Diocese of Connor (Church of Ireland)
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Diocese of Connor Dioecesis Connorensis Deoise Chonaire |
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| Location | |
| Ecclesiastical province | Armagh |
| Archdeaconries | Connor, Dalriada, Belfast |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Church of Ireland |
| Cathedral | 1) Christ Church Cathedral, Lisburn 2) St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast |
| Current leadership | |
| Bishop | Alan Abernethy, Bishop of Connor |
| Website | |
| connordiocese.org.uk | |
The Diocese of Connor is in the Province of Armagh of the Church of Ireland.
Christianity has been present in Connor Diocese for over 1500 years. Tradition holds that St. Patrick herded sheep on Slemish, in the heart of the Diocese, when first brought to Ireland as a slave. Saint Malachy, the great reformer of the Irish church, was consecrated Bishop of Connor in 1124 and remained until his translation to the Archbishopric of Armagh in 1132. The see was originally at Connor. There is much evidence, from written sources and archaeological material, that Connor was a sizeable, complex settlement in the Early Christian period, probably with monastic and secular elements coexisting. There was no monastic establishment at Connor in the Middle Ages, though there was an Augustinian community at Kells nearby.
When the Church in England broke communion with the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of England was established by the state as the established church. Later, by decree of the Irish Parliament, a similar new body became the State Church in the Kingdom of Ireland. It assumed possession of most Church property (and so retained a great repository of religious architecture and other items, though some were later destroyed). The substantial majority of the population remained faithful to the Latin Rite of Roman Catholicism, despite the political and economic advantages of membership in the state church. They were obliged to find alternative premises and to conduct their services in secret. The English-speaking minority mostly adhered to the Church of Ireland or to Presbyterianism. On the death of Archbishop Trench of Tuam in 1839, the Province of Tuam was united to the Armagh. Over the centuries, numerous dioceses were merged, in view of declining membership.
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