Editing Church of Ireland (section)

== Overview ==
The Church of Ireland sees itself as that 'part of the Irish Church which was influenced by the [[Reformation]], and has its origins in the early [[Celtic Christianity|Celtic Church of St Patrick]]'.{{sfn|Church of Ireland}}{{incomplete short citation|date=August 2021}} This makes it both [[Catholicity|catholic]], as the inheritor of a continuous tradition of faith and practice, and [[protestant]], since it rejects the authority of [[Rome]] and accepts changes in doctrine and liturgy caused by the Reformation.{{sfn|Church of Ireland}}

Following the [[Synod of Ráth Breasail]] (also known as Rathbreasail) in 1111,<ref>Diarmuid Ó Murchadha,''Placename Material from Foras Feasa Ar Éirinn''; ÉIGSE (2005) p. 93: http://www.nui.ie/eigse/pdf/vol35/eigse35.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603150520/http://www.nui.ie/eigse/pdf/vol35/eigse35.pdf |date=3 June 2021 }}</ref> Irish Catholicism transitioned from a [[Monasticism|monastic]] to a [[diocese|diocesan]] and [[parish]]-based mode of organisation and [[Ecclesiastical polity|governance]]. Many Irish present-day dioceses trace their boundaries to decisions made at the synod. The work of organizing the Church was completed by the [[Synod of Kells]] which took place in 1152, under the presidency of [[Giovanni Paparoni|Giovanni Cardinal Paparoni]]. Diocesan reform continued and the number of [[archbishop]]rics was increased from two to four. The synod granted the [[Primacy of Ireland]] to the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Armagh|Archdiocese of Armagh]].

Some modern scholarship argues that early Irish Christianity was functionally separate from Rome but shared much of its liturgy and practice, and that this allowed both the Church of Ireland and Irish Catholicism to claim descent from [[Saint Patrick]].<ref>Thomas O'Loughlin, Journeys on the edges: the Celtic tradition,(London, 2000), Caitlin Corning, The Celtic and Roman traditions: conflict and consensus in the early medieval church (Basingstoke, 2006), Alan Ford, 'Shaping history: James Ussher and the Church of Ireland', The Church of Ireland and its past: history, interpretation and identity, ed. Mark Empey, Alan Ford and Miriam Moffitt (Dublin, 2017).</ref>{{page number needed|date=January 2021}} It is also said that the Catholic Church in Ireland was jurisdictionally independent until 1155, when [[Pope Adrian IV]] purported to declare it a papal fief and granted [[Henry II of England]] the [[Lordship of Ireland]] in return for paying [[tithes]]; his right to do so has been disputed ever since.{{sfn|Sheehy|1961|pp=45–48}}

In 1534, the English Parliament passed the [[Act of Supremacy]], which broke communion with the papacy and recognised [[Henry VIII]] as head of the Church of England; two years later, the Irish Parliament followed suit by acknowledging him as head of the Irish church. Although many bishops and most of the clergy refused to conform, the Church of Ireland was left with diocesan buildings and lands, since under the feudal system bishops held that property as [[vassal]]s of the Crown.{{sfn|Church of Ireland}}{{incomplete short citation|date=August 2021}} Despite the political and economic advantages of membership in the new church, a large majority of the Irish remained loyal to the [[Catholic Church|Church of Rome]], while in [[Ulster]] the church was outnumbered by [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterians]]. However, it remained the [[State religion|established church]] of the whole of Ireland until the [[First Gladstone ministry]]'s [[Irish Church Act 1869]] ([[32 & 33 Vict.]] c. 42) disestablished it, with effect from 1 January 1871.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1869/42/enacted|title=Irish Church Act 1869 (as enacted)|date=26 July 1869|work=[[UK Statute Law Database]]|access-date=1 June 2022}}</ref>

The modern Church of Ireland is the second largest religious organisation in the [[Republic of Ireland]], and the third largest in [[Northern Ireland]], after the Roman Catholic and Presbyterian churches.{{sfn|O'Mahony |2010}}{{failed verification|date=June 2021}}