Home

Church of Ireland Home

Press Releases

Church Leaders unite in prayer around anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement

From left: the Rt Revd Dr John Kirkpatrick, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland; Archbishop Eamon Martin, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland; Archbishop John McDowell, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland; the Reverend David Nixon, President of the Methodist Church in Ireland; and the Rt Revd Andrew Forster, President of the Irish Council of Churches.
From left: the Rt Revd Dr John Kirkpatrick, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland; Archbishop Eamon Martin, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland; Archbishop John McDowell, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland; the Reverend David Nixon, President of the Methodist Church in Ireland; and the Rt Revd Andrew Forster, President of the Irish Council of Churches.

On 10th April 2023 it will be twenty–five years since the historic Belfast/Good Friday Agreement was signed. The signing of the Agreement was not the end of the journey to peace in Northern Ireland but marked simply the first faltering steps down a very long road to a new, brighter, and shared future. That road will continue to be shaped by tolerance and respect for our differences, and a recognition of the need for greater understanding and reconciliation.  The principles of the Agreement were based on ‘partnership, equality and mutual respect‘.  As we reflect on how far we have travelled, we must fully appreciate the sacrifices that were made as we capture a vision for what lies ahead.

Mindful that people from different parts of the community will have different views and emotions about the anniversary of the signing of the Agreement, the Church Leaders Group (Ireland) has prepared resources for use in times of private prayer and public forms of worship marking the anniversary, recalling the events of the past and looking to the future.

In the journey from Good Friday to Easter, from death to new life, the message of the Christian faith is a belief that love is stronger than hate and that the light of hope shines brightly in the darkness.

The prayer resources are available below in the following formats:

PDF document

Word document

The Church Leaders Group comprises the Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic Primates of All Ireland, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the President of the Methodist Church in Ireland, and the President of the Irish Council of Churches.

Our use of cookies

Some cookies are necessary for us to manage how our website behaves while other optional, or non-necessary, cookies help us to analyse website usage. You can Accept All or Reject All optional cookies or control individual cookie types below.

You can read more in our Cookie Notice

Functional

These cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.

Analytics cookies

Analytical cookies help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on its usage.