THE next Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh will be the Rt Rev John McDowell, who is currently the Bishop of Clogher.
Bishop McDowell, who was elected as Archbishop by his fellow bishops yesterday, was widely regarded as the most obvious successor to Dr Richard Clarke, who retired from Armagh last month.
"I am overwhelmed by the confidence which my fellow bishops have placed in me to fill this ancient office," said Bishop McDowell last night.
"I look forward to working with them in the time to come and to serving the people of the Diocese of Armagh and the Church of Ireland in whatever way I can."
Bishop McDowell (64) comes to the role at a time of great change among the Church's leadership.
New bishops have recently been elected to the dioceses of Derry and Down and Dromore, with the Rev George Davison's election as Bishop of Connor confirmed yesterday.
Bishop McDowell's election as Archbishop means a new Bishop of Clogher will be elected in due course.
He will be 'translated' to Armagh on April 28, though a date for his enthronement has yet to be announced.
As with Dr Eamon Martin, his counterpart in the Roman Catholic Church, the Archbishop of Armagh in the Church of Ireland also serves as Primate of All Ireland, making him its chief public representative.
Archbishop Martin said he was delighted by Bishop McDowell's election and looked forward to working with him in his new role.
"I have known Bishop McDowell for several years and have already worked closely with him in his previous role as President of the Irish Council of Churches," he said.
"Bishop John also joined me on a cross-community centenary pilgrimage with young people to the Somme and other significant First World War sites back in 2016."
Referring to his strong friendship with Archbishop Clarke, Dr Martin said "we often remarked that, even though there are two St Patrick's Cathedrals in Armagh, there is only one St Patrick".
"I hope that Bishop John and I can nurture a similar, shared mission in proclaiming the joy of the Gospel as brothers and friends," he said.
Before being elected Bishop of Clogher in 2011, Bishop McDowell was rector of St Mark's, Dundela in east Belfast.
He is married to Heather, a teacher at Enniskillen Royal Grammar School, and has a daughter, Dorothy, a student at Oxford University.
