Instruct: Given a question, retrieve passages that can help answer the question.
Query: What is the oldest church in Ireland?
St Audoen's Church () is the church of the parish of Saint Audoen in the Church of Ireland, located south of the River Liffey at Cornmarket in Dublin, Ireland. This was close to the centre of the medieval city. The parish is in the Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough. St Audoen's is the oldest parish church in Dublin and still used as such. There is a Roman Catholic church of the same name adjacent to it.
To the southeast of the park is Oslo’s oldest building – Aker Kirke, built around 1100, but restored from ruins around 1860, and then again in the 1950s in a more authentic style. Next to the church is the cemetery Vår Frelsers gravlund, created in 1808 as a result of the great famine and cholera epidemic of the Napoleonic Wars. The nearby area around Damstredet and Telthusbakken is interesting since it retains the small town character of Oslo in the first part of the 19th century.
Old Aker Church was built as a three-naved Romanesque style basilica and constructed from limestone. It is believed to have been erected by King Olav Kyrre in 1080 as a church for all of Vingulmark, the historic area surrounding Oslo. The grounds of Old Aker Church were originally likely the former site of the regional thing during the pre-Christian period.
Census figures in Ireland do not provide a breakdown of religions outside of the major Christian denominations and other major world religions. A total of 22,497 people stated Other Religion in the 2006 census; and a rough estimate is that there were 2,000–3,000 practicing pagans in Ireland in 2009. Numerous pagan groups – primarily Wiccan and Druidic – exist in Ireland though none is officially recognised by the Government. Irish Paganism is often strongly concerned with issues of place and language.
After the English Reformation, Roman Catholic worship was illegal in England for nearly 250 years until 1791, and it grew slowly thereafter in comparison to West Sussex, where many large estates were owned by gentry who secretly kept the faith over many generations. Ill-feeling towards Catholics apparently persisted well into the 19th century in Battle, where the 1886 Church of Our Lady Immaculate and St Michael was set well back from the street (in the garden of its presbytery) and does not have an ecclesiastical appearance. In the early 20th century, bolder architectural statements were made with the Gothic Revival church at Bexhill-on-Sea and the elaborate Italian Romanesque-style church at Rye, both of which are listed buildings. Most of the other Roman Catholic churches in Rother district are simple mid-20th-century buildings, sometimes with distinguishing architectural features such as a modernistic portico-style entrance at Sidley, dalle de verre glass at Burwash and a Mediterranean-style blank-arcaded tower at Little Common.
The First Viking Age in Ireland began in 795, when Vikings began carrying out hit-and-run raids on Gaelic Irish coastal settlements. Over the following decades the raiding parties became bigger and better organized; inland settlements were targeted as well as coastal ones; and the raiders built naval encampments known as longphorts to allow them to remain in Ireland throughout the winter. In the mid 9th century, Viking leader Turgeis or "Thorgest" founded a stronghold at Dublin, plundered Leinster and Meath, and raided other parts of Ireland. He was killed by the High King, Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid, which was followed by several Irish victories against the Vikings and the seizure of Dublin in 849. Shortly after, a new group of Vikings known as the Dubgaill ("dark foreigners") came to Ireland and clashed with the earlier Viking settlers, now called the Finngaill ("fair foreigners"). The wavering fortunes of these three groups and their shifting alliances, together with the shortcomings of contemporary records and the inaccuracy of later accounts, make this period one of the most complicated and least understood in the fledgling city's history. In 853 a Viking warlord called Amlaíb (, possibly Olaf the White) arrived and made himself king of Dublin. He ruled along with his brothers Ímar ("Ívarr", possibly Ivar the Boneless) and Auisle ("Ásl"). For the next fifteen years or so, they used Dublin as their base for a series of campaigns against Irish kingdoms. During these conflicts they briefly allied themselves with several Irish kings. The Dublin Vikings also carried out a number of raids in Britain at this time. The deaths of Ivar (c.873) and Olaf (c.874) were followed by internecine conflict among the Vikings. Although intermittent warfare between the Vikings and the Irish continued, these inner conflicts weakened the Viking colonies and made it easier for the Irish to unite against them. In 902, Cerball mac Muirecáin, king of Leinster, and Máel Findia mac Flannacáin, king of Brega, launched a two-pronged attack on Dublin and drove the Vikings from the city. However, in 914 the Vikings now known as the Uí Ímair (House of Ivar) would return to Ireland, marking the beginning of the Second Viking Age.
""Irish Catholics believe that their devotion to their religion and to the Holy See handicaps their efforts for independence. While this in no way shakes their adherence to the Faith, they naturally resent the audacity of an officially heretical government approaching the Holy See on occasions through Catholic or non-Catholic channels, seeking to procure, on pretexts of faith and morals, the condemnation of Catholic Ireland. It is true that the latter happens to be weak and England strong; hence England tries to turn into an instrument of further oppression a force on which Ireland should obviously have paramount claims and for which Ireland suffered and fought and bled while the oppressor repudiated, blasphemed and persecuted it.""
