Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Harper new CoI primate
The Church of Ireland has elected the Right Reverend Alan Harper as Archbishop of Armagh and primate of all Ireland to succeed the retiring Robin Eames
William Crawley’s, light-hearted, notes on him say
Alan Harper (62) is also known for his liberal approach to some social and theological matters, and although he has lived in Northern Ireland for 40 years his Englishness may stand against him. He is said to be highly regarded by Archbishop Eames, and acted as media spokesman for the bishops recently when they challenged the UK government over its “oppressive” approach to controversial legislation in Northern Ireland.
The Irish Times’ take, while tipping another candidate, was [subs req]
The Bishop of Connor Rt Rev Alan Harper (62) is a native of Staffordshire in England but has lived in Northern Ireland for more than 40 years. He is a geography graduate from Leeds University and afterwards worked in archaeology and planning. He studied at TCD and was ordained in 1979. He began his ministry as a deacon at Ballywillan in Connor diocese in 1978. Elected Bishop of Connor in December 2001 and consecrated in March 2002 at St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast.
The Irish Times also suggested there was a concern about his age
Another contender is Bishop Alan Harper, the hard-working and widely-respected bishop of Connor diocese. He will be 63 this year and, though Archbishop Eames is 69, it is felt the House of Bishops may opt for a younger man. On the other hand the cognoscenti believe Bishop Ken Goode (54) of Derry and Raphoe, and Bishop Michael Jackson (50) of Clogher, may be too young.
Although, obviously not that much concern.
Pete Baker @ 04:47 PM
Congratulations Alan.
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 05:02 PMI heard Michael Jackson was hiding out in Irreand occasionally, but thats impressive.
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 05:03 PM“He is said to be highly regarded by Archbishop Eames” ...
Is that Crawley Code for “He’s Eames’s man”? If so, then it’s no surprise that Harper was chosen.
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 05:30 PMEames didnt get a vote .... come on! There were 11 men (no women) picking the winner. He’s 63 this year, so he’ll have about 7 years in the job. Long enough probably. If Eames told anybody who his pick would be, they’d have voted AGAINST that candidate, but I agree that the Eames suggestion is as close as any of the journos came here to picking the right guy.
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 05:33 PMCongratulations to him. He has a hard act to follow.
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 05:57 PMAre you congratulating harper for getting the job or crawley for (nearly) hinting that he would?!
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 06:06 PMnot a relative of the inimitable roy harper pete?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_HarperPosted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 06:39 PMIt was at least refreshing to find no element of hypocrisy in the speculation over Archbishop Eames’ successor. No comment whatsoever on the spiritual credentials of any candidate. Which is, of course, quite proper in making a judgement on a candidate for leadership of a church that was instituted merely for the purpose of, and the sanctioning of, personal gain at whatever cost to the many.
It is perhaps not good but at least honest to accept that the mores of the founder of that church, who was considered by one eminent modern commentator as “England’s Pol Pot”, Henry VIII, are extant.
Any way, congratulations Bishop Harper and, given that you are English, will, I trust, not take offence in Brendan Behan’s ditty on your class of clergy:
Of your eminent protestant prelates
Will you cease to prattle and prate
The foundation stones of their temple
Was the bollicks of Henty the Eight’At least with a result perhaps we can all call a moratorioum on “bashing the bishop”. Or would that also transgress sexual liberties?
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 07:54 PMDoes he own any shops in Ballyhackamore?
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 08:00 PMIn this dull singing and dancing age of ‘price of a local call’ democracy, it is refreshing to see an Episcopalian make the news - and a non Roman Catholic or Free Presbyterian one at that.
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 08:41 PMCome come Rory - none of that - let him have his day - there is nothing to gain from saying that he is a pretend bishop of a pretend church ruled by a pretend queen - it is not nice to point out the tendency for the English to appoint usurpers to rule them now.
But what I will pull you up for is giving Behan the credit for the “bollocks” line - he stole it from Rafteiri an File
Antaine Ă“ RaifteirĂ (1784-1835)
Fág uaim do eaglais ghalla
Is do chreideamh gan bonn gan bhrĂ
Mar gurb Ă© is cloch bonn dĂłibh
MagairlĂ AnraĂ RĂAway with your English religion,
And your baseless meaningless faith,
For the only rock it is built on,
Are the balls of Henry the Eighth.The quatrain above is based on the Scripture in Matt 16:18. Here Christ says to Peter as they walked on the road to the town of Caesaria Philipi: “You are Peter, the rock upon which I will build my Church.”
Raftery is said to have spent some months in Galway jail according to Douglas Hyde because of this poem of his critical of the usurpers church. However it seems more likely that the jail time was due to his writing the poem about the White Boys.
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 11:16 PMPretend Church?
Disestablished Church!Posted by on Jan 11, 2007 @ 12:37 AMIt would be the worst for England if it were disestablished - at least they are keeping up a pretence which in this cased is better than nothing
Posted by on Jan 11, 2007 @ 01:00 AMThe disestablished Church of Ireland does seem to be showing signs of growth and vitality which is more than the established Church of England is.
The separation of Church and State is long overdue in England.Posted by on Jan 11, 2007 @ 05:23 AMBeardyboy & Rory
Thank you for demonstrating why there’s no such thing as a non-sectarian non-tribal “republican” or “gaelic” tradition.
The Unionists are right not to listen to the “Catholic/Protestant/Dissenter” codswallop everyone’s trying to feed them. Deep in their hearts, we all know what a lot of these folks _really_ think.
Of course, the adherents of a certain Italian Bishop have far more claim to being the church of the usurpers. One of his predecessors made up his own claim to the sovereignty of Ireland and then granting it to Henry II of England in order to put manners on what the Pontiff called an “ignorant and barbarous nation”.
Plus we don’t have to get into the personal lives of the Borgia Popes- contemporaries of Good King Harry -(illegitimate childen made 6 year old cardinals and all that...)
Posted by on Jan 11, 2007 @ 07:25 AMHenry VIII was England’s Pol Pot? Ah yes, I remember him evacuating London and making everyone work in the fields. And he was a very early communist too. Or is Rory just talking sectarian bollocks.
Posted by on Jan 11, 2007 @ 08:55 AMStaggeringly irrelevant, since , as any fule kno, God is a Presbyterian.
Given that he is a “liberal”, he’ll doubtless feel responsible for all the tithes his church stole from the Presbyterians ( and others) during the Establishment, apologise, and give us our money backPosted by on Jan 11, 2007 @ 09:00 AMBeardyBoy,
Thank you for the reference to Raftery. I had long suspected that Behan was not being original (he very often wasn’t) but had no source to support that suspicion.
Davenet,
Of course we don’t attack the Roman pontiffs. Like all good trade unionists we respect demarcation of interests and attacking the popes is clearly your job.
DK,
Sorry to disappoint you on the oul’ sectarian bollocks front, but this description of Henry VIII was given by a contributor, introduced as an eminent English historian, on a BBC Radio4 programme on the Pilgramage of Grace that I heard some time ago. It may have been Melvyn Bragg’s Start the Week. I think the comparison with Pol Pot was not based on their sharing any corrupted notion of socialism but rather on the undisputed fact that Henry was also a mad, murdering bastard, who destroyed many of England’s greatest treasures and laid waste to the only institutions of healing, succour and learning, the monastries.
Posted by on Jan 11, 2007 @ 04:35 PMThe BBC says this is the first time an Englishman has led the Irish church since 1869, about 140 years.
See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ni/2007/01/englishman_to_lead_irish_churc.html
Is this a step forward for Irish christians? They can’t produce their own leader?
Posted by on Jan 11, 2007 @ 09:15 PMsince Alan has lived here for 40 years, his being english hardly matters.
Posted by on Jan 11, 2007 @ 09:22 PM:Is this a step forward for Irish christians? They can’t produce their own leader?
Is this the face of the new Ireland? Complain when an immigrant gets one of the top jobs? ;-)
Posted by on Jan 11, 2007 @ 11:38 PMThey should have elected a Polish archbishop. I think there’s one looking for work right now, isn’t there?
Posted by on Jan 12, 2007 @ 12:10 AMDavnet
1 I am not republican and republicanism flourished in the US and France, supported largely by protestants and atheists - no king no bishop
2 Gaelic tradition is diverse - compare people such as the wee frees in Skye to the Connemara coast catholic - all equally Gaelic therefore all equally distrusted by Unionists?
3 Catholic/protestant/dissenter codswallop - I agree entirely - now you are whistling - no one in a sane mind believes this freemason claptrap
4 Italian Bishop - Church of the usurpers - hardly the republican stadtholder of Holland usurped the throne of his uncle and father-in-law, the Church of England usurped the True Faith as the rightful Church in England and elsewhere, the Bishop of Rome to whom I fell you refer, never usurped anything - he is appointed by God
5 Laudabiliter was granted due to imperfect intelligence forwarded to Pope Adrian - same thing happened to Scotland and was engineered by the same culprits and in Scotland was answered by the Declaration of Arbroath - so it has only the standing upon which it was issued
6 Go ahead into the lives of the Borgias - I will await to see how it justifies Henry V111’s rebellion
6Posted by on Jan 12, 2007 @ 01:18 AMDK
For your Information Henry V111 was not communist but is regarded by many as the first capitalist
Posted by on Jan 12, 2007 @ 01:19 AMBeardyBoy
Rome usurped Jerusalem.
The original Jewish Christians were more faithful than Paul to the authentic teachings of Jesus.Posted by on Jan 12, 2007 @ 02:35 AM
