A FERMANAGH man has become the youngest serving member of the Church of Ireland clergy.
Rev Scott E Elliott (29) was ordained a deacon during the summer and has now graduated with his Masters in Theology from Trinity College.
The Lisbellaw man is the first former student in Erne Integrated College’s history to be ordained.
His path to ministry has been shaped by family, community, and a deep-rooted commitment to faith that began long before his ordination.
Rev Elliott grew up on the family farm as the second of six children to James and Linda Elliott, a childhood he said gave him ‘a strong sense of family, community, and the rhythms of rural life.’
His early education at Erne Integrated Primary School and later Erne Integrated College played a formative role, grounding him in a community that would later celebrate his historic achievement.
After completing his A Levels, he followed a longstanding interest in faith, studying Theology at Queen’s University Belfast and graduating in June 2017.
He then pursued postgraduate studies at Durham University before beginning his professional life with Fermanagh and Omagh District Council.
Working first in Regulatory Services and later in Community Wellbeing, he said they were ‘years I remember with great fondness.’
But Rev Elliott’s calling continued to grow.
After leaving the council, he entered a three-year training programme for the ordained priesthood, moving to the Church of Ireland Theological Institute in Dublin at the age of 26.
“The Church of Ireland and Saint Macartin’s Cathedral, Enniskillen, has been at the very centre of my life for as long as I can remember,” he reflected.
“I was baptised, confirmed, and grew up worshipping within this community.”
Much of that early faith was nurtured by his grandmother.
“Some of my earliest memories of faith are from childhood, when my granny, Ms Lucinda M. Whitley, taught me to pray the Lord’s Prayer,” he said.
Elliott was ordained Deacon on the Feast of Pentecost in the summer of 2025 and later completed his Master’s degree in Theology at Trinity College Dublin, graduating in November.
He now serves as Curate of Limerick under the guidance of Rev Niall JW Sloane, himself once the youngest member of clergy.
Reflecting on his role, said, “I believe that your age doesn’t define you. What matters is your commitment, faith, and the way you serve your community.”
Above all, his purpose remains steady and heartfelt, “What I love most about my work is doing what I have been called to do, serving God and his people.”
