THE NEW SCHAFF-HER
1872), and stands in the same relation to all the dioceses. There are two kinds of spiritual courts of justice, the diocesan courts, and the court of the general synod. A diocesan court consists of the bishop, the chancellor, who is appointed for life, and two members of the synod, one from the clergy and one from the laity. These men choose for five years three clerical and three lay co-members. The court of the general synod consists of one of the archbishops, who alternate with each other, one bishop, and three lay judges. Three additional members are chosen from the general synod. The constitutions and canons of the church are like those of the Church of England.
HI. Other Protestant Bodies: The Presbyterians are found chiefly in Ulster, about ninety-six per cent, of them being in that province. The largest body, the Presbyterian Church of Ireland, numbers 36 presbyteries, 647 ministers, and 569 congregations with 106,342 communicants. In the Sunday Schools there are 8,354 teachers and 97,647 scholars. The church administers two theological colleges, with fourteen professors. The Baptist Union of Ireland numbered, in 1908, 2,980 members, and had 39 churches and 40 chapels. The Wesleyan Methodist Church gave as the number of their members in 1907, 28,826; they had 133 stations in ten districts. See articles on the separate denominations.
IV. History: For the early history of the church in Ireland see Celtic Church in Britain and Ireland. At the time of the Reformation, during the reign of Henry VIII., an attempt was made to correct some of the abuses of the church in Ireland, but the Reformation did not meet with much popular favor, owing in a large measure to fear that only the English language could be used in church. Through the reigns of Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Elizabeth various attempts were made to introduce the English liturgy, and the government proceeded with great severity against the Roman Catholics. Under Mary there was a reaction in favor of the Roman Catholics. At the accession of James I. the Roman Catholics, thinking that he favored them, tried to expel the Protestants from the island. The king, however, suppressed the attempts, confiscating the estates of many Roman Catholics, especially in Ulster, and settling Scotch Presbyterians in their place. During the Civil War and the Commonwealth, as also during the reign of Charles I., there were many rebellions and consequent suppressions of the Roman Catholics in Ireland. At the Revolution the Roman Catholics were filled with hope, and many Protestants had to flee the country. William III., however, finally completed the conquest of Ireland, and from that epoch until recent times the Roman Catholics were discriminated against in many ways. Gradually, however, the restrictions against them have been removed. Just as the Roman Catholics were discriminated against, so the Protestant Church, as the state church, was granted many favors. These have been done away with from time to time, and at last, July 26, 1869, the Irish Church Act was passed, taking effect Jan. 1, 1871. This act disestablished the church and dis-
solved its ir,:>>; v i ,i, the Church of England. Compensaf 'or, n.-de for all vested interests,
including ■■<■■- _he a,i rual grants for the Roman Catholic Coil. ■ at Maynooth and the Regium Donum gr ■:■>■ i ..he Presbyterians by James I. Bibliogra] • '.'■.: i he eirly history see Celtic Church in Brita 'tiTi.AM' and the literature given there.
For recent data consull the Irish Clergy List (annual); The Irish Catholic Directory (annual); and the Year Books of the English bodies which carry on work in Ireland. Consult further: H. Seddall, The Church of Ireland, Dublin, 1886; J. T. Ball, Fingal and its Churches, Dublin, 1888; idem. The Reformed Church of Ireland, London, 1890; R. Walsh, Fingal and its Churches, Dublin, 1888; T. Olden, The Church of Ireland, London, 1892; M. J. F. McCarthy, Rome in Ireland, ib. 1904; M. O'Riordan, Catholicity and Progress in Ireland, Dublin, 1905; M. J. F. McCarthy, Priests and People in Ireland, London, 1908.
IRELAND, JOHN: Church of England, dean of Westminster; b. at Ashburton (20 m. n.e. of Plymouth), England, Sept. 8, 1761; d. at Westminster Sept. 2, 1842. He studied at the free grammar-school of Ashburton, and at Oriel College, Oxford (B.A., 1783; M.A., 1810; B. D. and D.D., 1810). After serving a small curacy near Ashburton for a short period, he traveled on the continent as private tutor; was vicar of Croydon, and reader and chaplain to the earl of Liverpool, 1793-1816; held a prebend in Westminster Abbey, 1802; became subdean as well as theological lecturer, 1806; and dean, 1816. He was rector at Islip in Oxfordshire, and dean of the Order of the Bath, 1816-35. Acquiring considerable wealth, he used it with great generosity, founding scholarships at Oxford and prizes at Westminster School, and furthering free education. He held the crown at the coronations of George IV and William IV. He left sums for a new church at Westminster, and for a new professorship at Oxford. He was the author of Five Discourses, containing certain Arguments for and against the Reception of Christianity by the ancient Jews and Greeks (London, 1796) ; Paganism and Christianity Compared, in a Course of Lectures to the King's Scholars at Westminster, in the Years 1806-07-08 (1809); and The Plague of Marseilles in 1720 (1834).