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The Church of Ireland's meets over three days next week (9-11 May) in Armagh. The ecclesiastical gossips are already speculating about whether this will be the Synod at which announces his retirement -- we had the same speculation last year. (His 69th birthday was last week.) The fact that Robin Eames is scheduled to speak at the Synod service in St Patrick's Cathedral on Tuesday evening has added momentum to the now-annual speculation. But the speculation is, I think, pretty unfounded. Church of Ireland law does not require the Archbishop to tender his resignation until the age of 75. Robin Eames is clearly a very fit 69 year-old, he obviously loves the job, and is now a major player within international Anglicanism. I would be very surprised if he steps down before the next Lambeth Conference (2008). Indeed, if I were a betting man, I'd wager a year's subscription to the on it.

A few of interesting debates to look out for:

(1) The Windsor Report. The Synod's Working Group, set up to respond to the 2004 , will be making a "preliminary report" on Wednesday 10 May. How will they interpret the recent developments in the Episcopal Church (USA), which look (to some) like a climb-down over the consecration of gay bishops? Will the apparent divisions in the House of Bishops over same-sex relationships become an issue for the Synod? And what of those critics who suggest that the Church of Ireland's bishops have not done enough to listen and build pastoral relationships with the gay and lesbian community, notwithstanding their commitments at the last )?

(2) The Drogheda Eucharist on isn't mentioned in the business under consideration at this Synod, but I would be surprised if it doesn't get some comment. Perhaps the natural venue would be on Thursday, when the Synod will discuss the Church's response to the document "Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ". Incidentally, the Sunday Sequence team has received an e-mail from the Reverend Michael Graham, the Church of Ireland rector who took part in that controversial Eucharist. He writes:

I simply want to correct one thing William Crawley said during his interview with Messrs Pierce and Coulter. William described me as "Anglican in the catholic tradition". This is not so - I described myself at the Mass and in subsequent items as: 'A catholic in the Anglican tradition', stressing that the Church of Ireland in the creed states that it is part of the 'one, holy, catholic and apostolic church'.

The distinction will be lost on some of our listeners, I'm sure; but we'll happily set the record straight for Mr Graham -- even though he has consistently turned down our requests for an interview.

(3) Here's a curious one. A Bil to "remove the present prohibition on the funeral service being used for those who have committed suicide [amendment of chapter IX of the Constitution]" will be considered on Tuesday 9 May. I imagine that this out-dated prohibition has been ignored for quite some time, and that the bill merely removes from the books an out-of-date law. I can't imagine that any Church of Ireland rector in recent years has refused a funeral service for someone who ended his or her own life. If you know of a case, I'd be interested to hear about it.