The stormy December weather did not deter scores of people travelling to see Rt Rev Andrew Forster being ordained as the new Bishop of Derry and Raphoe on Sunday.
Bishop Forster succeeds Rt Rev Ken Good who retired from episcopal ministry in May.
St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh was filled for a Service of Consecration, which was held in front of leaders of the other main churches in Ireland.
Archdeacon Forster (52), a father of three, has been Rector of Drumglass (Dungannon), in the Diocese of Armagh, since 2007, and Archdeacon of Ardboe since 2015.
Rt Revd Andrew Forster (centre) is presented to the congregation following his ordination as Bishop of Derry and Raphoe by the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh, Most Revd Dr Richard Clarke.
The congregation heard the preacher, Revd Canon Dr Maurice Elliott – who has known the new bishop since their first day at Theological College – describe Rt Rev Forster as a larger than life personality with an infectious sense of humour. “He will bring an immense range of gifts and abilities to this new role,” Canon Elliott said. “He is a man of deep conviction, yet he tempers this with an instinctive capacity to care.”
“It is the most wonderful thing in the world to be a follower of Jesus Christ,” Bishop Forster said, “and that’s what we are and that’s what we’ll do together. As followers of Jesus Christ together we can win more for Him, and as followers of Jesus Christ together we can bring His light and love and grace into a world that needs it, and that’s what we’ll do together in Derry and Raphoe.”
