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Wikipedia

Church in Wales

The Church in Wales (Welsh: Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.[3]

Church in Wales
Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru
Coat of arms of the Church in Wales
TypeCommunion
ClassificationProtestant[a]
OrientationAnglican
ScriptureHoly Bible
TheologyAnglican doctrine
PolityEpiscopal
PrimateAndy John, Archbishop of Wales and Bishop of Bangor
LanguageWelsh and English
HeadquartersCardiff
TerritoryWales with 1,500 congregations[1]
Independence1920 (Disestablishment)
Members42,441 (2018)[2]
Official websitechurchinwales.org.uk
Map of the dioceses in the Church in Wales

The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The position is currently held by Andy John, Bishop of Bangor, since 2021.[4]

Unlike the Church of England, the Church in Wales is not an established church. Disestablishment took place in 1920 under the Welsh Church Act 1914.[5]

As a province of the Anglican Communion, the Church in Wales recognises the Archbishop of Canterbury as a focus of unity but without any formal authority.[6] A cleric of the Church in Wales can be appointed to posts in the Church of England, including the See of Canterbury; a former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, was from Wales and served as Archbishop of Wales before his appointment to Canterbury.

Official name

The Church in Wales (Welsh: Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) adopted its name by accident. The Welsh Church Act 1914 referred throughout to "the Church in Wales", the phrase being used to indicate the part of the Church of England within Wales. At a convention (of the Welsh Church) held in Cardiff in October 1917, Mr Justice Sankey said that, while the name "the Church of Wales" appealed to him, he advised that there were good legal reasons why the name "the Church in Wales" should be adopted, at least at first, in order to follow the wording in the act. The matter was therefore left at that convention for the second Governing Body to decide at its first session.[7]

History

Christianity in Wales can be traced back to the Romano-British period and an organised episcopal church has had continuous existence in Wales since that time. Wales became a refuge for other Britons following the pagan Anglo-Saxon invasion of what became England. The Welsh refused to co-operate with Augustine of Canterbury's mission to the Anglo-Saxons. However, a combination of other Celtic dioceses reconciling with the See of Rome and the English conquest of Wales meant that from the Middle Ages, the Welsh dioceses were part of the Province of Canterbury and also in communion with the See of Rome until the English Reformation. Afterward they were part of the Church of England until disestablishment in 1920. From the time of Henry VIII, Wales had been absorbed into England as a legal entity and the established church in Wales was the Church of England.

Disestablishment

During the 19th century, Nonconformist churches grew rapidly in Wales, and eventually the majority of Welsh Christians were Nonconformists, although the Church of England remained the largest single denomination. By the mid-19th century the failure to appoint a Welsh-speaking bishop to any Welsh diocese for 150 years caused real resentment; disestablishment was seen as a way to assert national and linguistic identity.

Under the influence of Nonconformist politicians such as David Lloyd George, the Welsh Church Act 1914 was passed by the Liberal Government to separate Anglicanism in Wales from the Church of England. The bill was fiercely resisted by members of the Conservative Party and blocked in the House of Lords, but it was eventually passed under the provisions of the Parliament Act 1911.

The opposition to disestablishment was led by the Conservative politician F. E. Smith, who characterised the disestablishment bill as "a Bill which has shocked the conscience of every Christian community in Europe." In response to this description, the writer G. K. Chesterton penned the satirical poem "Antichrist, or the Reunion of Christendom: An Ode" containing the memorable retort "Chuck It, Smith".[8]

The act both disestablished and disendowed the "Church in Wales", the term used to define the part of the Church of England which was to be separated. Disestablishment meant the end of the church's special legal status, and Welsh bishops were no longer entitled to sit in the House of Lords as Lords Spiritual. As the Church in Wales became independent of the state, tithes were no longer available to the church, leaving it without a major source of income.

Disendowment, which was even more controversial than disestablishment, meant that the endowments of the Church in Wales were partially confiscated, and redistributed to the University of Wales and local authorities. This process was carried out by the Welsh Church Commissioners in accordance with the principles set out in the Welsh Church Act 1914. Endowments before 1662 were to be confiscated; those of later date were to remain.[9] This was justified by the theory that the pre-1662 endowments had been granted to the national church of the whole population, and hence belonged to the people as a whole rather than to the Church in Wales; understandably, this reasoning was hotly contested. The date 1662 was that of the Act of Uniformity following the Restoration; it was after this point that Nonconformist congregations began to develop and the Church of England ceased to be a comprehensive national church. Although secularisation of the cathedrals had previously been suggested,[10] the Church in Wales retained all the ancient church buildings and the privilege of conducting legal marriages without reference to the civil registrar.

Due to the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the Suspensory Act 1914 was passed at the same time as the Welsh Church Act 1914, meaning that the act would not be implemented for the duration of the war. Disestablishment finally came into effect in 1920. The Church in Wales adopted a written constitution, which has been revised from time to time,[11] and elected a Governing Body which initially met once a year,[12] but now meets twice annually. The Governing Body has ultimate authority "to approve liturgies, review organizational structures, and secure firm fiscal resources for the mission and ministry of the church". The Church in Wales was one of the first members of the Anglican Communion to adopt synodical government.[13]

Since 1920

Parishes overlapping the border were allowed to vote either to accede to the Church in Wales or to continue in the Church of England; so the line of disestablishment is not the same as the border between the two countries.[14] A few districts in the former counties of Monmouthshire, Radnorshire and Flintshire remain attached to parishes in the Dioceses of Hereford and Chester and consequently they are part of the Church of England. A complete English rural deanery with the generalised name March containing Oswestry and areas to the north-west of Shrewsbury, was transferred from its historic setting in the Diocese of St Asaph to be consistent with the civil border there. The churches of St Mary, Caernarfon, and Llangadwaladr, Anglesey, were transferred from the Diocese of Chester to that of Bangor.

Today, the Church in Wales is fully independent of both the state and the Church of England. It is an independent member of the Anglican Communion, as are the Church of Ireland and the Scottish Episcopal Church.

In the first years of the 21st century, the Church in Wales has begun to engage in numerous debates. These particularly concern the appointment of women to the episcopate and the provincial recognition of the equal statuses of the Welsh and English languages in all aspects of church life.

Membership

Following disestablishment in 1920, the Church in Wales initially fared better than the Nonconformist churches, which suffered a decline during the late 20th century. In 1960 the Church claimed to have 182,854 communicants, an increase on the comparable figure of 155,911 for 1945,[15]: 107  although a reduction on the figure of 196,389 Easter communicants in 1938.[15]: 122  The Anglican Church does not have "a single definition of 'membership' in the Church in Wales."[16] In 2006 the average weekly attendance was recorded at 6,780 aged under 18 and 39,490 aged over 18. The highest attendance was at Easter, with 68,120 at worship (68,837 in 2007).[17] In 2014, the attendance in the Church in Wales was 52,021 at Easter: a decline of about 16,000 members since 2007, but an increase from 2013. Also, in 2014, nineteen churches were closed or made redundant. Overall, in 2014, the Church in Wales reported 152,000 attenders in its parishes and congregations, compared to 105,000 in 2013.[18] In 2018, the number of communicants during Easter was 46,163 and the number of persons on the Electoral Roll was 42,441.[2]

From 2015 statistics, when all "other major acts of worship" are included, the church reported having 206,000 total attenders. "Such additional services, which include civic services, family services, Remembrance, Carol and Christingle services, registered a total attendance of some 206,000 in 2015, compared with 152,000 in 2014."[19][16] In 2017, "parishes recorded 210,000 people attending other types of traditional worship, which might include civic services, family services, Remembrance, Carol and Christingle services."[20]

In 2000, membership figures taken as a percentage of the population was 1.6%.[21] Between 1996 and 2016 the number of signed-up Church in Wales members dropped from 91,247 to 45,759[22] or 1.5% out of a total population of 3,113,150[23][original research?] The number of Church in Wales members on the "Electoral Roll" dropped further to 42,441 by 2018[2][24] or 1.4% out of the total Welsh population of 3,187,203[25][26][original research?] The Anglican church claims to be the largest denomination in Wales.[27]

Structure

The polity of the Church in Wales is episcopal church governance, which is the same as other Anglican churches.

