George Simms

{{Short description|Irish Anglican archbishop (1910–1991) and scholar}}

{{Infobox Christian leader

| honorific-prefix = The Most Reverend

| name = George Simms

| honorific-suffix = Ph.D.

| image =

| caption =

| church = Church of Ireland

| diocese = Armagh

| title = Archbishop of Armagh
Primate of All Ireland

| term = 1969–1980

| elected = 17 July 1969

| predecessor = James McCann

| successor = John Armstrong

| previous_post = Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross (1952–1956)
Archbishop of Dublin (1956–1969)

| ordination = 1934 (deacon)
1936 (priest)

| consecration = 28 October 1952

| consecrated_by = Arthur Barton

| birth_date = {{birth date|1910|07|04|df=y}}

| birth_place = Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

| death_date = {{death date and age|1991|11|15|1910|07|04|df=y}}

| death_place = Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

| buried = St. Maelruain's Church, Tallaght

| education =

| alma_mater =

| spouse = Mercy Felicia Gwynn

| children =

| parents = John Francis A Simms & Ottilie Sophie Stange

| religion = Anglican

| nationality = Irish

}}

George Otto Simms (4 July 1910 – 15 November 1991) was an archbishop in the Church of Ireland, and a scholar.

Early life and education

George Otto Simms was born on 4 July 1910 in North Dublin in Ireland to parents John Francis A Simms & Ottilie Sophie Stange, who were both, according to as his birth certificate, from Lifford, County Donegal. He attended the Prior School in Lifford for a time and later Cheltenham College, a public school in England. He went on to study at Trinity College Dublin, where in 1930 he was elected a Scholar and graduated with a BA in classics in 1932 and a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1936. He completed a PhD in 1950.

Clerical career

He was ordained a deacon in 1934 and a priest in 1936, beginning his ministry as a curate at St Bartholomew's, Clyde Road, Dublin under Canon W.C. Simpson.Lesley Whiteside: George Otto Simms: A Biography, (Gerrards Cross: Colin Smythe, 1990), p. 21. In 1937 he took a position in Lincoln Theological College but returned to Dublin in 1939 to become Dean of Residence in Trinity College Dublin and Chaplain Secretary of the Church of Ireland College of Education.

He was appointed Dean of Cork in 1952. Consecrated a bishop, he served as Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, between 1952 and 1956. At forty-two, he was the youngest Church of Ireland clergyman appointed to a bishopric since John Gregg in 1915.Daithí Ó Corráin, Rendering to God and Caesar: The Irish churches and the two states in Ireland, 1949–73 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2006), p. 71. He served as Archbishop of Dublin, from 1956 to 1969. During this time, he maintained a courteous relationship with John Charles McQuaid, his Roman Catholic counterpart as Archbishop of Dublin.Ibid, p. 184. From 1969 to 1980, he served as Archbishop of Armagh.

Alongside Cardinal William Conway, Simms chaired the first official ecumenical meeting between the leaders of Ireland's Protestant Churches and the Catholic Church in Ballymascanlon Hotel, Dundalk, County Louth on 26 September 1973, an important meeting amidst the increasing violence in Northern Ireland. The meeting was protested by Ian Paisley.Ibid, p. 226.

Scholarly work

Simms was a scholar, and published research on topics including the history of the Church of Ireland, and theological reflections on key texts including the Book of Kells, Saint Patrick's Breastplate, and the Sarum Primer. He was also a fluent speaker of the Irish language.Ibid, p. 81.

He was also an accomplished journalist, and the author of many newspaper obituaries. His weekly Thinking Aloud column in the Irish Times was a popular reflection, and ran continuously for thirty-eight years. He also worked on the research, preparation, and even performed the presentation, of a number of television programmes.

Recognition

In 1978 he was made an honorary fellow of Trinity College Dublin.{{cite book |last=Webb |first=D.A. |editor-first=Barlett |editor-last=J.R.|date=1992 |title=Trinity College Dublin Record Volume 1991 |location=Dublin |publisher=Trinity College Dublin Press |isbn=1-871408-07-5}}

Personal life

Simms was the uncle of mathematician David J. Simms.{{cite news|last=Guidera|first=Anita|title=Academic caught up in factory planning dispute|url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/academic-caught-up-in-factory-planning-dispute-76218.html|access-date=9 November 2012|newspaper=Irish Independent|date=1 September 2006}}

In 1941 Simms married Mercy Felicia née Gwynn (1915–1998). They had five children.{{cite web |url = https://www.dib.ie/biography/simms-george-otto-a8076 |title = Simms, George Otto |last= Milne|first= Kenneth|publisher = Dictionary of Irish Biography |location= |page= |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date = 18 January 2024 |quote= }} He died in Dublin on 15 November 1991. He is interred with his wife in the cemetery attached to St. Maelruain's Church, Tallaght, County Dublin.{{cite web | url=http://hdl.handle.net/10599/10660 | hdl=10599/10660 | title=South Dublin Village Walks - Tallaght Step 08: St. Maelruain's Church and Graveyard | date=5 September 2013 }}

Publications

For Better, for Worse, 1945
The Book of Kells: a short description, 1950
(ed with E. H. Alton and P. Meyer) The Book of Kells (facsimile edn), Berne, 1951
The Bible in Perspective, 1953
Christ within Me, 1975
Irish Illuminated Manuscripts, 1980
In My Understanding, 1982
Tullow's Story, 1983
(with R. G. F. Jenkins) Pioneers and Partners, 1985
Angels and Saints, 1988
Exploring the Book of Kells, 1988
Brendan the Navigator, 1989

References

Daithí Ó Corráin, Rendering to God and Caesar: The Irish churches and the two states in Ireland, 1949–73, (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2006).
Lesley Whiteside: George Otto Simms: A Biography, (Gerrards Cross: Colin Smythe, 1990).

{{Succession box

| title = Archbishop of Dublin

| years = 1956–1969

| before = Arthur William Barton

| after = Alan Alexander Buchanan}}

{{Succession box

| title = Archbishop of Armagh

| years = 1969– 1980

| before= James McCann

| after=John Armstrong}}

Category:1910 births

Category:1991 deaths