives.”
The Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, the Very Revd Dermot Dunne, explained the importance of the appointment of Lay Canons. “The role and position of the cathedral in the city acknowledges that the cathedral is much more than just being the ‘mother church’ of the dioceses. It is also the cathedral church of the city of Dublin. The cathedral has a strong outreach to the community of Dublin reflected in its cultural and liturgical life. In creating Lay Canonries the Chapter seeks to recognise the contribution gifted lay people have made to the life of the cathedral and the life of the community,” he said.
Regarding the appointment of Ecumenical Canons, he said: “Given the position of Christ Church in the heart of Dublin, the cathedral provides a tangible and visible ecumenical expression where all traditions of the Christian faith can come together in a space that is neither threatening nor exclusive. This is already happening in the cathedral where ecumenism is expressed in many of our liturgies and gatherings. Having Ecumenical Canons on the Chapter of Christ Church will broaden the ecumenical landscape of both the cathedral and the dioceses.”
For further information please contact:
Diocesan Communications Officer, Dublin & Glendalough
087 235 6472
Mrs Lynn Glanville
[email protected]