Prior to 1920, there were four dioceses in Wales, all part of the Province of Canterbury and each led by its own bishop:

Two additional dioceses were erected soon after the creation of the Church in Wales:

Monmouth was created from one of the archdeaconries of Llandaff diocese. Swansea and Brecon was created from the eastern part of the St Davids diocese, largely corresponding to the present day city and county of Swansea and the traditional counties of Breconshire and Radnorshire.

Each diocese is divided into two or three archdeaconries, with 15 of these in total. Each has an archdeacon, who is responsible to the bishop for its administration. The archdeaconries are further divided into deaneries.

Each diocese has its own cathedral, the "mother church" of the diocese and the seat of the bishop. In the cathedral are held important events such as the enthronement of a new bishop. Each cathedral has a dean, appointed to manage the cathedral, with the assistance of the chapter. Together with the archdeacons, the dean of the cathedral is one of the most prominent clerics of the diocese, after the bishop. The chapter is composed of the dean and a number of canons selected from among the clerics of the diocese.

Diocesan and episcopal coats of arms

The following episcopal coats of arms are those each bishop is privileged to carry whilst in office. The official diocesan coat of arms is identical to the episcopal version, however does not carry the mitre. With the introduction of the new logos for many of the diocese, their strict use has fallen away during recent years (generally since 2006 onwards), and as such, the coats of arms are often used synonymously.

Archbishop

Until 1920 the Welsh church was part of the Church of England and under the metropolitical jurisdiction of the archbishop of Canterbury. Since independence in 1920, the Church in Wales has been led by the Archbishop of Wales, who is both the metropolitan bishop and primate. The archbishop of Wales is elected from the currently seated diocesan bishops and continues as a diocesan after election. Although it is not necessary for every see in the Church in Wales to be filled before an archbishop may be elected, if the vacancy in a see is caused by the resignation of the archbishop, or it arises within 14 days thereafter, the vacant see must be filled before an archbishop can be elected.[28] In an archiepiscopal vacancy, the senior bishop by date of appointment is acting archbishop.[29]

A former Archbishop of Wales, Rowan Williams, became the first Welsh-born Archbishop of Canterbury. He was consecrated and enthroned as Bishop of Monmouth in 1992 and as Archbishop of Wales in 1999. He was appointed by the Queen (his appointment having been proposed by the Crown Appointments Commission) as Archbishop of Canterbury in July 2002.

Diocesan bishops

Unlike bishops in the Church of England, each bishop of the Church in Wales is elected by an "electoral college" which consists of all diocesan bishops of the church (including the archbishop), and clerical and lay representatives of all of the dioceses of the Church in Wales. The composition of the electoral college is weighted so that the diocese in which a vacancy occurs is entitled to twice the number of clerical and lay electors compared with other individual dioceses.[11] If no candidate who is considered by the electoral college obtains the support of the necessary two-thirds majority of the electors within the three consecutive days of deliberation which are allowed, the decision passes to the bench of bishops.[11] This has occurred on two of the last three occasions when a bishop has had to be chosen.[30][31][b] In 2013 the Church in Wales officially agreed to the ordination of women as bishops, five years after a previous proposal for their ordination failed in 2008.[32]

In descending order of seniority, as of 26 February 2022 (after Lomas and Stallard's consecration), the bench of Welsh bishops consists of:[c]

In addition, there is an Assistant Bishop of Bangor:

In cases where a see is vacant due to the death or translation of a bishop, episcopal acts such as ordinations and confirmations are carried out by the archbishop or by another bishop appointed for that purpose by the archbishop.

As of 2021, four of the bishops used the Welsh name of their See as their episcopal signature (Bangor, Llanelwy for St Asaph, Tyddewi for St Davids,[33] and Mynwy for Monmouth);[34] Landav derives from the Latin Landavensis and the most recent Bishop of Swansea and Brecon was Archbishop (who signs as Cambrensis, Latin for 'of Wales').

Assistant bishops

Assistant bishops may be appointed within the Church in Wales. Although there have been several assistant bishops in the diocese of Llandaff, in practice assistant bishops have been appointed in other dioceses only when the diocesan bishop is the archbishop for the time being, in order to assist them with diocesan episcopal functions. As archbishop, Barry Morgan had an Assistant Bishop of Llandaff: from April 2009 to April 2017 the post was held by David Wilbourne.[35] See also: Assistant Bishop of St Asaph. On 26 January 2022, it was announced that Mary Stallard had been appointed Assistant Bishop of Bangor, to assist Andy John in his diocesan duties while he also serves as Archbishop of Wales; her consecration is scheduled for 26 February 2022 at Bangor Cathedral.[36]

A provincial assistant bishop was appointed in 1996 to provide episcopal ministry to congregations which could not accept the ministry of bishops who ordained women. The role was analogous to the office of Provincial episcopal visitor in the Church of England. David Thomas held the position for twelve years, retiring in 2008. At that time the Bench of Bishops decided that it would not continue to appoint a specific bishop to minister to those who reject the ordination of women as priests. This point was reiterated by Barry Morgan at the Governing Body of the Church in Wales in September 2013, during the debate on whether or not the Church in Wales would ordain women to the episcopate.

Historically, there have been suffragan bishops both before and since disestablishment, including two Bishops of Swansea and one Bishop of Maenan. From 1946 until his death in 1953, Richard William Jones (Archdeacon of Llandaff and Rector of Peterston-super-Ely) was "Assistant Bishop of Wales".[37]

Representative Body

The Representative Body of the Church in Wales is responsible for the care of the church's property and for funding many of the activities of the church, including support for clergy stipends and pensions. Its somewhat misleading title - unlike the Governing Body, it is not a representative decision-making body - is derived from the fact that under the Welsh Church Act 1914 the bishops, clergy and laity were required to set up a body to "represent" them and to hold property which was transferred to them by the Welsh Church Commissioners.[38]

Governing Body

The Governing Body is responsible for decisions that affect the church's faith, order and worship. It also has powers to make regulations for the general management and good government of the church and its property and affairs. The Governing Body is the supreme legislature of the Church in Wales, broadly speaking the Parliament of the Church in Wales. It usually meets twice a year to receive reports and make decisions on matters brought before it.[39]

Worship and liturgy

The Church in Wales as a whole tends to be predominantly High Church, meaning that many of the traditions are inherited from the Oxford Movement in more rural dioceses such as St Davids and Bangor and especially in the industrial parishes of Llandaff and Monmouth. Although the province tends more toward liberal and Anglo-Catholic positions in theology and liturgy, it also has a tradition of evangelicalism, especially in the southern parts of Wales, and the university town of Aberystwyth. In the 1960s there was a revival of evangelicalism within the Church in Wales and the Evangelical Fellowship of the Church in Wales exists to support such members of the church.

