The new leader of the Church of Ireland says that one of the main challenges facing the denomination is secularism.Richard Clarke, the 63-year-old bishop of Meath and Kildare, was announced today as the new Archbishop of Armagh and primate of All Ireland.
Speaking today, the widowed father-of-two from Dublin said: “That [secularism] to me is the danger, to think that religious faith is an add on and the normal default is to be without faith."
“Faith permeates every part of what you are, it is not the built-on extra, it is what you are. It is a fight we have on our hands, we as Christians have bought into that utter fallacy.”
Christians needed to be able to listen to the world and speak to it, he added.
He is the 105th in the succession of abbots, bishops and archbishops of Armagh since St Patrick.
“I look forward to fresh challenges and joys, along with new friendships and discoveries, in the phase of ministry in the Gospel that now lies ahead, both in the Diocese of Armagh and within the wider fellowship of the Church of Ireland and beyond,” he said.
His election will take effect from December 15 this year when he will be enthroned at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh.
It follows the retirement of archbishop Alan Harper at the end of last month.
Dr Clarke said: “I truly feel neither worthy of the heritage into which I am to enter, nor adequate for the tasks that lie ahead. The God of Christian belief is, however, a God of grace rather than a God who looks for human self-sufficiency. All I can pledge is that I will give this task the very best of which I am capable and the prayer of all of us must be that God in his grace will enable some good to come from this.”
He said he was sad to leave Meath and Kildare after 16 years of happiness.
Among issues facing the next archbishop will be parading disputes in Northern Ireland, the position of the church on homosexual marriage and rebuilding pensions for clergy affected by the stuttering economy.
The church has 480,000 members.
Dr Clarke was educated at Trinity College Dublin and King’s College London.
He began as a minister in Holywood, Co Down and worked in Dublin, as dean in residence at Trinity; St Fin Barre’s Cathedral Cork and Perth in Scotland.
He is committed to ecumenism with the Catholic church and other Protestant denominations.
Dr Clarke had research interests in history but has written a book on the relationship between literature and theology, one of three publications.
He said he was interested in modern writers who make us think deeply, including Algerian philosopher Albert Camus, and enjoyed poetry as a way of “getting behind pure words”.
Attempting to brand people with views on gay marriage as liberal or conservative was superficial, he said.
“I am not a radical in this particular area. We are not talking about an issue, we are talking about people made in the image and likeness of God,” he said.
He added they must find a full place in the world of the church and pointed out that it is not a totalitarian organisation and his was one of a range of views.
Boosting church finances will also be a key challenge.
“We are going to have to find a new generosity,” he said, pointing out that stipends for clergy had been frozen.
The incoming archbishop is a supporter of rugby, cricket and football, Arsenal in particular.
He loves jazz, particularly early pieces played by Louis Armstrong.
He will move into the new bishop’s house in Armagh with his boxer dog. His medical doctor children Nicholas and Lindsey work in Belfast. His wife Linda died in 2009.
The cleric recently bought a brown MGB car built in 1979.