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What's the difference between Church of Ireland and Church of England?

  • 19-01-2018 2:29am
    #1
    Cherry Blossom
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,973 ✭✭✭


    I thought they were basicly the same thing but I witnessed a conversation where a CofE lady stormed out of a house in a rage when someone said they were both basically Anglican and there was no difference other than being located in a different country. Does anyone know what the differences are?


Comments

  • #2
    Peregrinus
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,984 ✭✭✭✭Peregrinus


    They are both basically Anglican and there is no difference other than being located in a different country.

    OK, there's a bit more to it than that. The churches of the Anglican communion are all self-governing, so in matter of discipline, order, etc there can be differences - e.g. some will ordain women and some will not. And there can also be differences in emphasis; at the moment, famously, some Anglican churches are very "traditional" in their attitude to homosexuality, while others are notably "progressive".

    But gaps like this between the Church of England and the Church of Ireland tend to be modest, and often transitory. For example the Church of Ireland began ordaining women priests in 1990; this was not approved in the Church of England until 1992, so for that period the two churches were out of step.


  • #3
    Nick Park
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,573 ✭✭✭Nick Park


    Another difference is that the Church of England is an established church - which means that it has a number of constitutional ties to the British State. For example, a number of bishops sit in the House of Lords. Also, if you've watched any of the Netflix series 'The Crown', you'll have noticed how the monarch's role as Head of the Church of England creates all kinds of complications.

    The Church of Ireland, of course, has been disestablished since 1871.

    I'm not sure why a CoE lady would be so enraged as to storm out of a house when the two were confused? It would be much easier to understand if she was CoI and was being accused of being in cahoots with the British State.


  • #4
    Cherry Blossom
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,973 ✭✭✭Cherry Blossom


    I'm not sure what she had against the Church of Ireland but she took up with the Presbyterian church when she moved over here.


  • #5
    homer911
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,150 ✭✭✭homer911


    Cherry Blossom wrote: »
    I'm not sure what she had against the Church of Ireland but she took up with the Presbyterian church when she moved over here.

    Presbyterian would be predominately Evangelical. Anglican is an extremely broad church and thats the same for the CoE and CoI, but there would be a stronger element of high-church anglicanism in the CoE. There are plenty of evangelical anglican churches in Ireland so agree with OP, not sure what her problem was..


  • #6
    Nick Park
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,573 ✭✭✭Nick Park


    homer911 wrote: »
    Presbyterian would be predominately Evangelical. Anglican is an extremely broad church and thats the same for the CoE and CoI, but there would be a stronger element of high-church anglicanism in the CoE. There are plenty of evangelical anglican churches in Ireland so agree with OP, not sure what her problem was..

    A CoI minister once described his denomination to me as a bit of a Noah's Ark - it contains two of every kind!


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  • #7
    Jellybaby1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,108 ✭✭✭Jellybaby1


    Perhaps the CoE lady just misunderstood. I know some British people think 'Church of Ireland' means the RCC believing it is Ireland's majority religion which of course the RCC is.


  • #8
    Cherry Blossom
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,973 ✭✭✭Cherry Blossom


    No I don't think she misunderstood.


  • #9
    koumi
    Closed Accounts Posts: 646 ✭✭✭koumi


    about 500km


  • #10
    Peregrinus
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,984 ✭✭✭✭Peregrinus


    Cherry Blossom wrote: »
    I'm not sure what she had against the Church of Ireland but she took up with the Presbyterian church when she moved over here.
    I dunno. Perhaps she just had an issue with her local CofI parish, or her local CofI minister, which resulted in her feeling more at home in the Presbyterian congregation. And perhaps she has explained this to herself in terms of an issue relevant to the CofI as a whole, rather than to her particular encounter with it.

    Whatever, if seeing the issue in a way that didn't agree with her view of things got her so worked up that she "stormed out", you've obviously touched a nerve there. I'm not quite sure what's behind this, but my guess is that it less to do with the Church of Ireland, and more to do with her.


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