Book of Common Prayer

 
The first Book of Common Prayer in Welsh published in 1567

An Act of Parliament passed in the year 1563, entitled "An Act for the Translating of the Bible and the Divine Service into the Welsh Tongue," ordered that the Old and New Testament, together with the Book of Common Prayer, were to be translated into Welsh. A translation by Richard Davies, bishop of St Davids and the scholar William Salesbury was published in 1567[40] by Humphrey Toy as Y Llyfr Gweddi Gyffredin. A new revision — based on the 1662 English prayer book and probably by George Griffith, Bishop of St Asaph - was published in 1664.[41] The 1662 prayer book and its Welsh equivalent continued to be used,[citation needed] even after the Church in Wales was disestablished in 1920.

The Church in Wales began revising the Book of Common Prayer in the 1950s. The first material authorised for experimental use was a lectionary in 1956, followed by a baptism and confirmation service in 1958, an order for Holy Matrimony in 1960, and an order for the Burial of the Dead in 1962. These did not however enjoy widespread use. In 1966 an experimental order for the Holy Eucharist was authorised. This was the first to enjoy widespread use. Revision continued throughout the 60s and 70s, with an experimental version of morning and evening prayer in 1969. In 1971 a definitive version of baptism and confirmation was authorised, replacing the equivalent in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. This was followed in 1974 with a definitive order for the Burial of the Dead, and in 1975 with a definitive order for Holy Matrimony. It was hoped that a new Book of Common Prayer for the Church in Wales would be produced in 1981. However, in 1979 a definitive version of the Holy Eucharist failed to gain a two-thirds majority in the House of Clergy and the House of Laity at the Governing Body. A light revision of the 1966 experimental Eucharist was approved by the Governing Body, and the Book of Common Prayer for use in the Church in Wales was authorised in 1984. This Prayer Book is unique in that it is in traditional English. The Church in Wales first considered a modern language Eucharist in the early 70s but this received a lukewarm reception. A modern language Eucharist (The Holy Eucharist in modern language) was authorised alongside the new prayer book in 1984, but this did not enjoy widespread use. In 1990 new initiation services were authorised, followed in 1992 by an alternative order for morning and evening prayer[42] in 1994 by an alternative order for the Holy Eucharist, in 1995 by the alternative calendar lectionary and collects, and in 1998 an order for compline was produced. These enjoyed widespread use. In 2003 a new calendar and collects was made part of the Book of Common Prayer for use in the Church in Wales. This was followed in 2004 by an order for the Holy Eucharist, services for Christian initiation in 2006 and in 2009 by daily prayer. Experimental services continued, with an ordinal produced in 2004, Ministry to the Sick and Housebound in 2007, healing services in 2008, funeral services in 2009, and in 2010 marriage services which became part of the Book of Common Prayer in 2013. The ordinal was made part of the prayer book the following year. In 2017 prayers for a child were released, together with a Revised Order for Confirmation, the latter authorised for five years experimental use following the bench of Bishops' decision to admit unconfirmed children and adults to communion.[43] In 2018 Times and Seasons was released. All of these were published on line.[44][45] The following year Funeral Services became part of the Book of Common Prayer, and additional prayers for different events in life were launched (Blessing of a home, prayers for victims of crime etc.).

Other publications

Discontinued publications which frequently provided articles of sub-academic quality were Province, Yr Haul â'r Gangell, and Y Llan. Bi-annual news from the Governing Body meeting is released in Highlights. News is predominantly circulated on the Church in Wales' provincial and diocesan websites, and in various diocesan magazines.

Doctrine and practice

Central to the teaching of the Church in Wales is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The basic teachings of the church, or catechism, include:

The balance of Scripture, tradition and reason as authority for faith and practice is traced to the work of Richard Hooker, a sixteenth-century apologist. In Hooker's model, Scripture is the primary means of arriving at doctrine, and things stated plainly in Scripture are accepted as true. Issues that are ambiguous are determined by tradition, which is checked by reason.[46]

Ordination of women

A proposal to ordain women as priests was introduced and debated in 1995 after it had failed to secure a two-thirds majority in 1994.[47] The ordination of women to the priesthood was approved by the two-thirds majority in 1996.[48] The Church in Wales has ordained women as priests since 1997.[49] Prior to 1997, women were permitted to serve as deacons.[50] The first deaconess was consecrated in 1884.[51] In 2013, the church voted to allow women to serve as bishops. In 2016, Joanna Penberthy was elected the first woman bishop in the church.[52] Penberthy was enthroned as Bishop of St Davids on 11 February 2017. As of 2020, following the enthronement of Cherry Vann as Bishop of Monmouth,[53] there were three women bishops, and three men bishops, sitting on the Welsh Bench of Bishops. This situation was maintained in 2021, with John Lomas having been elected as Bishop of Swansea and Brecon following the resignation of John Davies.[54] In 2022, Stallard's consecration as Assistant Bishop of Bangor meant that a majority of the active bishops in the Church in Wales was female, a situation presumed to be a first in any Anglican church.[55] Although a Twitter feed suggested that Stallard had joined the "Bench" of bishops, this was a loose use of terminology, as the "Bench" consists of the Archbishop and the other diocesan bishops.[56]

Same-sex unions and LGBT clergy

Beginning in the 1980s, the Church in Wales embarked on an increasingly open stand on various issues including economic justice, the ordination of women and inclusion of homosexual people. In some areas, such as human sexuality, the church establishment has faced resistance from congregations. In 2005, the church allowed gay priests to enter into civil partnerships.[57] "In the wake of civil partnerships, the Welsh Bishops sought legal advice, and told gay partnered clergy that they were welcome, as well as gay ordination candidates."[58] Speaking on such partnerships, it was communicated that “The Church in Wales has no formal view on whether people in civil partnerships who are in a sexual relationship can serve as clergy. If the issue arises, it is up to the relevant Bishop to decide."[57] Therefore, the Welsh church does not require abstinence for clergy in civil unions.[59] Regarding transgender issues, an officer announced that the church believes transgender people "should be acknowledged and celebrated in their new gender."[60] Currently, "the Church has published prayers that may be said with a couple following the celebration of a [same-sex] civil partnership or civil marriage."[61]

Currently, "the Church in Wales is much more liberal on this issue [than the Church of England]" and is discussing the possibility of blessing or performing same-sex marriages.[62] In 2018, the Welsh Bishops released a statement saying it was "unjust" to not offer formal provision for same-sex marriages and civil partnerships.[63] Following the bishops' announcement, the General Synod voted in favour of requesting formal provision for same-sex couples.[64] The Welsh Church has decided to move forward with possibly offering same-sex marriage and blessing rites for same-sex unions.[65] The Diocese of St. Asaph provides a chaplaincy and services for LGBT people.[66] The Very Revd Jeffrey John, who is openly gay and in a civil union, was nearly elected bishop of Llandaff when he "won more than half of a Church in Wales electoral college, but fell short of the two-thirds majority required."[67] As of 2020, the Church in Wales has approved the consecration of a bishop, Bishop Cherry Vann, who is openly lesbian and in a civil partnership.[68][69]

"The Anglican Church In Wales took the first steps towards allowing clergy to celebrate same sex marriage in its churches when more than half its Governing Body voted in favour of the move."[70] In the 2016 results, 52% of the Governing Body voted in favour of allowing same-sex marriages in church.[71] "Members of the Church in Wales Governing Body voted 61 in favour of gay marriages in church, nine in favour of blessing gay partnerships and 50 for making no change."[72] As a result of the majority support for same-sex couples, but not a two-thirds majority needed to create a same-sex marriage ceremony, the church's Bench of Bishops affirmed members in same-sex relationships and "published a series of prayers which may be said with a couple following the celebration of a civil partnership or civil marriage."[73][74][75] The service, in Form One, gives God thanks "for [the two people] who have found such love and companionship in each other, that it has led them to dedicate their lives in support of one another."[76] In September 2021, the Church in Wales voted to "formally bless same-sex couples" instead (by way of debate and compromise) – but still not legally recognising same-sex marriage within titles of the Church officially.[77][78][79]

Ecumenical relations

Following the similar step taken by the Church of England in 1932, and other Anglican provinces, the Church in Wales entered into intercommunion with the Old Catholics in 1937.[80] The Church in Wales has also been a member of the Porvoo Communion since September 1995.[81] Because of the Anglo-Catholic dominance, relations with the Free Churches (formerly known during establishment times as Nonconformists), ecumenical progress has been slower in Wales than in England.[citation needed] The Church in Wales is a member of the Covenanted Churches in Wales.[82] A covenant (with church unity as an ultimate goal) was signed by the Church in Wales, the Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church of Wales, the United Reformed Church, and some Baptist churches in 1982 under the title of Enfys ("rainbow").

