The
Church of Ireland ( ) is a
Christian church in
Ireland and an autonomous province of the
Anglican Communion. The church is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second-largest
Christian denomination on the island after
Roman Catholicism. Like other
Anglican churches, it has retained elements of pre-Reformation practice, notably its
episcopal polity, while rejecting the
primacy of the Bishop of Rome. Nevertheless, in theological and liturgical matters, it incorporates many principles of the
Reformation, particularly those espoused during the
English Reformation. The church self identifies as being both
Catholic and
Reformed. Within the church, differences exist between those members who are more Catholic-leaning (
high church) and those who are more Protestant-leaning (
low church or
evangelical). For historical and cultural reasons, the Church of Ireland is generally identified as a Protestant church. The Church of Ireland is the second-largest Christian tradition in the
Republic of Ireland with around 130,000 members and the third-largest in
Northern Ireland, with around 260,000 members.