Anglican Communion News Service - Digest News

On Tuesday, 5 October, 2010, The Most Reverend Dr John RW Neill announced his intention to retire at the end of January 2011 as Archbishop of Dublin and Bishop of Glendalough to the House of Bishops.

Speaking of his decision to retire, Dr Neill stated, ‘On January 25th, 2011, I will have served for twenty five years as a Bishop in the Church of Ireland and for over eight years as Archbishop of Dublin. I have enjoyed my whole ministry as deacon, priest and bishop and these last years as Archbishop have offered me many opportunities to serve in a rich variety of ways, working with a wonderful team of both priests and laity. The time has come for an Archbishop with fresh vision and energy to lead the United Dioceses and to serve as Metropolitan of the Province.’

The Most Revd Dr Neill has served as Archbishop of Dublin since 12 October 2002, succeeding the Most Revd Walton Empey. During his time as Archbishop, he has been heavily involved in issues such as ecumenism, immigration, health and education. He proposed the Bill to the 1990 General Synod that led to the introduction of female ordination. An avid ecumenist, he is a widely respected figure in ecumenical circles and is well known internationally for his work in this area, having served two terms of seven years as a member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches.

The Archbishop of Armagh, The Most Revd Alan Harper, paid tribute to the Archbishop of Dublin, saying, ‘Wherever Archbishop John has served the witness of the Church has been strengthened, the people of the Church have been encouraged, and the liturgy of the Church has been enhanced – all of these things empowered by Archbishop John’s consistent and distinctive spirituality and commitment to God and the People of God.’

Speaking of the announcement, the Venerable David Pierpoint, Archdeacon of Dublin, commended Dr Neill’s commitment and energy over the past eight years, saying, ‘He has challenged Churches, Governments and people alike, to frame their responses in accordance with best Christian values. In particular, he has been forthright and outspoken in defence of the role of minorities in education and in his call for a new vision for education in the 21st century.’

ENDS

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Belfast BT1 2QH
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For further information, please contact:
Órla Ryan
Diocesan Communications Officer, Dublin and Glendalough
M. +353 (0) 87-2356472

Note to Editors:

Biography of The Most Revd Dr John Neill, Archbishop of Dublin

Early Life and Education

The Most Revd Dr John Neill, Archbishop of Dublin and Bishop of Glendalough, was born in Dublin on 17 December 1945, the only son of the late Canon E M Neill and Mrs Rhoda Neill (Nee Winder). He was educated at Avoca School, Blackrock; Sandford Park School, Ranelagh and Trinity College Dublin, where he was awarded a foundation scholarship. He graduated with a First Class Honours Moderatorship in Hebrew and Oriental Languages in 1966. In 1968, he graduated from Jesus College Cambridge with a Theological Tripos (BA) and in 1972 he was awarded an MA from Cambridge. He was awarded an LLD from NUI (honoris causa) in 2003.

Family
In August 1968, John Neill married Betty (nee Cox) from Ballymoney, Co Antrim, and originally from Manchester, whom he had met in TCD. Betty taught in Coleraine and then in Ely when they were first married. They have three sons: The Revd Canon Stephen Neill, Rector of Cloughjordan; Andrew, formerly a teacher, who in 2007 graduated as a member of An Garda Síochána (the Police Force) and presently serves in Clonmel; and Peter, a specialist in IT and web design, and now a Professional Photographer. The Archbishop and his wife have three grandsons, Aaron, born 1997; Max, born in 2000 and Marcus born in 2005 and two grand-daughters, Faye, born September 2002, and Evelyn, born in 2010.