See also

Notes

  1. ^ With various theological and doctrinal identities, including Anglo-Catholic, Liberal and Evangelical
  2. ^ The failure of the electoral college to elect a new Bishop of Swansea and Brecon in September 2021 brought about the unusual situation where the choice of a new bishop fell to a body with a majority of female members.
  3. ^ Although Press Releases of the Church in Wales suggest that Mary Stallard is a member of the bench of Bishops, the Constitution of the Church in Wales (Chapter I; Part II - 7) clearly defines "Bench of Bishops" as meaning "the Archbishop and the other Diocesan Bishops"

References

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Sources

  • Muss-Arnolt, William (1914). The Book of Common Prayer Among the Nations of the World: A History of Translations of the Prayer Book of the Church of England and of the Protestant Episcopal Church of America...a Study Based Mainly on the Collection of Josiah Henry Benton. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

Further reading

  • D T W Price, A History of the Church in Wales in the Twentieth Century (Church in Wales Publications, 1990)
  • Charles A H Green, DD, The Setting of the Constitution of the Church in Wales (Sweet and Maxwell, 1937)

External links

  • Church in Wales website
  • Church Heritage Cymru: online database of Church in Wales churches
  • Text of the Welsh Church Act 1914 (4 & 5 Geo. 5 c. 91 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

