Robin Eames
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Robin Henry Alexander, Baron Eames, titled His Grace, Primate of All Ireland (born April 27, 1937) is the Church of Ireland's Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh. Created a life peer in 1995, Lord Eames has for many years been very much involved in Northern Irish politics, and has been a prominent advocate for peace and understanding. He has been strongly critical of the Orange Order. At the Church of Ireland General Synod 2006 he announced his intention to retire in December 2006.
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| Denomination | Church of Ireland |
| Senior posting | |
| See | Armagh |
| Title | Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of All-Ireland |
| Period in office | 1986 — present (retirement announced) |
| Predecessor | John Ward Armstrong |
| Successor | incumbent |
| Religious career | |
| Priestly ordination | 1963 |
| Previous bishoprics | Derry and Raphoe, Down and Dromore |
| Previous post | Bishop |
| Personal | |
| Date of birth | April 27, 1937 |
| Place of birth | Belfast |
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[edit] Education
Born in Belfast, he was educated at the city's Belfast Royal Academy and Methodist College before going on to study at the Queen's University of Belfast, graduating LL.B and earning Ph.D. in Ecclesiastical Law. During a distinguished academic career he was lectured in philosophy by his future Catholic counterpart, Cahal Daly. During his time at QUB he was briefly involved in the Young Unionists. Rugby, athletics and sailing are his favourite sports.
[edit] Ministry
Turning his back on law for the Church of Ireland, Eames embarked on a three-year course at the divinity school in Trinity College, Dublin in 1960 but found the course "intellectually unsatisfying".
In 1963 he was appointed curate assistant at Bangor Parish Church, becoming Rector of St Dorothea's in Belfast three years later. In the same year, 1966, he married Christine Daly.
During his time in St Dorothea's, in the Braniel and Tullycarnet area of east Belfast, he developed a 'coffee bar ministry' among young people but the Troubles interrupted. During this time he rescued a Catholic girl from a loyalist mob who had set her family home on fire.
He mysteriously turned down the opportunity to be dean of Cork and in 1974 was appointed rector of St Mark's in Dundela in east Belfast, formerly C. S. Lewis's family church.
In May 1975, at the age of 38, he was appointed bishop of the cross-border diocese of Derry and Raphoe - having visited Derry only once. In a groundbreaking move, he invited his similarly young Catholic counterpart, Dr Edward Daly, to his consecration.
Eames was translated five years later to the diocese of Down and Dromore. In 1986, he became Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, and was the following year a select preacher at Oxford University.
[edit] The Windsor Report
Eames is also a significant figure within the general Anglican Communion. In 2003, the self-styled 'divine optimist' was appointed Chairman of the Lambeth Commission on Communion, which examined significant challenges to unity in the Anglican Communion. The Commission published its report ("the Windsor Report") on 18 October 2004.
[edit] Awards
- Life Peerage as Baron Eames, of Armagh in the County of Armagh
- Honorary doctorates: Queen's University of Belfast; Trinity College, Dublin; University of Lancaster and Cambridge.
[edit] External links
- List of Life Peerages
- Biography of Robin Eames, Nobody's Fool by Alf McCreary.
| Religious Posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: John Ward Armstrong |
Archbishop of Armagh 1986–Present |
Succeeded by: (current incumbent) |
