The 2026 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity which is running from Sunday, 18th January, to Sunday, 25th January, is being marked by Archbishops John McDowell and Eamon Martin, the Church of Ireland and Catholic Archbishops of Armagh and Primates of All Ireland, respectively, on the theme ‘One Body, One Spirit’.
“Unity is not something reached by human effort, it is a gift given by God. Our task is not to create it, it is to protect it, live it and make it visible in a world wounded by delusion.” So said Bishop Hovakim Manukyan, Primate of the Armenian Church of Great Britain and Ireland at the opening service of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2026.
Almost 70 representatives of cathedrals from across Ireland and the UK gathered in Christ Church and St Patrick’s cathedrals in Dublin this week.
A full–to–capacity conference of up to 200 people met on Saturday (17th January) in the Canal Court Hotel in Newry, having been organised by Ireland’s Church Leaders’ Group, the Irish Council of Churches and the Irish Inter–Church Meeting.
Students and staff from the Diocese’s three Church of Ireland secondary schools gathered last Monday, 12th January 2026, at St Fin Barre’s Cathedral for a special service marking the conclusion of their shared worship with Bishop Paul Colton ahead of his retirement.
His Majesty King Charles III has given his approval for Sir Robert Scott KCVO OBE as The Lord Lieutenant of Co. Tyrone to appoint The Revd Canon Matthew Hagan MBE as a Deputy Lieutenant of Co. Tyrone.
The 2025 Black Santa Sit Out at St Ann’s, Dawson Street, has raised over €67,000. This was the 25th year of the annual appeal in Dublin and the funds raised will be distributed to local charities at a special service in St Ann’s on February 22.
Those with an interest in education and members of wider society have a “once in a generation opportunity” to help shape Ireland’s education system for decades to come.
Ahead of this year’s Racial Justice Sunday, on 8th February, the Church of Ireland has published an eight–page liturgy to help parishes and cathedrals mark this celebration of the ethnic diversity across the island today.
