Press Releases
The Rt Revd Dr Richard Clarke to head Chrisitan Unity group
The Bishops of the Church of Ireland have appointed the Bishop of Meath and Kildare, The Most Revd Richard Clarke, to chair the Church?s Committee for Christian Unity. Along with other commissions and committees of the Church of Ireland, the Committee for Christian Unity is in a process of re-appraisal and re-structuring at present. Bishop Clarke has expressed the hope that the momentum for Christian Unity may be reinvigorated and made more proactive by some serious re-thinking of purpose by this group.
In a comment made after his appointment to this position, the Bishop said:
?Somehow, along with the other Christian traditions, we must seek to recover the excitement that was so much the mark of the ecumenical movement a generation ago. There are certainly many dynamic and fruitful projects happening in local settings throughout the country and this is hugely encouraging, but at the leadership levels of the Church, most people would admit that there is at present little mood of vitality or of urgency - the pursuit of a greater unity among Christians is clearly not the unrelenting imperative it must be, if those entrusted with Christian leadership are to be faithful to the Gospel.
?All Christians on this island need to recall constantly that the unity of his followers was not the polite aspiration of Jesus Christ, but his emphatic command. We need to remind ourselves that, as competing and at times squabbling fiefdoms, the contentedly disunited traditions within the Irish Church will always be a barrier to Christian belief for many.
?Alongside this - although different in both purpose and intent - is the pressing issue of sensitive and intelligent dialogue between Christians and those of other religious faiths. It is no exaggeration to say that the future state of this entire island will be radically affected by the level of seriousness with which all the Christian traditions take both ecumenical progress and inter-faith dialogue over the next decade.?
Further information from:
Church of Ireland House
61-67 Donegall Street
Belfast BT1 2QH
Tel: +44 (0)28 9023 2909
Fax: +44 (0)28 9032 3554
Janet Maxwell (duty phone): +353 (0) 87 948 4412