Church in Wales facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Church in Wales Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru
Coat of arms of the Church in Wales
Type	Communion
Classification	Protestant
Orientation	Anglican
Scripture	Bible
Theology	Anglican doctrine
Polity	Episcopal
Primate	Andy John, Archbishop of Wales and Bishop of Bangor
Language	Welsh and English
Headquarters	Cardiff
Territory	Wales with 1,500 congregations
Independence	1920 (disestablishment)
Members	42,441 (2018)

Map of the dioceses in the Church in Wales

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

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.

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.

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. 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.

History

Christianity in Wales can be traced back to the Romano-British culture and an organised episcopal church has had continuous existence in Wales since that time. The age of the saints in the 6th and 7th centuries was marked by the establishment of monastic settlements throughout the country, by religious leaders such as Saint David, Illtud, Padarn and Saint Teilo. This was the period when the Welsh people developed a shared national identity, arising from their language and religious beliefs.

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 Holy See and the conquest of Wales by Edward I 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, as during the reign of Henry VIII, Wales was incorporated into the legal realm of the Kingdom of England.

Disestablishment

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".

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. 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, 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, and elected a Governing Body which initially met once a year, 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.

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. 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, although a reduction on the figure of 196,389 Easter communicants in 1938. The Anglican Church does not have "a single definition of 'membership' in the Church in Wales." 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). 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. In 2018, the number of communicants during Easter was 46,163 and the number of persons on the Electoral Roll was 42,441.

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." 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."

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

Structure

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 Llandaff

Two additional dioceses were created soon after the disestablishment of the Church in Wales:

The Diocese of Monmouth in 1921
The Diocese of Swansea and Brecon in 1923

Monmouth was created from one of the archdeaconries of Llandaff diocese, largely following the boundaries of the traditional (pre-1974) county of Monmouthshire. 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 (now part of the county of Powys).

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 - literally, as the cathedral holds the 'cathedra', the bishop's chair. In the cathedral are held important events such as the enthronement of a new bishop and the ordination of priests and deacons. 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 diocesan coat of arms is identical to the episcopal version except that it is not surmounted by 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
Combined

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. In an archiepiscopal vacancy, the senior bishop by date of appointment is acting archbishop.

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. He left the Ppost in December 2012.

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. 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. This has occurred on two recent occasions. In 2013 the Church in Wales officially agreed to the ordination of women as bishops, after a previous proposal for their ordination failed in 2008.

In descending order of seniority, as of 17 October 2023 (after Davies' election to St Davids), the bench of Welsh bishops consists of:

Andy John, Bishop of Bangor and Archbishop of Wales
Gregory Cameron, Bishop of St Asaph
Cherry Vann, Bishop of Monmouth
John Lomas, Bishop of Swansea and Brecon
Mary Stallard, Bishop of Llandaff
Dorrien Davies, Bishop of St Davids

In addition, it has been announced that David Morris is to become Assistant Bishop of Bangor and titular Bishop of Bardsey in summer 2024.

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, and Mynwy for Monmouth); Landav derives from the Latin Landavensis and the then-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 that post was held by David Wilbourne. 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 took place on 26 February 2022 at Bangor Cathedral.

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".

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.

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.

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 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. The 1662 prayer book and its Welsh equivalent continued to be used, 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 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. In 2018 Times and Seasons was released. All of these were published on line. 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:

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.

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. The ordination of women to the priesthood was approved by the two-thirds majority in 1996. The Church in Wales has ordained women as priests since 1997. Prior to 1997, women were permitted to serve as deacons. The first deaconess was consecrated in 1884. 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. 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, 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. 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. 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.

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, the church establishment has faced resistance from congregations. In 2005, the church allowed gay priests to enter into civil partnerships. "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."

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."

In September 2021, the Church in Wales voted to "formally bless same-sex couples", but still not legally recognising same-sex marriage within titles of the Church officially.

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. The Church in Wales has also been a member of the Porvoo Communion since September 1995. 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. The Church in Wales is a member of the Covenanted Churches in Wales. 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").