Presbyterian Church in Ireland

Encyclopedia : P : PR : PRE : Presbyterian Church in Ireland

Modern logo of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (or PCI) has a membership of 300,000 people in 650 congregations across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, though the bulk of the membership is in Northern Ireland. It is the second largest church in Northern Ireland, the first being the Roman Catholic ChurchConfusion can arise from the fact that overall, the majority of the people of Northern Ireland are members of the various Protestant churches such as the Presbyterian Church, Church of Ireland, Methodist Church and several others. Therefore the Roman Catholic Church is smaller than the combined Protestant denominations in Northern Ireland.. All the congregations of the church are represented up to the General Assembly (the church's government).

Contents

1 History
2 PCI today
3 Logo and motto
4 Church and worship

4.1 Service

5 Irish Presbyterians
6 Footnotes
7 See also

7.1 Other Presbyterian Churches in Ireland

8 External links

8.1 Local churches

History

Presbyterianism in Ireland dates from the time of the Plantation of Ulster in 1610. During the reign of James I of Ireland (James VI of Scotland) a large number of Scottish Presbysterians emigrated to Ireland. The first move away from the Church of Scotland, of which the Presbyterians in Ireland were part, saw the creation of the Presbytery of Ulster in 1642. This later merged with the Secession Church in 1840. In 1854 the Synod of Munster merged into the church.

PCI today

-->

The current (2006-07) moderator is the Reverend Dr David Clarke, who is the minister of Terrace Row Presbyterian Chruch in Coleraine.

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland, a founding member of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, has over 560 congregations in 21 presbyteries across Ireland. The PCI is involved in education, evangelism, social service and mission in a number of areas around the world;

The headquarters of the church are at Church House in Belfast, but will be relocating very soon to a new development in May Street in the city soon.

Logo and motto

The motto of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland is "Ardens sed Virens" - "burning but flourishing". It is usually seen alongside the Burning Bush, the church's symbol. A burning bush was included in the more modern logo (top).

Main article : Burning Bush

According to the Bible, in Exodus 3:2, Moses heard the voice of God coming from a burning bush that was not consumed by fire. This occurred after he had to flee Egypt, and was when he was called to go and demand the release of the Israelites.

Church and worship

Apart from the seats for worshippers (not shown above), the inside of the church is dominated by four items of furniture.

The Pulpit is the place from which the sermon is delivered and it reflects the important place given to teaching the Word of God in the church's life.
The Bible Stand holds the bible in a prominent place in the church. The bible is the source of all authority in the life of the church.
The Communion Table occupies the central place in the church. The associated chairs are occupied by the minister and elders during the service of Holy Communion.
The Baptismal Font is used during baptisms, which is the rite of entry into church membership. Children are regarded as sharing the promise of salvation with adults in the church and have as much right to be baptised as adults.

Service

The Word of God is central in the Presbyterian Church, along with Prayer and Praise. The worship is a mix of prayers, hymns, psalms, paraphrases, Scripture readings and sermons. In recent years, psalms and paraphrases have been used less but are still an important part of worship.

Irish Presbyterians

Rev JB Armour, anti-Carsonite Presbyterian Minister who supported Home Rule
Rev James Alexander Hamilton Irwin, Presbyterian Home Ruler who converted to the republican cause post-1916. Appointed to the Fianna Fáil led government’s Commission on Vocational Organisation from 1939-43 and later joined the party and served on the Fianna Fáil national executive from 1945 until his death. Offered the opportunity to stand for the Presidency of the Irish Free State but declined to do so.
Colonel Harvey Bicker, former Ulster Unionist councillor and British Army officer. Chairman of the County Down 1798 Commemoration Committee. Currently a member of the Irish Council of State.
Dr Henry Cooke, 19th century Presbyterian leader.
Professor J Ernest Davey, theologian and historian, acquitted of heresy charges in 1927, elected Moderator 1951.
Dr Ray Davey, founder of the Corrymeela Community.
Dr John Dunlop, CBE, former Moderator (1992), a leading participant in Northern Ireland's civic life.
Lady Dunpark, served as a Conservative Party councillor in Edinburgh, UK from 1974 to 1984. Lived in Carnowen, County Monaghan during her childhood and attended TCD where she studied Celtic languages.
George Gilmore, active in the IRA during the war of independence and took the anti-Treaty side in the civil war. In 1934, along with fellow republican socialist, Frank Ryan and Peadar O'Donnell, he established the Republican Congress Movement, an organisation dedicated to the creation of a workers' republic.
Dr Ruth Patterson, first woman to be ordained to the ministry of the Irish Presbyterian Church.
Denis Pringle, member of the Irish judiciary. In the 1970s, Pringle was appointed by Jack Lynch, 4th Taoiseach of Ireland, to preside over the non-jury Special Criminal Court, which was established to try IRA prisoners.
David Trimble, Ulster Unionist Politician
Stephen Rea, actor
Jim White, Donegal Times Person of the Year (2001), runs the White Hotel Group, former Fine Gael TD.
Seymour Crawford, Irish Politician, Fine Gael TD for the Cavan-Monaghan Dáil constituency.
Stanley Laing, Irish Politician, member of Fine Gael, Councillor (South Dublin County Council).
John McDonald, Irish Politician, member of Fine Gael, Councillor (Belturbet Town Council)
Mabel Washington McConnell, mother to Garret Fitzgerald, 7th Taoiseach of Ireland. Worked as a secretary to George Bernard Shaw, and as a militant nationalist participated in the failed 1916 Easter Rising against British rule
Dr Trevor Morrow, Presbyterian Minister who contributed to the mini-revival of Presbyterianism in the Irish Republic. His parish in Lucan, Co. Dublin has been a success story, having increased from 30 to 300 families since the 1980s.
Dorothy Macardle, author
Henry Joy McCracken, led the United Irishmen in the unsuccessful battle of Antrim
Mary Ann McCracken, one of Belfast's most progressive social reformers, a feminist and champion of the poor.
William Drennan, medical pioneer, obstetrician, poet, patriot, philanthropist and radical founder of the United Irishmen
William McDowell, editor of the Belfast Morning News, a predecessor of the Irish News, in the 19th century before moving to Dublin to work on The Freeman's Journal. Great grandfather of Michael McDowell, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform in the Irish Republic
Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry. Government minister; diplomat. 1769-1822.

Footnotes

External links

[Presbyterian Church in Ireland] - Church Website
[The Presbyterian Herald Online] - Church Newspaper
[pciYOUTH] - Youth Website of the PCI

Local churches

Presbyterian Church in Ireland
General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland>General Assembly • Moderator • Irish Presbyterians
Union Theological College • Church House

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.