Andrew Thomas Griffith John (called Andy; born 9 January 1964) is the current

Archbishop of Wales The post of Archbishop of Wales was created in 1920 when the Church in Wales was separated from the Church of England and disestablished. The four historic Welsh dioceses had previously formed part of the Province of Canterbury, and so came unde ...

, of the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, 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 p ...

. He became the

Bishop of Bangor The Bishop of Bangor is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Bangor. The see is based in the city of Bangor where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Cathedral Church of Saint Deiniol. The ''Report of the Commissioners appointed ...

in 2008 and was appointed archbishop in 2021.

Early life

A native of Aberystwyth, John attended Ysgol Penglais before studying law at the University of Wales, Cardiff. After graduating in 1986, he studied theology at the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

, graduating in 1988, followed by a diploma in pastoral studies at

St John's College, Nottingham St John's College, Nottingham, founded as the London College of Divinity, was an Anglican and interdenominational theological college situated in Bramcote, Nottingham, England. The college stood in the open evangelical tradition and stated that i ...

in 1989.

Ordained ministry

He was ordained

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

in the

Diocese of St David's The Diocese of St Davids is a diocese of the Church in Wales, a church of the Anglican Communion. The diocese covers the historic extent of Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, together with a small part of western Glamorgan. The episcop ...

and a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

in 1990. Until his election as Bishop of Bangor, all his ministry was in the Diocese of St David's. Initially he was curate for Cardigan,

Y Ferwig Y Ferwig (sometimes spelled ''Verwig'') is a small village and community about 2 to 3 miles from Cardigan, Wales. Amenities The village is made up of a parish church and a few houses. The community includes the villages of Penparc, Felinwyn ...

and

Mwnt A scanning tunneling microscopy image of a single-walled carbon nanotube Rotating single-walled zigzag carbon nanotube A carbon nanotube (CNT) is a tube made of carbon with diameters typically measured in nanometers. ''Single-wall carbon nan ...

from 1989 to 1991 and then in Aberystwyth from 1991 to 1992. He was a

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

in the Rectorial Benefice of Aberystwyth from 1992 to 1999. From 1999 he was vicar of

Henfynyw Henfynyw is a village and community in the county of Ceredigion, Wales, just outside Aberaeron, and is 69.6 miles (111.9 km) from Cardiff and 183.5 miles (295.4 km) from London. In 2011 the population of Henfynyw numbered 1045, with 54.3 ...

with

Aberaeron Aberaeron, previously anglicised as Aberayron, is a town, community, and electoral ward between Aberystwyth and Cardigan, in Ceredigion, Wales. Ceredigion County Council offices are in Aberaeron. The name of the town is Welsh for ''mouth of ...

and Llanddewi Aberarth, to which was added Llanbadarn Trefeglwys in 2005. In 2006 he was appointed vicar of

Pencarreg Pencarreg () is a village and community located in Carmarthenshire, Wales, to the south-west of Lampeter. Settlement is primarily grouped around the A485 road from Lampeter to Carmarthen, the primary settlement being Cwmann. The population in th ...

and

Llanycrwys Llanycrwys is a community located in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Situated in the historical Cayo Hundred in the Union of Lampeter, it is situated near the River Cothi, and is separated from the parish of Caio by the Afon Twrch, which flows near th ...

and the

Archdeacon of Cardigan This is a list of archdeacons of Cardigan. The Archdeacon of Cardigan is the priest in charge of the archdeaconry of Cardigan, an administrative division of the Church in Wales Diocese of St Davids. The archdeaconry comprises the five deaneries o ...

Episcopal ministry

John was elected

on 9 October 2008 and was consecrated in

Llandaff Cathedral Llandaff Cathedral ( cy, Eglwys Gadeiriol Llandaf) is an Anglican cathedral and parish church in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, head of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. It is dedicated to Saint Pet ...

on 29 November 2008, along with the new

Bishop of St David's The Bishop of St Davids is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St Davids. The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the city of St Davids in Pembrokeshire, ...

Wyn Evans John Wyn Evans (born 4 October 1946) is a retired Anglican bishop. He had served as Bishop of St Davids in the Church in Wales from 2008 to 2016. Biography Born into a clerical family (his father was Eifion Evans (archdeacon of Cardigan) ...

. He was enthroned in Bangor Cathedral on 24 January 2009. On 6 December 2021, John was elected to serve as

(remaining Bishop of Bangor) by an Electoral College of the Church in Wales meeting at Holy Trinity Church, Llandrindod Wells; his

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

was

confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

(and therefore he legally took up the archiepiscopal See) immediately. He was formally enthroned as Archbishop of Wales on 30 April 2022.

Views

John identifies himself with the Evangelical tradition of Anglicanism. However, some of his actions and views also align with Catholicism and liberalism. John is a supporter of

Welsh independence Welsh independence ( cy, Annibyniaeth i Gymru) is the political movement advocating for Wales to become a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. Wales was conquered during the 13th century by Edward I of England following the ki ...

in order to "solve" Wales' problems adding, "Of all the options before us, what is the option that has the best chance of solving the problems?"

Personal life

He has four children with his first wife, Reverend Caroline John. He has now remarried.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:John, Andrew Thomas Griffith 1964 births People from Penparcau 21st-century bishops of the Church in Wales Alumni of Cardiff University Alumni of the University of Nottingham Archdeacons of Cardigan Bishops of Bangor Archbishops of Wales Living people People from Aberystwyth Welsh-speaking clergy Alumni of St John's College, Nottingham People educated at Ysgol Penglais School