church, wales, welsh, eglwys, nghymru, anglican, church, wales, composed, dioceses, eglwys, nghymrucoat, arms, typecommunionclassificationprotestant, orientationanglicanscriptureholy, bibletheologyanglican, doctrinepolityepiscopalprimateandy, john, archbishop,. The Church in Wales Welsh Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru is an Anglican church in Wales composed of six dioceses 3 Church in WalesYr Eglwys yng NghymruCoat of arms of the Church in WalesTypeCommunionClassificationProtestant a OrientationAnglicanScriptureHoly BibleTheologyAnglican doctrinePolityEpiscopalPrimateAndy John Archbishop of Wales and Bishop of BangorLanguageWelsh and EnglishHeadquartersCardiffTerritoryWales with 1 500 congregations 1 Independence1920 Disestablishment Members42 441 2018 2 Official websitechurchinwales org ukMap of the dioceses in the Church in Wales The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops The position is currently held by Andy John Bishop of Bangor since 2021 4 Unlike the Church of England the Church in Wales is not an established church Disestablishment took place in 1920 under the Welsh Church Act 1914 5 As a province of the Anglican Communion the Church in Wales recognises the Archbishop of Canterbury as a focus of unity but without any formal authority 6 A cleric of the Church in Wales can be appointed to posts in the Church of England including the See of Canterbury a former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams was from Wales and served as Archbishop of Wales before his appointment to Canterbury Contents 1 Official name 2 History 2 1 Disestablishment 2 2 Since 1920 3 Membership 4 Structure 4 1 Diocesan and episcopal coats of arms 4 2 Archbishop 4 3 Diocesan bishops 4 4 Assistant bishops 4 5 Representative Body 4 6 Governing Body 5 Worship and liturgy 5 1 Book of Common Prayer 5 2 Other publications 6 Doctrine and practice 6 1 Ordination of women 6 2 Same sex unions and LGBT clergy 6 3 Ecumenical relations 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 Sources 11 Further reading 12 External linksOfficial name EditThe Church in Wales Welsh Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru adopted its name by accident The Welsh Church Act 1914 referred throughout to the Church in Wales the phrase being used to indicate the part of the Church of England within Wales At a convention of the Welsh Church held in Cardiff in October 1917 Mr Justice Sankey said that while the name the Church of Wales appealed to him he advised that there were good legal reasons why the name the Church in Wales should be adopted at least at first in order to follow the wording in the act The matter was therefore left at that convention for the second Governing Body to decide at its first session 7 History EditSee also Celtic Christian traditions in Gwynedd Christianity in Wales can be traced back to the Romano British period and an organised episcopal church has had continuous existence in Wales since that time Wales became a refuge for other Britons following the pagan Anglo Saxon invasion of what became England The Welsh refused to co operate with Augustine of Canterbury s mission to the Anglo Saxons However a combination of other Celtic dioceses reconciling with the See of Rome and the English conquest of Wales meant that from the Middle Ages the Welsh dioceses were part of the Province of Canterbury and also in communion with the See of Rome until the English Reformation Afterward they were part of the Church of England until disestablishment in 1920 From the time of Henry VIII Wales had been absorbed into England as a legal entity and the established church in Wales was the Church of England Disestablishment Edit See also Welsh Church Act 1914 Welsh Church Temporalities Act 1919 Welsh Church Commissioners and Disestablishmentarianism F E Smith later 1st Earl of Birkenhead opposed disestablishment During the 19th century Nonconformist churches grew rapidly in Wales and eventually the majority of Welsh Christians were Nonconformists although the Church of England remained the largest single denomination By the mid 19th century the failure to appoint a Welsh speaking bishop to any Welsh diocese for 150 years caused real resentment disestablishment was seen as a way to assert national and linguistic identity Under the influence of Nonconformist politicians such as David Lloyd George the Welsh Church Act 1914 was passed by the Liberal Government to separate Anglicanism in Wales from the Church of England The bill was fiercely resisted by members of the Conservative Party and blocked in the House of Lords but it was eventually passed under the provisions of the Parliament Act 1911 The opposition to disestablishment was led by the Conservative politician F E Smith who characterised the disestablishment bill as a Bill which has shocked the conscience of every Christian community in Europe In response to this description the writer G K Chesterton penned the satirical poem Antichrist or the Reunion of Christendom An Ode containing the memorable retort Chuck It Smith 8 The act both disestablished and disendowed the Church in Wales the term used to define the part of the Church of England which was to be separated Disestablishment meant the end of the church s special legal status and Welsh bishops were no longer entitled to sit in the House of Lords as Lords Spiritual As the Church in Wales became independent of the state tithes were no longer available to the church leaving it without a major source of income Disendowment which was even more controversial than disestablishment meant that the endowments of the Church in Wales were partially confiscated and redistributed to the University of Wales and local authorities This process was carried out by the Welsh Church Commissioners in accordance with the principles set out in the Welsh Church Act 1914 Endowments before 1662 were to be confiscated those of later date were to remain 9 This was justified by the theory that the pre 1662 endowments had been granted to the national church of the whole population and hence belonged to the people as a whole rather than to the Church in Wales understandably this reasoning was hotly contested The date 1662 was that of the Act of Uniformity following the Restoration it was after this point that Nonconformist congregations began to develop and the Church of England ceased to be a comprehensive national church Although secularisation of the cathedrals had previously been suggested 10 the Church in Wales retained all the ancient church buildings and the privilege of conducting legal marriages without reference to the civil registrar Due to the outbreak of World War I in 1914 the Suspensory Act 1914 was passed at the same time as the Welsh Church Act 1914 meaning that the act would not be implemented for the duration of the war Disestablishment finally came into effect in 1920 The Church in Wales adopted a written constitution which has been revised from time to time 11 and elected a Governing Body which initially met once a year 12 but now meets twice annually The Governing Body has ultimate authority to approve liturgies review organizational structures and secure firm fiscal resources for the mission and ministry of the church The Church in Wales was one of the first members of the Anglican Communion to adopt synodical government 13 Since 1920 Edit Parishes overlapping the border were allowed to vote either to accede to the Church in Wales or to continue in the Church of England so the line of disestablishment is not the same as the border between the two countries 14 A few districts in the former counties of Monmouthshire Radnorshire and Flintshire remain attached to parishes in the Dioceses of Hereford and Chester and consequently they are part of the Church of England A complete English rural deanery with the generalised name March containing Oswestry and areas to the north west of Shrewsbury was transferred from its historic setting in the Diocese of St Asaph to be consistent with the civil border there The churches of St Mary Caernarfon and Llangadwaladr Anglesey were transferred from the Diocese of Chester to that of Bangor Today the Church in Wales is fully independent of both the state and the Church of England It is an independent member of the Anglican Communion as are the Church of Ireland and the Scottish Episcopal Church In the first years of the 21st century the Church in Wales has begun to engage in numerous debates These particularly concern the appointment of women to the episcopate and the provincial recognition of the equal statuses of the Welsh and English languages in all aspects of church life Membership EditFollowing disestablishment in 1920 the Church in Wales initially fared better than the Nonconformist churches which suffered a decline during the late 20th century In 1960 the Church claimed to have 182 854 communicants an increase on the comparable figure of 155 911 for 1945 15 107 although a reduction on the figure of 196 389 Easter communicants in 1938 15 122 The Anglican Church does not have a single definition of membership in the Church in Wales 16 In 2006 the average weekly attendance was recorded at 6 780 aged under 18 and 39 490 aged over 18 The highest attendance was at Easter with 68 120 at worship 68 837 in 2007 17 In 2014 the attendance in the Church in Wales was 52 021 at Easter a decline of about 16 000 members since 2007 but an increase from 2013 Also in 2014 nineteen churches were closed or made redundant Overall in 2014 the Church in Wales reported 152 000 attenders in its parishes and congregations compared to 105 000 in 2013 18 In 2018 the number of communicants during Easter was 46 163 and the number of persons on the Electoral Roll was 42 441 2 From 2015 statistics when all other major acts of worship are included the church reported having 206 000 total attenders Such additional services which include civic services family services Remembrance Carol and Christingle services registered a total attendance of some 206 000 in 2015 compared with 152 000 in 2014 19 16 In 2017 parishes recorded 210 000 people attending other types of traditional worship which might include civic services family services Remembrance Carol and Christingle services 20 In 2000 membership figures taken as a percentage of the population was 1 6 21 