Church in Wales

Church in Wales
Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru
Coat of arms of the Church in Wales
TypeCommunion
ClassificationChristian
OrientationAnglican
ScriptureBible
TheologyAnglican doctrine[a]
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 Church in Wales (Welsh: Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.[3]

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.


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  1. ^ "Representative Body". churchinwales.org.uk. Church in Wales. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ 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)
  4. ^ "New Archbishop of Wales elected". Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Welsh Church Act 1914". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  6. ^ 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 was transferred to the Archbishop of Canterbury at the Reformation.