214. Was Patrick the founding father of the Christian Church in Ireland?
Yes. We are correct in claiming that Patrick was the founding father of the Christian Church in Ireland. He organised the local Church in Ireland and by his missionary activities brought many converts into the Church.
215. Was Patrick sent to Ireland by the Pope?
No. Indeed, the earliest testimony to that claim was made more than four centuries after his death.
216. What brought Patrick to Ireland?
Patrick came to Ireland as a result of the call of God, and of a divine vision, through which he received, like Paul, a Macedonian call, in which the Irish said: ‘We entreat thee, holy youth, that thou come and walk amongst us.’
217. Where do we find the teaching of Patrick?
The teaching of Patrick can be found in written works, namely, his Confession and Epistle. There is a hymn, The Breastplate of Patrick, which is by Patrick himself.
218. What is the basis for the teaching contained in
Patrick’s Confession and Epistle?
The basis for the writings of Patrick is the Scripture of Truth. All Patrick’s writings were Biblically founded.
219. What sacraments were observed by Patrick?
The only sacraments observed by Patrick were Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and the Celtic Church which he founded believed in and practised these two sacraments only.
220. Was the early Irish Church subject to Rome?
No. The independence of the early Irish Church is one of the most indisputable facts of history.
221. How did Popery first gain an entrance into Ireland?
Popery first gained an entrance into Ireland in the 11th century, 600 years after Patrick. When the Danes who had settled in Ireland became Christians, they refused to acknowledge the authority and jurisdiction of the old Irish Church, and sent their Bishops to be consecrated by the Archbishops of Canterbury. The Archbishops of Canterbury were, of course, subject to the Pope, so through these Bishops, consecrated by the Archbishops of Canterbury, Popery first got a foothold in Ireland.
222. How did Popery gain her hold on the whole of Ireland?
Popery gained her hold on the whole of Ireland because in 1155 Pope Adrian IV gave King Henry II of England permission to carry out the conquest of Ireland ‘for the enlarging of the bounds of the Church’. The Pope made a condition that there would be in future an annual payment of one penny for every house in the land ‘for St. Peter and the Holy Roman Church’. The Pope based his authority to give this permission on a document known as The Donation of Constantine, since proved to be a forgery. Henry II, however, was not able to act on the Papal Bull, so it was renewed 17 years later by Pope Alexander III. (A Papal Bull is a letter, edict or script of the Pope published or transmitted to the Churches over which he is Head containing some decree, order or decision.)
223. What do the words ‘for the enlarging of the bounds of the Church’ in the Papal Bull of Adrian IV teach us?
These words of Pope Adrian IV teach us that in the 12th century the Celtic Church in Ireland was not subject to the Papacy.
224. What happened after the conquest of Ireland by King Henry II of England?
After the conquest, at the Synod of Cashel in 1172, it was decided ‘that all things relating to religion for the future in all parts of Ireland be regulated according to the Church of England’. Note: The Church of England was at that time under the jurisdiction of the Church of Rome.
225. What does this decision of the Synod of Cashel teach us?
This decision of the Synod of Cashel, which was held under the direction of King Henry II of England, teaches us that Celtic Ireland was never Papal and never inclined to submit itself to the Papacy. It needed Henry II and the English to rivet upon Ireland the yoke of Rome.
226. What change was made by King Henry VIII of England?
When Henry broke with the Church of Rome over his divorce, he changed the State Church in Ireland from the Roman to the Anglican model.
227. What was the result of Henry VIII’s action?
Most of the people in Ireland remained members of the Church of Rome, but the only Church recognised by the State was that set up by the King and Parliament. This situation continued until the Bill of Disestablishment, since which the former State Church has continued to use the title ‘Church of Ireland’.
228. In what sense historically may the Free Presbyterian Church claim to be heirs of the Celtic Church?
The Free Presbyterian Church can rightly claim to be in the true succession of the Celtic Church because of its holding to the Bible as the Infallible Word of God, its preaching of the Gospel of Free and Sovereign Grace, and its rejection of the claims of the Pope and the dogmas of Rome.
Source:
http://www.ianpaisley.org
Email: eips_info@yahoo.co.uk
Ireland will always remain Catholic. St. Patrick will see to that from his heavenly perch.
As he prayed:
I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
...
Against false laws of heretics,
...
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul.
The Catholic Encyclopedia (circa 1913) has an excellent article about St. Patrick. It can be viewed at www.newadvent.org
The grass is already greener today as the sun rises!
God Bless everyone, and may you all one day be received into the fullness of the Faith, as St. Patrick would wish.
ROFL!!!!!!!