Between 1996 and 2016 the number of signed up Church in Wales members dropped from 91 247 to 45 759 22 or 1 5 out of a total population of 3 113 150 23 original research The number of Church in Wales members on the Electoral Roll dropped further to 42 441 by 2018 2 24 or 1 4 out of the total Welsh population of 3 187 203 25 26 original research The Anglican church claims to be the largest denomination in Wales 27 Structure EditSee also List of Anglican dioceses in the United Kingdom and Ireland Flag of the Church in Wales The polity of the Church in Wales is episcopal church governance which is the same as other Anglican churches Prior to 1920 there were four dioceses in Wales all part of the Province of Canterbury and each led by its own bishop The Diocese of Bangor The Diocese of St Asaph The Diocese of St Davids The Diocese of LlandaffTwo additional dioceses were erected soon after the creation of the Church in Wales The Diocese of Monmouth in 1921 The Diocese of Swansea and Brecon in 1923Monmouth was created from one of the archdeaconries of Llandaff diocese Swansea and Brecon was created from the eastern part of the St Davids diocese largely corresponding to the present day city and county of Swansea and the traditional counties of Breconshire and Radnorshire Each diocese is divided into two or three archdeaconries with 15 of these in total Each has an archdeacon who is responsible to the bishop for its administration The archdeaconries are further divided into deaneries Each diocese has its own cathedral the mother church of the diocese and the seat of the bishop In the cathedral are held important events such as the enthronement of a new bishop Each cathedral has a dean appointed to manage the cathedral with the assistance of the chapter Together with the archdeacons the dean of the cathedral is one of the most prominent clerics of the diocese after the bishop The chapter is composed of the dean and a number of canons selected from among the clerics of the diocese Diocesan and episcopal coats of arms Edit The following episcopal coats of arms are those each bishop is privileged to carry whilst in office The official diocesan coat of arms is identical to the episcopal version however does not carry the mitre With the introduction of the new logos for many of the diocese their strict use has fallen away during recent years generally since 2006 onwards and as such the coats of arms are often used synonymously Bangor St Asaph St Davids Swansea and Brecon Monmouth Llandaff CombinedArchbishop Edit Until 1920 the Welsh church was part of the Church of England and under the metropolitical jurisdiction of the archbishop of Canterbury Since independence in 1920 the Church in Wales has been led by the Archbishop of Wales who is both the metropolitan bishop and primate The archbishop of Wales is elected from the currently seated diocesan bishops and continues as a diocesan after election Although it is not necessary for every see in the Church in Wales to be filled before an archbishop may be elected if the vacancy in a see is caused by the resignation of the archbishop or it arises within 14 days thereafter the vacant see must be filled before an archbishop can be elected 28 In an archiepiscopal vacancy the senior bishop by date of appointment is acting archbishop 29 A former Archbishop of Wales Rowan Williams became the first Welsh born Archbishop of Canterbury He was consecrated and enthroned as Bishop of Monmouth in 1992 and as Archbishop of Wales in 1999 He was appointed by the Queen his appointment having been proposed by the Crown Appointments Commission as Archbishop of Canterbury in July 2002 Diocesan bishops Edit Unlike bishops in the Church of England each bishop of the Church in Wales is elected by an electoral college which consists of all diocesan bishops of the church including the archbishop and clerical and lay representatives of all of the dioceses of the Church in Wales The composition of the electoral college is weighted so that the diocese in which a vacancy occurs is entitled to twice the number of clerical and lay electors compared with other individual dioceses 11 If no candidate who is considered by the electoral college obtains the support of the necessary two thirds majority of the electors within the three consecutive days of deliberation which are allowed the decision passes to the bench of bishops 11 This has occurred on two of the last three occasions when a bishop has had to be chosen 30 31 b In 2013 the Church in Wales officially agreed to the ordination of women as bishops five years after a previous proposal for their ordination failed in 2008 32 In descending order of seniority as of 26 February 2022 after Lomas and Stallard s consecration the bench of Welsh bishops consists of c Andy John Bishop of Bangor and Archbishop of Wales Gregory Cameron Bishop of St Asaph Joanna Penberthy Bishop of St Davids June Osborne Bishop of Llandaff Cherry Vann Bishop of Monmouth John Lomas Bishop of Swansea and Brecon In addition there is an Assistant Bishop of Bangor Mary Stallard Assistant Bishop of Bangor and Archdeacon of Bangor In cases where a see is vacant due to the death or translation of a bishop episcopal acts such as ordinations and confirmations are carried out by the archbishop or by another bishop appointed for that purpose by the archbishop As of 2021 update four of the bishops used the Welsh name of their See as their episcopal signature Bangor Llanelwy for St Asaph Tyddewi for St Davids 33 and Mynwy for Monmouth 34 Landav derives from the Latin Landavensis and the most recent Bishop of Swansea and Brecon was Archbishop who signs as Cambrensis Latin for of Wales Assistant bishops Edit Assistant bishops may be appointed within the Church in Wales Although there have been several assistant bishops in the diocese of Llandaff in practice assistant bishops have been appointed in other dioceses only when the diocesan bishop is the archbishop for the time being in order to assist them with diocesan episcopal functions As archbishop Barry Morgan had an Assistant Bishop of Llandaff from April 2009 to April 2017 the post was held by David Wilbourne 35 See also Assistant Bishop of St Asaph On 26 January 2022 it was announced that Mary Stallard had been appointed Assistant Bishop of Bangor to assist Andy John in his diocesan duties while he also serves as Archbishop of Wales her consecration is scheduled for 26 February 2022 at Bangor Cathedral 36 A provincial assistant bishop was appointed in 1996 to provide episcopal ministry to congregations which could not accept the ministry of bishops who ordained women The role was analogous to the office of Provincial episcopal visitor in the Church of England David Thomas held the position for twelve years retiring in 2008 At that time the Bench of Bishops decided that it would not continue to appoint a specific bishop to minister to those who reject the ordination of women as priests This point was reiterated by Barry Morgan at the Governing Body of the Church in Wales in September 2013 during the debate on whether or not the Church in Wales would ordain women to the episcopate Historically there have been suffragan bishops both before and since disestablishment including two Bishops of Swansea and one Bishop of Maenan From 1946 until his death in 1953 Richard William Jones Archdeacon of Llandaff and Rector of Peterston super Ely was Assistant Bishop of Wales 37 Representative Body Edit The Representative Body of the Church in Wales is responsible for the care of the church s property and for funding many of the activities of the church including support for clergy stipends and pensions Its somewhat misleading title unlike the Governing Body it is not a representative decision making body is derived from the fact that under the Welsh Church Act 1914 the bishops clergy and laity were required to set up a body to represent them and to hold property which was transferred to them by the Welsh Church Commissioners 38 Governing Body Edit The Governing Body is responsible for decisions that affect the church s faith order and worship It also has powers to make regulations for the general management and good government of the church and its property and affairs The Governing Body is the supreme legislature of the Church in Wales broadly speaking the Parliament of the Church in Wales It usually meets twice a year to receive reports and make decisions on matters brought before it 39 Worship and liturgy EditThe Church in Wales as a whole tends to be predominantly High Church meaning that many of the traditions are inherited from the Oxford Movement in more rural dioceses such as St Davids and Bangor and especially in the industrial parishes of Llandaff and Monmouth Although the province tends more toward liberal and Anglo Catholic positions in theology and liturgy it also has a tradition of evangelicalism especially in the southern parts of Wales and the university town of Aberystwyth In the 1960s there was a revival of evangelicalism within the Church in Wales and the Evangelical Fellowship of the Church in Wales exists to support such members of the church Book of Common Prayer Edit The first Book of Common Prayer in Welsh published in 1567 An Act of Parliament passed in the year 1563 entitled An Act for the Translating of the Bible and the Divine Service into the Welsh Tongue ordered that the Old and New Testament together with the Book of Common Prayer were to be translated into Welsh A translation by Richard Davies bishop of St Davids and the scholar William Salesbury was published in 1567 40 by Humphrey Toy as Y Llyfr Gweddi Gyffredin A new revision based on the 1662 English prayer book and probably by George Griffith Bishop of St Asaph was published in 1664 41 The 1662 prayer book and its Welsh equivalent continued to be used citation needed even after the Church in Wales was disestablished in 1920 The Church in Wales began revising the Book of Common Prayer in the 1950s The first material authorised for experimental use was a lectionary in 1956 followed by a baptism and confirmation service in 1958 an order for Holy Matrimony in 1960 and an order for the Burial of the Dead in 1962 These did not however enjoy widespread use In 1966 an experimental order for the Holy Eucharist was authorised This was the first to enjoy widespread