Ministry
John Neill was ordained a deacon in 1969 and as a priest the following year, becoming the fourth generation of his family to serve in ordained ministry. He served first as Curate in St Paul’s Glenageary in the Diocese of Dublin. He was also appointed a lecturer at the Divinity Hostel (Old Testament) in Dublin in 1970 before moving to St Canice's Cathedral, Kilkenny as Bishop's Vicar (1971-74) and Diocesan Registrar. He later served as Incumbent in Abbeystrewry (Skibbereen) (1974-78), St Bartholomew’s & Leeson Park (1978-84) and as Dean and Archdeacon of Waterford (1984-86). On 6 January 1986, he was elected Bishop of Tuam, Killala and Achonry and was consecrated a Bishop in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh later that month. On 23 April 1997, he was elected Bishop of Cashel and Ossory and moved to Kilkenny. On 29 August 2002 he was elected Archbishop of Dublin and Bishop of Glendalough and was enthroned in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin on 12 October 2002, succeeding the Most Revd Walton Empey.

Since his enthronement as Archbishop of Dublin, Archbishop Neill has kept a high public profile and has spoken out strongly on major issues facing Irish society including immigration, materialism, and the importance of maintaining a pluralist ethos in Irish society, particularly in the provision of Education and the Health services. On international issues, he has been strongly critical of the war in Iraq.
During his period in office to date, he was heavily involved in attempts to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the occupation of St Patrick’s Cathedral by over 40 Afghan Asylum seekers in May 2006 (the Gardaí eventually convinced the group to leave peacefully).

His episcopacy has also seen the retirement of fellow-Primate, the Most Revd Dr Robin Eames and the election of his successor as Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, the Most Revd Alan Harper, in January 2007.

More recently, he has participated in, and latterly chaired, an international group set up by the Archbishop of Canterbury to address the deep divisions that have emerged in the Anglican Communion over the acceptance or otherwise of same-sex relationships. The group has been given the task of drafting an Anglican Covenant.

Ordination of Women & Ecumenism
When serving as Bishop of Tuam, Archbishop Neill acted as Chairman of the General Synod Committee on the Ordination of Women from 1988 to 1991.

He was a significant force in the introduction of female ordination and proposed the Bill to the 1990 General Synod that changed the Church’s constitution accordingly. He also played a prominent role at the Lambeth Conference in 1988 where he was chairman of the Group on Women in the Episcopate and proposed all the approved resolutions on this issue.

An avid ecumenist, he is a widely respected figure in ecumenical circles and is well known internationally for his work in this area, having served two terms of seven years as a member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches. He was also the first Anglican Co-Chairman of the Porvoo Contact Group, linking the British and Irish Anglican Churches with Lutheran Churches in the Nordic and Baltic countries. From 1990 to 1994, he was president of the Council of Churches for Britain and Ireland and more recently served as president of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland. In 1993, he was co-leader of a British/Irish Church delegation to Yugoslavia.

In Ireland he has played a major role on the ecumenical scene for many years and is much sought after as a commentator on Irish ecumenical relations. He was co-founder and chairman of the Church of Ireland/Methodist Joint Theological Working Party.

A highly regarded administrator, Archbishop Neill has served on many central committees of the Church of Ireland covering issues such as liturgical reform, education, communications, Christian unity and synodical structures. He also served for almost a quarter of a century on the Select Committee for the Remarriage of Divorced Persons and was its chair at the time that this committee completed its task. From 1988 – 1995, he was secretary to the House of Bishops.

Throughout his time as Archbishop, Dr Neill has also enjoyed a close relationship with his colleague, the Most Revd Dr Diarmuid Martin, who became the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin not long after his own move to the capital.

Involvement in Education
Archbishop Neill also has much experience in the area of education. While Bishop of Tuam, he was a member of the Governing Body of University College Galway, while as Bishop of Cashel he served as Chairman of Kilkenny College, the largest boarding school in Ireland. Since becoming Archbishop he served as a Governor of several schools, Patron of three Comprehensive Schools and a Fellow of St. Columba’s College. He has also been a member of the Academic Council of the Irish School of Ecumenics. In the early 1970s he was a lecturer on the Old Testament at the Divinity Hostel and in the early 1980s he lectured in Pastoral Liturgy at the Theological College and in the School of Theology, Trinity College Dublin.

ENDS