Bishop Eames Elected Primate Of Ireland
Episcopal News Service. February 20, 1986 [86029]
ARMAGH, Northern Ireland (DPS, Feb. 20) -- The Rt. Rev. Dr. Robert H. A. Eames was elected to succeed the Most Rev. John Ward Armstrong as Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland by the House of Bishops of the Church of Ireland on Feb. 7.
Consecrated in June 1975 for the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe, which straddles the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, Eames, then 38 years of age, was the youngest bishop to be consecrated in the Church of Ireland since its was dis-established in 1870. At his consecration, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Derry, Dr. Edward Daly, was present.
Living in Londonerry and travelling through the diocese, which covered County Londonderry in Northern Ireland and County Donegal in the Republic, he saw first-hand how the Church responded to the challenge of witnessing in different political jurisdictions, and he saw the ongoing effects of violence and its challenge to the Churches.
In 1980, Eames was translated to the Diocese of Down and Dromore, and he returned to Belfast, where he had served as a rector for nine years in two parishes. The following year, he headed a Church of Ireland delegation which visited the United States at the invitation of then-Presiding Bishop John M. Allin. During a week marked by prayers for reconciliation, the group spoke with Church leaders, politicians and journalists and, while members emphasized the Christian and ecumenical nature of the trip, they also stated a wish to "stand with" Irish-American leaders who denounce violence and work for a peaceful settlement of the situation in Northern Ireland.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference following his election as primate, Eames stressed that his role is as a spiritual leader and not that of a leader of a political party. He said that his first priority will be to get to know the people of Armagh and to bring pastoral care to those in trouble or need. He added that he saw the major challenge facing the Church of Ireland as the growing materialism which, although not completely secular, was rapidly moving in that direction.
One of Eames' first official duties will be to lead a Church of Ireland delegation to meet with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in London in mid-February. He will also be present at the Anglican Primates' meeting in Toronto and the Anglican Consultative Council standing committee meeting in early March.
Eames' academic background is that of legal studies. An honors graduate of The Queen's University in Belfast, he spent three years as a tutor and research scholar on the faculty and was awarded his doctorate in eccesliastical law in 1963. His theological studies were undertaken and completed at Trinity College, University of Dublin.
He is the author of four books and has written for several legal and theological journals, and he has chaired a work-party which conducted hearings and then reported on what priorities the Church of Ireland should be tackling in its work and witness.
His wife, Christine, is also a law graduate, and they have two teenaged sons, Niall, a medical student at Queen's University in Belfast, and Michael, who attends grammar school at Campbell College.
Although a part of the wider Anglican Communion, the Church of Ireland is an independent entity, with its headquarters in Dublin, in the Republic of Ireland, but the majority of its members living in Northern Ireland. It has two archbishops and eleven bishops.