use Revision continued throughout the 60s and 70s with an experimental version of morning and evening prayer in 1969 In 1971 a definitive version of baptism and confirmation was authorised replacing the equivalent in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer This was followed in 1974 with a definitive order for the Burial of the Dead and in 1975 with a definitive order for Holy Matrimony It was hoped that a new Book of Common Prayer for the Church in Wales would be produced in 1981 However in 1979 a definitive version of the Holy Eucharist failed to gain a two thirds majority in the House of Clergy and the House of Laity at the Governing Body A light revision of the 1966 experimental Eucharist was approved by the Governing Body and the Book of Common Prayer for use in the Church in Wales was authorised in 1984 This Prayer Book is unique in that it is in traditional English The Church in Wales first considered a modern language Eucharist in the early 70s but this received a lukewarm reception A modern language Eucharist The Holy Eucharist in modern language was authorised alongside the new prayer book in 1984 but this did not enjoy widespread use In 1990 new initiation services were authorised followed in 1992 by an alternative order for morning and evening prayer 42 in 1994 by an alternative order for the Holy Eucharist in 1995 by the alternative calendar lectionary and collects and in 1998 an order for compline was produced These enjoyed widespread use In 2003 a new calendar and collects was made part of the Book of Common Prayer for use in the Church in Wales This was followed in 2004 by an order for the Holy Eucharist services for Christian initiation in 2006 and in 2009 by daily prayer Experimental services continued with an ordinal produced in 2004 Ministry to the Sick and Housebound in 2007 healing services in 2008 funeral services in 2009 and in 2010 marriage services which became part of the Book of Common Prayer in 2013 The ordinal was made part of the prayer book the following year In 2017 prayers for a child were released together with a Revised Order for Confirmation the latter authorised for five years experimental use following the bench of Bishops decision to admit unconfirmed children and adults to communion 43 In 2018 Times and Seasons was released All of these were published on line 44 45 The following year Funeral Services became part of the Book of Common Prayer and additional prayers for different events in life were launched Blessing of a home prayers for victims of crime etc Other publications Edit Discontinued publications which frequently provided articles of sub academic quality were Province Yr Haul a r Gangell and Y Llan Bi annual news from the Governing Body meeting is released in Highlights News is predominantly circulated on the Church in Wales provincial and diocesan websites and in various diocesan magazines Doctrine and practice EditSee also Anglicanism and Anglican doctrine Central to the teaching of the Church in Wales is the life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ The basic teachings of the church or catechism include Jesus Christ is fully human and fully God He died and was resurrected from the dead Jesus continues to provide the way to eternal life for those who believe The Old and New Testaments were written by people under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit The Apocrypha are additional books that are used in Christian worship but not for the formation of doctrine The two great and necessary sacraments are Holy Baptism and Holy Eucharist Other sacramental rites are confirmation holy orders matrimony reconciliation of a penitent and anointing of the sick Belief in heaven hell and Jesus return in glory The balance of Scripture tradition and reason as authority for faith and practice is traced to the work of Richard Hooker a sixteenth century apologist In Hooker s model Scripture is the primary means of arriving at doctrine and things stated plainly in Scripture are accepted as true Issues that are ambiguous are determined by tradition which is checked by reason 46 Ordination of women Edit A proposal to ordain women as priests was introduced and debated in 1995 after it had failed to secure a two thirds majority in 1994 47 The ordination of women to the priesthood was approved by the two thirds majority in 1996 48 The Church in Wales has ordained women as priests since 1997 49 Prior to 1997 women were permitted to serve as deacons 50 The first deaconess was consecrated in 1884 51 In 2013 the church voted to allow women to serve as bishops In 2016 Joanna Penberthy was elected the first woman bishop in the church 52 Penberthy was enthroned as Bishop of St Davids on 11 February 2017 As of 2020 following the enthronement of Cherry Vann as Bishop of Monmouth 53 there were three women bishops and three men bishops sitting on the Welsh Bench of Bishops This situation was maintained in 2021 with John Lomas having been elected as Bishop of Swansea and Brecon following the resignation of John Davies 54 In 2022 Stallard s consecration as Assistant Bishop of Bangor meant that a majority of the active bishops in the Church in Wales was female a situation presumed to be a first in any Anglican church 55 Although a Twitter feed suggested that Stallard had joined the Bench of bishops this was a loose use of terminology as the Bench consists of the Archbishop and the other diocesan bishops 56 Same sex unions and LGBT clergy Edit See also Homosexuality and the Anglican Communion Beginning in the 1980s the Church in Wales embarked on an increasingly open stand on various issues including economic justice the ordination of women and inclusion of homosexual people In some areas such as human sexuality the church establishment has faced resistance from congregations In 2005 the church allowed gay priests to enter into civil partnerships 57 In the wake of civil partnerships the Welsh Bishops sought legal advice and told gay partnered clergy that they were welcome as well as gay ordination candidates 58 Speaking on such partnerships it was communicated that The Church in Wales has no formal view on whether people in civil partnerships who are in a sexual relationship can serve as clergy If the issue arises it is up to the relevant Bishop to decide 57 Therefore the Welsh church does not require abstinence for clergy in civil unions 59 Regarding transgender issues an officer announced that the church believes transgender people should be acknowledged and celebrated in their new gender 60 Currently the Church has published prayers that may be said with a couple following the celebration of a same sex civil partnership or civil marriage 61 Currently the Church in Wales is much more liberal on this issue than the Church of England and is discussing the possibility of blessing or performing same sex marriages 62 In 2018 the Welsh Bishops released a statement saying it was unjust to not offer formal provision for same sex marriages and civil partnerships 63 Following the bishops announcement the General Synod voted in favour of requesting formal provision for same sex couples 64 The Welsh Church has decided to move forward with possibly offering same sex marriage and blessing rites for same sex unions 65 The Diocese of St Asaph provides a chaplaincy and services for LGBT people 66 The Very Revd Jeffrey John who is openly gay and in a civil union was nearly elected bishop of Llandaff when he won more than half of a Church in Wales electoral college but fell short of the two thirds majority required 67 As of 2020 the Church in Wales has approved the consecration of a bishop Bishop Cherry Vann who is openly lesbian and in a civil partnership 68 69 The Anglican Church In Wales took the first steps towards allowing clergy to celebrate same sex marriage in its churches when more than half its Governing Body voted in favour of the move 70 In the 2016 results 52 of the Governing Body voted in favour of allowing same sex marriages in church 71 Members of the Church in Wales Governing Body voted 61 in favour of gay marriages in church nine in favour of blessing gay partnerships and 50 for making no change 72 As a result of the majority support for same sex couples but not a two thirds majority needed to create a same sex marriage ceremony the church s Bench of Bishops affirmed members in same sex relationships and published a series of prayers which may be said with a couple following the celebration of a civil partnership or civil marriage 73 74 75 The service in Form One gives God thanks for the two people who have found such love and companionship in each other that it has led them to dedicate their lives in support of one another 76 In September 2021 the Church in Wales voted to formally bless same sex couples instead by way of debate and compromise but still not legally recognising same sex marriage within titles of the Church officially 77 78 79 Ecumenical relations Edit Following the similar step taken by the Church of England in 1932 and other Anglican provinces the Church in Wales entered into intercommunion with the Old Catholics in 1937 80 The Church in Wales has also been a member of the Porvoo Communion since September 1995 81 Because of the Anglo Catholic dominance relations with the Free Churches formerly known during establishment times as Nonconformists ecumenical progress has been slower in Wales than in England citation needed The Church in Wales is a member of the Covenanted Churches in Wales 82 A covenant with church unity as an ultimate goal was signed by the Church in Wales the Methodist Church the Presbyterian Church of Wales the United Reformed Church and some Baptist churches in 1982 under the title of Enfys rainbow See also EditCytun Churches Together in Wales List of archdeacons in the Church in Wales List of Church in Wales churches Religion in WalesNotes Edit With various theological and doctrinal identities including Anglo Catholic Liberal and Evangelical The failure of the electoral college to elect a new Bishop of Swansea and Brecon in September 2021 brought about the unusual situation where the choice of a new bishop fell to a body with a majority of female members Although Press Releases of the Church in Wales suggest that Mary Stallard is a member of the bench of Bishops the Constitution of the