The Brick Gothic church in Suurhusen is reminiscent of the old fortress churches. Originally, it was 32 metres long and 9.35 metres wide. In 1450 the church was shortened by about a quarter and the tower was built in the space. This tower currently leans at an angle of 5.19°, compared with 3.97° for the Pisa tower after its stabilization.
The Hook Lighthouse (; also known as Hook Head Lighthouse) is a building situated on  Hook Head at the tip of the Hook Peninsula in County Wexford, in Ireland. It is one of the oldest lighthouses in the world and the second oldest operating lighthouse in the world, after the Tower of Hercules in Spain. It is operated by the Commissioners of Irish Lights, the Irish Lighthouse Authority, it marks the eastern entrance to Waterford Harbour. The current structure has stood for 846 years as of 2018.
The buildings that survive from this period are mostly churches and royal buildings, since these were built from more durable materials than most other buildings from that period. Birger Jarls torn ("The Tower Of Birger Jarl") was considered the oldest building in the entire city, however, it is now known to have been erected by Gustav Vasa in the 16th century. The Riddarholmen Church from the late 13th century is considered to be the oldest surviving building in Stockholm. While it came to serve as the church of choice for royal burials, another church, the Storkyrkan ("Great Church") came to be used for coronations. Both of the churches have been redesign several times since their erection.
Nidaros Cathedral is the only great, Gothic cathedral in Norway, and it is also the largest medieval church in Scandinavia, 102 m long, 50 m wide and 21 m from floor to ceiling inside. Kongsberg Church with an original 2400 seats on 1000 m is regarded as the largest church building in Norway, now seating is limited to 1100. The Kongsberg Silver Mines made Kongsberg one of the largest and most important towns in Norway during the 17th and 18th centuries. Røros Church seats about 1600 people and is also one of the largest in Norway, and like Kongsberg Church was built in an important mining town. Kongsberg and Røros Churches are the most monumental church buildings from the 18th century according to Østby. Lyngdal Church (Vest-Agder) is one of the largest rural churches with some 1600 seats.
"Azalea Indica of natural growth 1st Professor Yonge Azalea Indica in pots 1st Professor Yonge" - Calceolarias 2nd C.D. Yonge"
In 1869 he wrote to his cousin Charles Tripp in New Zealand. He refers to his being director of the Botanical Garden, he voices his dislike of the disestablishment of the Anglican Church of Ireland in the previous year "it [the church] has been thrown into a sad state of distress and agitation by Gladstone’s nefarious attack on the Church". Though the religion of a minority of Irish people, the Anglican Church of Ireland remained the official religion of Ireland, established by law, until the Act of Parliament of 1869, came into effect in 1871. The Act had been brought forward by Gladstone in an attempt to induce the majority Roman Catholic population to accept continued English rule.
In the letter referred to above he writes of returning to England when his 10-year appointment was up but he in fact stayed in Ireland some 25 years.
Roman Catholic worship was outlawed for centuries after the English Reformation, but from the mid-19th century it experienced "a striking growth ... in and around Arundel", helped by the construction of the lavish Church of Our Lady and St Philip Howard in 1869–73. This became Arundel Cathedral in 1965 when the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton was created, and is the administrative centre of that region. The staunchly Catholic Dukes of Norfolk, whose seat is at Arundel Castle, were influential in Catholicism's development in Arundel and the rest of England for many years. An Anglican vicar of the 1860s said there were more Roman Catholics than Anglicans in the parish of Arundel, and about 750 lived in the area in 1973. Elsewhere in the district, Roman Catholic worship has taken place at Slindon since the late 18th century, and the present church dates from 1865; a late-19th-century priest at Arundel founded churches at Angmering, Houghton (both now closed) and Littlehampton; and Rustington and East Preston gained churches in the 20th century. Monks of the Servite Order founded Bognor Regis's Church of Our Lady of Sorrows in 1881.
In 1977, St. Joseph's Church and its rectory were recorded by the Ohio Historic Inventory, a historic preservation program of the Ohio Historical Society. Both buildings were found to be in good condition, but both were seen as endangered by the weak state of the parish that owned them. St. Joseph's Church was one of the smallest parishes in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, and priest shortages in the American Catholic Church meant that small parishes such as St. Joseph's were not likely to be able to have their own pastors; consequently, it was believed that the church would close by 1982. Eventually, this plan was cancelled; St. Joseph's Church is still an active parish of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. It is clustered with St. Augustine's Church in Minster and served by the same priest, and the cluster is part of the St. Marys Deanery.
