The Church of Ireland (Irish: Eaglais na hÉireann) is a Protestant church, an autonomous province of the Episcopal/Anglican Communion, operating across the island of Ireland, and the largest non-Roman Catholic religious body on the island. Like other Episcopal churches, it considers itself to be both Catholic, in that its beliefs and practices are based on a continuous tradition dating back to the early Church, and Reformed, in that it does not a...
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The Church of Ireland (Irish: Eaglais na hÉireann) is a Protestant church, an autonomous province of the Episcopal/Anglican Communion, operating across the island of Ireland, and the largest non-Roman Catholic religious body on the island. Like other Episcopal churches, it considers itself to be both Catholic, in that its beliefs and practices are based on a continuous tradition dating back to the early Church, and Reformed, in that it does not accept the universal jurisdiction of the Pope.
When the church in England broke communion from the Roman Catholic Church, all but two of the bishops of the Church in Ireland followed the Church of England, although almost no clergy or laity did so. The new body became the State Church, assuming possession of most Church property (and so retaining a great repository of religious architecture and other items, though some were later destroyed). The substantial majority of the population never changed adherence, remaining strongly Roman Catholic,...
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