Archbishop of Wales

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The Province of Wales in the Anglican Communion was created in 1920, as the Church in Wales, independent from the Church of England (of which the four Welsh dioceses had previously been part). Unlike the Archbishops of Canterbury and York -- who are appointed by the Queen upon the advice of the Prime Minister -- the Archbishop of Wales is one of the six diocesan bishops of Wales, elected to hold this office in addition to his own diocese.

The establishment of a separate province and archbishopric was an indirect consequence of the Disestablishment of the Church of England in Wales (voted by Parliament in 1914 but implemented in 1920). Precedents for this development were sought by some in the early Celtic Church with a debatable pre-eminence of St. Davids. A Roman Catholic archbishopric of Cardiff had been created in 1916. The circulating character of the post was justified by Welsh geography and by the ecclesiasical precedent of the province of Numidia (of which St. Augustine of Hippo had been a bishop).

Successive archbishops have not only represented different geographical areas but also different tendencies within Anglicanism. In the mid- twentieth century lingustic issues were prominent in the successive incumbencies of Edwin Morris (who spoke no Welsh) and of Glyn Simon (who sympathised with advocates of the use of the Welsh language). Towards the end of his period in office Gwilym Williams was one of three leading Welsh figures in a deputation to guarantee the status of the language which had been challenged by Margaret Thatcher. He was also decisive in the decision to ordain women priests. The present Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr.Rowan Williams, held the post as Bishop of Monmouth.

The Archbishop of Wales signs 'Cambrensis'.

[edit] Archbishops of Wales, 1920-present

Alfred George Edwards (Bishop of St Asaph) 1920-1934
Charles Alfred Howell Green (Bishop of Bangor) 1934-1944
David Lewis Prosser (Bishop of St David's) 1944-1949
John Morgan (Bishop of Llandaff) 1949-1957
Edwin Morris (Bishop of Monmouth) 1957-1967
William Glyn Hughes Simon (Bishop of Llandaff) 1968-1971
Gwilym Owen Williams (Bishop of Bangor) 1971-1982
Derrick Greenslade Childs (Bishop of Monmouth) 1983-1986
George Noakes (Bishop of St David's) 1987-1991
Alwyn Rice Jones (Bishop of St Asaph) 1991-1999
Rowan Williams (Bishop of Monmouth) 1999-2002
Barry Morgan (Bishop of Llandaff) 2002-

Anglican Hierarchy in Great Britain
Church of England	Archbishop of Canterbury: Bath & Wells \| Birmingham \| Bristol \| Chelmsford \| Chichester \| Coventry \| Derby \| Ely \| Exeter \| Gibraltar in Europe \| Gloucester \| Guildford \| Hereford \| Leicester \| Lichfield \| Lincoln \| London \| Norwich \| Oxford \| Peterborough \| Portsmouth \| Rochester \| Saint Albans \| St Edmundsbury & Ipswich \| Salisbury \| Southwark \| Truro \| Winchester \| Worcester Archbishop of York: Blackburn \| Bradford \| Carlisle \| Chester \| Durham \| Liverpool \| Manchester \| Newcastle \| Ripon and Leeds \| Sheffield \| Sodor & Man \| Southwell \| Wakefield
Church in Wales	Archbishop of Wales: Bangor \| Llandaff \| Monmouth \| Saint Asaph \| Saint David's \| Swansea & Brecon
Scottish Episcopal Church	Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church: Aberdeen and Orkney \| Argyll & the Isles \| Brechin \| Edinburgh \| Glasgow & Galloway \| Moray, Ross & Caithness \| Saint Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane