The appearance of a new book on Irish church history is always a matter of some note, but when a publication claims to be the first book on Irish religious history to be written from a wholly non-denominational and ecumenical perspective it lays greater than usual claim to attention.
The Religious Condition of Ireland, 1770-1850 has been written by Dr Nigel Yates, professor of ecclesiastical history in the University of Wales at Lampeter.
A former English county archivist who has turned to history, Nigel Yates is already well known as a historian of the Church of England with studies of the Oxford Movement, ritualism and church architecture, among others.
His new work examines the Church of Ireland, the Presbyterians and Roman Catholics, with some discussion also of the Methodists.
It seeks to explain the changes which took place in these churches and to show how their reasonably stable and tolerant mutual relationships in the late 18th century were shattered by political, religious and social events.
The author demonstrates that between 1770 and 1850 all the churches in Ireland experienced significant programmes of ecclesiastical reform and that, despite theological differences, many of these reforms were similar across the denomin-
ational divides.
Among the reforms were attempts to better the standards of piety and moral behaviour of the laity, to improve training and leadership among the clergy, to tighten up ecclesiastical discipline, to provide more services and preaching, to increase the number of communicants and to build and repair churches.
For Church of Ireland readers, the period under examination is one of particular interest, when the church, "as by law established", began to come under increasing scrutiny, leading to the reforms of the 1830s, which proved to be the harbinger of disestablishment later in the century.
The book is published by Oxford University Press, but at the hefty cover price of €100 it seems likely that the RCB library copy will be well used.
This afternoon, at 3.30 pm, the Irish committee of the Inter-
continental Church Society will host a lecture on "Church Planting in the New Europe and Our Wider Work" in the Downshire Centre of Hillsborough parish, Co Down.
Tomorrow morning Archbishop of Dublin Dr John Neill will celebrate the Eucharist and preach in St Canice's Cathedral, Kilkenny, while in TCD chapel the lecture/sermon at the Sung Eucharist will be delivered by pianist John O'Conor.
In the afternoon, in St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh, the Girls' Friendly Society diocesan festival service will be held, and the Rev Dorothy McVeigh, rector of Annaghmore, will be commissioned as diocesan chaplain. In the evening, at Powerscourt Church, Enniskerry, the speaker at the gospel music eucharist will be Philip McKinley.
Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, and on Ash Wednesday the general penance of the entire congregation is symbolised by the imposition of ashes on the heads of clergy and laity.
At 6pm in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, there will be a sung eucharist with imposition of ashes and the singing of the famous setting of the words of Psalm 51, Misereri Mei, Deus by Gregorio Allegri.