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Church has enthroned new primate Church has enthroned new primate
(about 1 hour later)
The Most Reverend Alan Harper has been enthroned as the new head of the Church of Ireland. The new head of the Church of Ireland has appealed for lasting peace in Northern Ireland.
He has become Archbishop of Armagh and primate of all Ireland. Speaking during his enthronement ceremony, Archbishop Alan Harper said it was time to cement the truce between the two communities in NI.
The Sinn Fein MP for Newry and Armagh, Conor Murphy, was among the invited guests at the enthronement in St Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh. The ceremony, which was attended by the Duke of Edinburgh and Irish President Mary McAleese, took place at St Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh.
A large number of public representatives from the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom were also in attendance. "It is time to turn from truce to peace," he said.
The service was attended by a large number of senior members of the Church of Ireland including members of the House of Bishops. "The wounds that are the signs of our divisions are deep and stubbornly hard to heal, yet you and I, with the whole church of God, are charged with that healing.
Senior church representatives of other Christian denominations were also present. "We must declare, yes, even the disobedient, divided and historically quarrelsome church must declare, that the will of Christ is unity, that the church is a family with shared DNA, and also that we, the people who share a home here, belong to each other.
In accordance with tradition, at the beginning of Friday afternoon's service, the Archbishop struck the cathedral door three times with his crozier. "We are one community, tragically divided but not separate, not competing, not alien communities."
He was then admitted by the Dean of Armagh, the Very Reverend Patrick Rooke. Sinn Fein's Newry and Armagh MP Conor Murphy and colleague Martina Anderson were among around 700 guests.
Archbishop Harper is the 104th in the succession of abbots, bishops and archbishops of Armagh since St Patrick. Leaders from the Catholic and Methodist churches and former Presbyterian Moderator Ken Newell were also present.
Conor Murphy was accompanied by Sinn Fein colleague Martina Anderson. Archbishop Harper takes over from retired Anglican Primate Dr Robin Eames who retired after 20 years in the position in December.
She said: "I see our attendance as an essential and important part of our engagement with the broad unionist family. His replacement was chosen during a meeting of Church or Ireland leaders in Dublin earlier this year.
"It also helps the process in which we can begin the task of building a new Ireland together, one which is based on our common humanity and an Ireland which respects the rights of all, simply in virtue of the fact that we are human beings." The Archbishop, 62, was ordained in 1978, serving in the diocese of Derry and Connor.
He served as Archdeacon of Connor from 1996 until his consecration as Bisho of Connor five years ago.