Church in Wales Chapter I Part II 7 clearly defines Bench of Bishops as meaning the Archbishop and the other Diocesan Bishops References Edit Representative Body churchinwales org uk Church in Wales Archived from the original on 24 April 2017 Retrieved 11 February 2016 a b c Church in Wales Membership amp Finance 2018 Y Catechism Amelinelliad o r Ffydd The Catechism An Outline of the Faith Section III clause 25 p 7 Caerdydd Cardiff Gwasg yr Eglwys yng Nghymru Church in Wales Publications 1993 New Archbishop of Wales elected Archived from the original on 6 December 2021 Retrieved 6 December 2021 Welsh Church Act 1914 Legislation gov uk Retrieved 2 June 2021 Except for residual roles in ecclesiastical court to try the archbishop as metropolitan and the appointment of notaries and the granting of Special Marriage Licences s 6 Welsh Church Temporalities Act 1919 Both these functions formed part of the jurisdiction of the Papal Legate which were transferred to the Archbishop of Canterbury at the Reformation Owen Eluned E 1961 The Later Life of Bishop Owen Llandyssul Gomerian Press p 349 Antichrist or the Reunion of Christendom An Ode Welsh Church Act 1914 Legislation gov uk Retrieved 2 June 2021 Welsh Disestablishment Bill 1894 see Morgan Kenneth O 1966 Freedom or Sacrilege A History of the Campaign for Welsh Disestablishment Penarth Church in Wales Publications p 18 a b c Church in Wales The Constitution Retrieved 8 September 2021 Green Charles A H 1937 The Setting of the Constitution of the Church in Wales London Sweet and Maxwell p 365 Markham Ian S Hawkins J Barney Terry Justyn Steffensen Leslie Nunez 2013 The Wiley Blackwell Companion to the Anglican Communion John Wiley amp Sons pp 521 523 ISBN 978 1 118 32086 0 Eighteen cross border parishes remained in the Church of England and were exempt from disestablishment The First Report of the Commissioners for Church Temporalities in Wales 1914 16 Cd 8166 p 5 Second Report of the Commissioners for Church Temporalities in Wales 1917 18 Cd 8472 viii 93 p 4 a b Norman Doe 5 March 2020 A New History of the Church in Wales Governance and Ministry Theology and Society Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 1 108 49957 6 a b The Church in Wales Membership and Finances PDF churchinwales org uk 2017 Retrieved 17 September 2018 churchinwales org uk Archived 14 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine Church in Wales Membership and Finances PDF www churchinwales org uk Church in Wales Retrieved 1 November 2015 Church in Wales Membership and Finances 2015 PDF churchinwales org uk Church in Wales 2016 Retrieved 27 September 2016 The Church in Wales Membership and Finances 2017 PDF churchinwales org uk 2017 Figure 3 Anglican Church Membership as Percentage of Population Church in Wales Statistics Wales National level population estimates by year Archived from the original on 23 August 2021 Retrieved 13 October 2019 Church in Wales annual report on membership and finance for 2018 page 4 UK population Wales Membership Finance 2019 Office Anglican Communion Member Church Wales www anglicancommunion org Retrieved 30 January 2018 https www churchinwales org uk en clergy and members constitution chapter v regulations relating archbishop and diocesan bishops Constitution of the Church in Wales Chapter V Regulations thereto Regs 5 2 5 3 Accessed 2 June 2021 Constitution of the Church in Wales Chapter V The Archbishop and the Diocesan Bishops 7 1 Archived from the original on 21 September 2022 Retrieved 21 September 2022 June Osborne announced as new Bishop of Llandaff BBC News 27 April 2017 Retrieved 8 September 2021 Bishop of Swansea and Brecon appointment process Church in Wales 13 September 2021 Archived from the original on 21 September 2022 Retrieved 21 September 2022 Female Bishops approved by Church in Wales The Guardian 12 September 2013 Explanatory Memorandum PDF Church in Wales 26 November 2020 Archived from the original PDF on 7 September 2021 Retrieved 22 February 2022 Amendments Proposed by Governing Body Members PDF Church in Wales 2021 Archived from the original PDF on 7 September 2021 Retrieved 22 February 2022 Bishops biodata Archived 7 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Church in Wales website Assistant Bishop of Bangor announced Church in Wales 26 January 2022 Archived from the original on 26 January 2022 Retrieved 26 January 2022 Jones Richard William Who s Who ukwhoswho com A amp C Black an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc Subscription or UK public library membership required Welsh Church Act 1914 s 13 2 Legislation gov uk Retrieved 2 July 2021 Wales The Church in Governing Body The Church in Wales Procter F Frere W H 1902 A New History of the Book of Common Prayer St Martin s Press p 125 Muss Arnolt 1914 Ch VII Wales The Church in Morning amp Evening prayer an alternative order The Church in Wales Confirmation Revised Order for 2017 Wales The Church in Child Prayers for a The Church in Wales Wales The Church in Times and Seasons vol 1 Advent to Candlemas The Church in Wales Anglican Listening Archived 5 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine goes into detail on how scripture tradition and reason work to uphold and critique each other in a dynamic way Welsh plan for women priests The Independent 16 April 1995 Retrieved 30 March 2018 Herd George 2017 Church marks 20 years of women priests BBC News Retrieved 30 March 2018 Church in Wales Celebrates Ten Years of Women Priests www christiantoday com Retrieved 2 November 2016 Welsh women deacons made priests The Irish Times Retrieved 2 November 2016 Crossing Thresholds history of women s ministry in Wales The Church in Wales The Church in Wales Archived from the original on 30 March 2018 Retrieved 30 March 2018 Canon Joanna Penberthy elected Wales first woman bishop BBC News 2 November 2016 Retrieved 2 November 2016 New Bishop of Monmouth Cherry Vann enthroned in Newport South Wales Argus 1 February 2020 Retrieved 3 February 2020 Former Navy aircraft engineer appointed Bishop Church in Wales 4 November 2021 Retrieved 7 December 2021 Twitter Church in Wales Accessed 3 March 2022 Constitution of the Church in Wales Chapter I General and definitions and interpretation Part II Definitions and interpretation 7 Archived from the original on 21 September 2022 Retrieved 21 September 2022 a b Church in Wales looks at pension rights for clerics partners 15 September 2011 Retrieved 6 September 2016 Gay marriage in the Church in Wales and the issue of bisexuality www churchtimes co uk Retrieved 28 April 2018 Leading Gay Cleric Jeffrey John Narrowly Rejected As Bishop In Wales www christiantoday com Retrieved 9 April 2017 Williamson David 23 April 2009 Funding sex change therapy in Wales is a life saver says transgender journalist Retrieved 16 September 2016 James David 6 April 2016 The Church in Wales has apologised to gay and lesbian people walesonline Retrieved 2 June 2017 Gay marriage MP Bryant says church stance wrong 15 January 2016 Retrieved 29 May 2016 Williamson David 12 September 2018 Gay marriage in Welsh churches Welsh bishops say it is unjust not to walesonline Retrieved 13 September 2018 Provision explored for same sex couples BBC News 12 September 2018 Retrieved 13 September 2018 Premier 13 September 2018 Church in Wales to consider allowing gay marriage Premier Premier Retrieved 13 September 2018 LGBTQIA chaplaincy The Diocese of St Asaph The Diocese of St Asaph Retrieved 26 May 2017 Shipton Martin 9 March 2017 Gay cleric rejected as Bishop of Llandaff despite winning half the votes walesonline Retrieved 30 March 2018 New Bishop s consecration Church in Wales Retrieved 21 January 2020 Gay bishop will not push for same sex marriage BBC News 28 January 2020 Retrieved 29 January 2020 Church in Wales shows support for same sex marriage www christiantoday com Retrieved 30 March 2018 The Welsh Church is now a more welcoming place www churchtimes co uk Retrieved 8 October 2017 Wightwick Abbie 17 September 2015 Church votes YES for gay marriage but it s a long way to real change walesonline Retrieved 30 March 2018 The UK s first LGBTQIA chaplaincy officially launched The Diocese of St Asaph The Diocese of St Asaph Retrieved 30 March 2018 Anna Morrell Same sex marriage statement The Church in Wales Archived from the original on 10 April 2016 Retrieved 7 April 2016 Unofficial Blessings in Wales The Living Church www livingchurch org 30 November 2001 Retrieved 11 May 2016 Prayers that may be said with a couple following the Celebration of a Civil Partnership or Civil Marriage Church in Wales 2016 p 1 Church in Wales to give blessings for same sex marriages BBC News 6 September 2021 Retrieved 7 September 2021 Sherwood Harriet 6 September 2021 Church in Wales votes to bless same sex marriages The Guardian Retrieved 7 September 2021 Alcindor Nicole 8 September 2021 Church in Wales to allow pastors to bless same sex marriages won t conduct gay weddings The Christian Post Retrieved 27 July 2022 Canons of the Church in Wales Establishment of Intercommunion between the Church in Wales and the Old Catholics 30 September 1937 Docest com Retrieved 12 June 2021 The Porvoo Communion Statement www porvoocommunion org Retrieved 11 June 2021 Covenanted Churches within Cytun www oikoumene org World Council of Churches Retrieved 28 March 2017 Sources EditMuss Arnolt William 1914 The Book of Common Prayer Among the Nations of the World A History of Translations of the Prayer Book of the Church of England and of the Protestant Episcopal Church of America a Study Based Mainly on the Collection of Josiah Henry Benton London Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Further reading EditD T W Price A History of the Church in Wales in the Twentieth Century Church in Wales Publications 1990 Charles A H Green DD The Setting of the Constitution of the Church in Wales Sweet and Maxwell 1937 External links EditChurch in Wales website Church Heritage Cymru online database of Church in Wales churches Text of the Welsh Church Act 1914 4 amp 5 Geo 5 c 91 as in force today including any amendments within the United Kingdom from legislation gov uk Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Church in Wales amp oldid 1133845728, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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