Former Bishop of Derry and Raphoe Lord Eames celebrates 50 years on St Columba's

Half a century of service in episcopal ministry was celebrated this morning - on St Columba’s Day - when a congregation gathered for a Choral Eucharist in St Columb’s Cathedral, Derry, to mark the 50th anniversary of the consecration of Bishop Robin Eames.

Lord Eames served as Bishop of Derry and Raphoe from 1975 to 1980, and thereafter Bishop of Down and Dromore, and Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland from 1986 until his retirement in 2006. He was consecrated in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh, on June 9, 1975, by Archbishop George Otto Simms, at 38 years of age.

The service was led by Archbishop John McDowell and the preacher was Bishop Andrew Forster, the current Bishop of Derry and Raphoe. Bishop George Davison (Bishop of Connor), Bishop Ian Ellis (Bishop of Clogher) and Bishop Patrick Rooke (formerly Bishop of Tuam, Killala and Achonry) were also present, and Archdeacon Mark Harvey (Archdeacon of Dromore) represented Bishop David McClay (Bishop of Down and Dromore).

Scripture was read by Bishop Forster and Dean Shane Forster (Dean of Armagh) and intercessions led by Archdeacon Robert Miller (Archdeacon of Derry).

A reception was held afterwards in the Chapter Room, giving many representatives from parish life in the diocese, and guests who had travelled from elsewhere, the opportunity to congratulate Lord Eames, Lady Christine Eames and their sons Michael and Niall.

Bishop Andrew Forster said: “We gather in St Columb’s Cathedral this morning with deep thankfulness, full hearts, and in the profound joy and privilege of our shared faith in Jesus Christ. And we gather to mark today a remarkable anniversary – an anniversary that is almost unique in the Anglican Communion.

“To put that in some sort of context, if the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe decides to do the same thing for me after 50 years of episcopal ministry, I would be 102.

“Back on the feast day of St Columba, in 1975 in the Cathedral Church of St Patrick’s, Armagh, the Primate (the saintly George Otto Simms) consecrated a young man to be the bishop of this diocese. I know that for you Robin, for Christian, for Michael and for Niall, this diocese has always held a very special place in your heart. You always talk about it with such love and affection and warmth. I can fully understand that warmth and affection for Derry and Raphoe.

“Three weeks before Robin was consecrated, the redoubtable Canon John Barry wrote this in his column in the Church of Ireland Gazette. I quote: ‘We have appointed a really young bishop and how often over the years have we pleaded for just that, asking that a man should be elevated on account of what he might do in the future, rather than a sort of reward for what he has done in the past. An era of great promise has opened up for the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe and indeed for the Church of Ireland as a whole.’

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“Those words, in some way, were prophetic because that age of great promise certainly opened up. They would come to be true and, in that, it is so fitting that we gather here today to give thanks to Almighty God for you, Robin, and to give thanks to you Robin for all that you have given because in your ministry, you opened up great promise for the people of God and those outside the Kingdom of God here and far beyond this diocese.

“Now, just a few hundred yards from here, in 546AD, Columba built his monastery in the oak grove in Derry – and we, the people of Derry, say that it was his favourite monastery, and we’ll hold to that one!

“Columba was born about 30 miles from here in Gartan and he would go on to become the church planter, the evangelist extraordinaire. His vision was of monasteries, abbeys, to be places of good news, of light and hope, amidst the tribal tensions and the dangers of ancient Ireland.

“In Robin’s ministry, we see the very spirit of Columba – not clinging to prestige or position but embracing the life of a servant, not seeking admiration but striving to reflect the life of Christ. His leadership, like the seed in Jesus’ parable, has borne much fruit in the Church, in public life, in countless individual lives, and in all of our lives.

“And we give thanks today for those 50 years, for the bishop, the pastor, the peacemaker, the statesman of the Church, and perhaps most importantly for all of us, the friend."