Carrickfergus rector becomes new Bishop of Connor

Archbishop of Armagh John McDowell, right, and the Rt Rev George Davison following the consecration of the new Bishop of Connor in Armagh.

The Church of Ireland’s newest bishop was consecrated at a service in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh, on Thursday under strict Covid-19 restrictions

The Rt Rev George Davison, former Archdeacon of Belfast and rector of Carrickfergus, became Bishop of Connor at the service which had been delayed for several months due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Bishop Davison was appointed by the Episcopal Electoral College for the Diocese of Connor on February 17 (read here).

His consecration had originally been scheduled for May.

The Rt Rev George Davison, newly consecrated Bishop of Connor.

In a video message to the diocese recorded on the eve of the Service of Consecration, Bishop Davison said: “This is a service that has been in planning for some time, a considerable time longer than any of us had realised. That delay, of course, has been caused by the same coronavirus emergency that has turned all our lives upside down over the last number of months.

“As individuals and as a society, we face challenges that we have never had to deal with before. It has caused real heartache for many people, and for some, the challenges they have faced make the delay of a service feel very insignificant.”

The bishop said that familiar ways of doing things had to be put on hold, and churches had to learn new ways to enable people to join together as the family of God.

“Even as we take these tentative steps back into our church buildings again, I am very conscious that we still have challenges ahead of us,” he said. “We have to be realistic about the challenges ahead, but I am convinced that they should not, and will not, define us.”

Bishop Davison succeeds the Rt Rev Alan Abernethy who retired in December 2019.

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