| The Most Revd Alan Harper, OBE | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of All Ireland | |
| Church | Church of Ireland |
| See | Armagh |
| In Office | 2 February 2007 – present (enthroned 16 March 2007, St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh by the Very Rev Patrick Rooke) |
| Predecessor | Robin Eames |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1979 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 March 1944 Tamworth, Staffordshire |
| Previous post | Bishop of Connor (2002-2007) |
Alan Edwin Thomas Harper, OBE (born 20 March 1944) is the Church of Ireland's Archbishop of Armagh[1] and Primate of All Ireland.[2] He assumed office on 2 February 2007 and was ceremonially enthroned on 16 March 2007. He is the first English-born Irish primate since the Disestablishment of the Church of Ireland in 1869. He and his wife Helen have four children.[3]
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Born in Staffordshire on 20 March 1944,[4] Alan Harper was educated at Moorgate County Primary School, Tamworth, Staffordshire, The Grammar School of Elizabeth, Queen of England in Tamworth, and studied Geography at Leeds University.[5] Following graduation (B.A.), he worked as University Map Curator and Departmental Librarian in the Department of Geography. He moved to Northern Ireland in July 1966, when he was appointed a member of the Archaeological Survey of Northern Ireland. He married Helen in 1967, and the couple have four children, Catherine, Richard, and twins Emma and Anne. In 1974 he returned to England as Principal Assistant Planning Officer with Staffordshire County Council. In 1980 Bishop Harper was appointed a member of the Historic Monuments Council for Northern Ireland and was Chairman from 1988-1995. In 1996 he was awarded an OBE for Services to Conservation in Northern Ireland.
Pursuing a vocation to the ministry, Alan Harper entered the Church of Ireland Theological College in Dublin in 1975 and was ordained a deacon in 1978 in St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast. A year later, he became a priest. His first curacy was in the Ballywillan in Connor diocese; he then served as vicar of Moville, followed by a tenure as rector of Christ Church, Londonderry from 1982-1986.[6] Returning to Connor diocese, Alan Harper became rector of Malone from 1986–2002, and served as Archdeacon of Connor[7] and Precentor of St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, from 1996-2002.
On 17 December 2001, Alan Harper was elected Bishop of Connor by the Episcopal Electoral College. He was consecrated on 18 March 2002 in St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, and enthroned in Christ Church Cathedral, Lisburn, on 25 April 2002. On Wednesday 10 January 2007, the eleven bishops of the Church of Ireland elected him the 104th (including those bishops prior to the English Reformation) Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, in succession to Archbishop Robin Eames.[8]
Since issues of sexuality (particularly homosexuality) are the topic of endless debate and simmering acrimony in the Anglican communion at present, Harper's election to the primacy immediately drew media interest to his views on these questions; previous interviews were given new scrutiny. Several commentators ([1], [2]) concluded that he is personally liberal but willing to be bound by more traditional views as long as the Church of Ireland has not as a whole signalled a desire to move on from them.
| Church of Ireland titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jimmy Moore |
Bishop of Connor 2002–2007 |
Succeeded by Alan Abernethy |
| Preceded by Robin Eames |
Archbishop of Armagh 2007–present |
Incumbent |
| Order of precedence in Northern Ireland | ||
| Preceded by Cardinal Seán Brady Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh |
Gentlemen Archbishop of Armagh (Church of Ireland) |
Succeeded by The Most Revd Diarmuid Martin Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin |
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