The Church of Ireland Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh,Right Rev Kenneth Clarke, is front-runner to be elected Church of Ireland Primate of All-Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh tomorrow. He was being spoken of as such last night following strong indications that the Archbishop of Dublin Most Rev John Neill will not exercise his prerogative to succeed to Armagh, which has been vacant since Archbishop Robin Eames retired on December 31st.
Eleven members of the Church of Ireland House of Bishops, not including Archbishop Eames, will meet in Dublin tomorrow to elect his successor from among themselves. They will also be the electorate.
Normally elections to the episcopacy in the church involve clergy and laity of a diocese but not where Armagh is concerned. It is also a tradition that when Armagh becomes vacant the Archbishop of Dublin has first call on the succession.
In theory the absence of Archbishop Neill as a candidate should mean the field is wide open, but it is not the case. Within Northern Ireland, where the majority of the church's estimated 350,000 membership live, there is a rarely concealed desire that the Archbishop of Armagh should be from among the Northern bishops.
Discussion with Northern members over recent weeks leaves no room for doubt on the matter. It is also something of which the bishops are aware and to which they would wish to be sensitive, not least as "over-representation" of members in the Re- public on the House of Bishops and at General Synod has become a bug-bear with many in Northern Ireland.
They point out that, though the church has 115,611 members in the Republic - according to the 2002 census - seven of its 12 bishops/dioceses are there, allowing a disproportionate influence in the House of Bishops and at General Synod, where representation is on a diocesan basis.
Further, just two of the Church's 12 dioceses - Connor, as well as Down and Dromore - are wholly in the North. And, as Archbishop Eames cannot take part in tomorrow's election, it means that just four of the church's bishops based in Northern Ireland will be taking part. The church's evangelical membership is also more numerous in the North and would hope for some- one of similar mind in Armagh. They see bishops in the Republic as too liberal.
Such evangelicals would favour Bishop Harold Miller of Down and Dromore's succession to Armagh. A wonderful preacher, he was once seen as an obvious choice for Armagh but his star has dimmed over recent years, not least last October when even brother-bishops tut-tutted privately over remarks he made a clergy conference in Donegal town. A conference theme was the current crisis in Anglicanism over gay bishops. Referring to the 1998 Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops, Bishop Miller said Satan had entered its discussion on gay clergy.
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.
The consensus building around Bishop Clarke (57) as "the man most likely to" is based on the fact that he is a native of Northern Ireland (from Holywood, Co Down); that he has significant clerical experience north and south of the Border and has been bishop of a mainly southern diocese this past six years.
Theologically he would be favoured by evangelicals, while being personally popular with all opinion in the church North and South. It is also likely he would be less involved internationally and free to give more time to Armagh diocese, which is seen as desirable.
After Eames: the possible successors
Right Rev Kenneth Clarke (57)was elected Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh diocese in November 2000 and enthroned in January 2001. The diocese covers mainly Counties Cavan, Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon with his residence in Cavan town. A native of Holywood, Co Down, he was educated there and at Trinity College Dublin. Ordained in 1973, he initially served as a curate at Magheralin and Dundonald in Down and Dromore diocese before going to Chile where he worked from 1979 to 1981. Became Archdeacon of Dalriada in 1998. Author of Called to Ministry? A consideration of vocation to the ordained ministry (1990).
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 Bishop of Derry and Raphoe Right Rev Kenneth Goode (54)is a native of Cork and was educated at Midleton College and TCD, Nottingham University, and UCC. Ordained in 1978 and initially served as a curate in Willowfield, Down diocese, from 1977 to 1979. Became Archdeacon of Dromore diocese in 1979. Elected Bishop of Derry and Raphoe in March 2002.
The Bishop of Clogher diocese Right Rev Michael Jackson (50)is from Ballinamallard Co Longford. Educated at Portora in Enniskillen, TCD, Cambridge and the Church of Ireland Theological College in Dublin. Ordained in 1987 and intially served at Rathgar as deacon and then curate until 1989, while also lecturing at Trinity. Has published widely on a range of academic subjects while also serving on various international Anglican bodies. Elected Bishop of Clogher in November 2001.