Germantown Baptist Church dates back to 1838 in Germantown, Tennessee and is a large Southern Baptist church, formerly categorized as a megachurch. The church is 179 years old, and since its founding has moved from its location in downtown Germantown to an over building complex on a campus near the border of Germantown and Collierville on Poplar Avenue. As of October 2009, the church has an average Sunday worship attendance of 2,064 and an annual budget of $7,564,896. The original building for the church still stands on Germantown Road. Built twenty-one years before the beginning of the Civil War, Germantown Baptist Church is the second oldest church in the city of Germantown.
Verden is twinned with:The old town lies east of the Aller. The Lutheran cathedral () is known as the "" and towers above the pedestrianised high street, with its cafés and shops. This proto-cathedral, consecrated to Ss. Mary and Cecilia, served the former Catholic Diocese of Verden as episcopal church and was built between the 12th and 15th centuries. Other noteworthy buildings include the Lutheran churches of St. John ("Johanniskirche") and of St. Andrew ("Andreaskirche"), as well as the town hall and the "Domherrenhaus" (House of cathedral canons).
The site has been used for religious buildings since at least the 4th century, when an oratory stood on the site. A cathedral was built in the 9th century, but was badly damaged by Norman invasions and was replaced in the 10th century, from about 940, when bishop Milo built a Romanesque cathedral. This building was the location of the Council of Troyes that opened on 13 January 1128/29, at which the Order of the Knights Templar was confirmed and its rule established. The Romanesque cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1188.
Early Christian art survives from dates near the origins of Christianity. The oldest surviving Christian paintings are from the site at Megiddo, dated to around the year 70, and the oldest Christian sculptures are from sarcophagi, dating to the beginning of the 2nd century. Until the adoption of Christianity by Constantine Christian art derived its style and much of its iconography from popular Roman art, but from this point grand Christian buildings built under imperial patronage brought a need for Christian versions of Roman elite and official art, of which mosaics in churches in Rome are the most prominent surviving examples.
Gamle rådhus (English: The Old Town Hall) is a building with a long history in Oslo, Norway. It is one of the oldest buildings in the Norwegian capital. It was built as the first town hall in Christiania (a former name of the City of Oslo, not to be confused with the Old Town, Oslo) in 1641. The construction of the town hall got financial support by King Christian IV. The building has historically been used for many purposes. A restaurant was appointed in a side wing in 1856 and moved to the main house in 1925. From 1980 to 2010 a theatre museum was located in the side wing of the first floor. The Old Town Hall is listed and protected by law by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage.
Letterkenny (), nicknamed "the Cathedral Town", is the largest and most populous town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland. It lies on the River Swilly in East Donegal and has a population of 19,274. Along with the nearby city of Derry, Letterkenny is considered a regional economic gateway for the North-West of Ireland. Letterkenny acts as an urban gateway to the Ulster "Gaeltacht", similar to Galway's relationship to the Connemara "Gaeltacht".
The Church Group is on ground rising from near Newcastle Street (New England Highway) up to St. Peter's Church which stands on the commanding eminence of Stockade Hill, East Maitland. It is thus situated at the western end of William Street, the principal axis of colonial East Maitland. This broad avenue still connects St Peter's visually and spatially to the Maitland Courthouse and the Maitland Gaol at the eastern end, providing a powerful reminder of the interplay between church and state in colonial NSW. The site, which has a double street frontage to Banks Street and William Street, slopes away to the north-west.
The oldest-surviving Anglican church building outside the British Isles (Britain and Ireland) is St Peter's Church in St. George's, Bermuda, established in 1612 (though the actual building had to be rebuilt several times over the following century). This is also the oldest surviving non-Roman Catholic church in the New World. It remained part of the Church of England until 1978 when the Anglican Church of Bermuda separated. The Church of England was the established church not only in England, but in its trans-Oceanic colonies.
Within Dunanaughta there are two churches; the Catholic Church of St Brendan which has some notable stained glass windows, (the work of John Early of Dublin) and the Church of Ireland Church of St John the Baptist (an Anglo Gothic structure built in 1867). Meelick has the oldest Catholic church in Ireland with continuous use since 1414 AD. Clonfert has the grave of Saint Brendan "The Navigator" and Clonfert Cathedral (with its architecturally notable doorway), and a 14th-century statue of "Our Lady of Clonfert".
The Parish Church of Saint George, Belfast, more commonly known as St. George's Church, Belfast, is a Church of Ireland church located on High Street in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the oldest Church of Ireland church in Belfast. It was designed by Irish architect, John Bowden, and opened in 1816. Major refurbishment work was completed in June 2000.
Cairncastle Presbyterian Church is one of the oldest congregations of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The congregation was founded in 1646, four years after the foundation year of the Presbytery of Carrickfergus, which is the oldest presbytery in Ireland. The current minister is The Reverend Fiona Forbes, who was installed in 2014.