The Diocese of Saint Asaph is a
diocese of the
Church in Wales in north-east Wales, named after
Saint Asaph, its second bishop.
Geography
The Anglican
Diocese of St Asaph in the north-east corner of
Wales stretches from the borders of
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
in the east, to the
Conwy valley in the west, to
Bala
Bala may refer to:
Places
India
*Bala, India, a village in Allahabad, India
* Bala, Ahor, a village in the Jalore district of Rajasthan
* Bala, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India
Romania
* Bala, Mehedinți, a commune in Mehedinţi ...
in the south-west, and
Newtown in the south-east. The population is in excess of half a million people.
The more populous areas are to be found along the coast and in the large conurbation of
Wrexham, the principal town. The industrial areas around Wrexham and
Deeside have undergone great change in the past decade or so. Where once the
coal,
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
and
textile industries provided most of the employment, the economy is now much more diversified and one of the fastest growing in the UK. A major employer is Airbus UK (currently part of
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...
), while
Wrexham Industrial Estate is one of the largest in Europe. North-east Wales also acts as a dormitory area for Chester Business Park, which is dominated by
MBNA. This economy is ministered to by an Industrial Chaplain, a post which alternates between a
Church in Wales priest and a
Presbyterian Church of Wales minister.
Most of the diocese is rural, interspersed with small market towns and village communities. The southern area of the diocese in north
Powys is undergoing regional development, especially with the advent of a good number of small industries. Because of the beauty of the landscape, at holiday times there is a large influx of visitors from England and further afield.
Tourism is now one of the growth industries of this area of Wales.
Traditionally, the Diocese of St Asaph extended across the border into
England. However, following
disestablishment
The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular stat ...
on 31 March 1920, the
Shropshire parishes of Criftins, Hengoed, Kinnerley, Knockin, Llanyblodwel, Llanymynech, Melverley, Morton, Oswestry, St Martins, Selattyn, Trefonen, Weston Rhyn and Whittington were transferred from the Diocese of St Asaph to the English
Diocese of Lichfield.
History
This diocese was founded by
St. Kentigern
Kentigern ( cy, Cyndeyrn Garthwys; la, Kentigernus), known as Mungo, was a missionary in the Brittonic Kingdom of Strathclyde in the late sixth century, and the founder and patron saint of the city of Glasgow.
Name
In Wales and England, this s ...
about the middle of the sixth century, when he was exiled from his see in Scotland. He founded a monastery called Llanelwy at the confluence of the rivers
Clwyd
Clwyd () is a preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east corner of the country; it is named after the River Clwyd, which runs through the area. To the north lies the Irish Sea, with the English ceremonial counties of Cheshire to th ...
and
Elwy in north east Wales, where after his return to Scotland in 573 he was succeeded by Asaph or Asa, who was consecrated
Bishop of Llanelwy.
The diocese originally coincided with the Welsh
principality of Powys, but lost much territory first by the
Mercian encroachment marked by Watt's dyke and again by the construction of
Offa's dyke, soon after 798. Nothing is known of the history of the diocese during the disturbed period that followed.
Domesday Book gives scanty particulars of a few churches but is silent as to the
cathedral.
Early in the twelfth century, Norman influence asserted itself and in 1143
Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury
Theobald of Bec ( c. 1090 – 18 April 1161) was a Norman archbishop of Canterbury from 1139 to 1161. His exact birth date is unknown. Some time in the late 11th or early 12th century Theobald became a monk at the Abbey of Bec, risin ...
, consecrated one Gilbert as Bishop of St. Asaph, but the position of his successors was very difficult and one of them, Godfrey, was driven away by poverty and the hostility of the Welsh. A return made in the middle of the thirteenth century (British Library, Cotton MSS, Vitellius, c. x.) shows the existence of eight rural deaneries, seventy-nine churches, and nineteen chapels. By 1291 the deaneries had been doubled in number and there were
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
houses at
Basingwerk
Basingwerk Abbey ( cy, Abaty Dinas Basing) is a Grade I listed ruined abbey near Holywell, Flintshire, Wales. The abbey, which was founded in the 12th century, belonged to the Order of Cistercians. It maintained significant lands in the English ...
,
Aberconway,
Strata Marcella and
Valle Crucis, and a
Cistercian nunnery
Cistercian nuns are female members of the Cistercian Order, a religious order belonging to the Roman Catholic branch of the Catholic Church.
History
The first Cistercian monastery for women, Le Tart Abbey, was established at Tart-l'Abbaye in t ...
,
Llanllugan Abbey. The cathedral, which had been burnt in the wars, was rebuilt and completed in 1295. It was a plain massive structure of simple plan, and was again destroyed during the English succession
Wars of the Roses. When it was restored by Bishop Redman the palace was not rebuilt and thus the bishops continued to be nonresident. At the end of the fifteenth century there was a great revival of church building, as is evidenced by the churches of that date still existing in the diocese.
The chief shrines in the diocese were St. Winefred's Well, St. Garmon in Yale ( cy, Iâl), St. Dervel Gadarn in
Edeirnion, St. Monacella at Pennant and the Holy Cross in
Strata Marcella. All these were demolished at the
Anglican Reformation
The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...
. At that time the diocese contained one archdeaconry, sixteen deaneries and one hundred and twenty-one parishes. The bishop at this time had five episcopal residences, four of which were assumed by the Church of England bishop under Edward VI.
The ''Report of the Commissioners appointed by his Majesty to inquire into the Ecclesiastical Revenues of England and Wales'' (1835) found the see had an annual net income of £6,301. This made it the wealthiest diocese in Wales and the fourth richest in Britain after Canterbury, London and Winchester.
Lists of archdeacons
Archdeacons of St Asaph
Archdeacons of Montgomery
:''The archdeaconry was created from that of St Asaph on 6 February 1844.''
Archdeacons of Wrexham
:''The archdeaconry was created from those of St Asaph and of Montgomery on 25 March 1890.''
:''Some archdeacons of Wrexham are recorded with the title Archdeacon of Wrexham and Ruthin.''
*1890–1897 (res.):
David Howell
*1897–1910 (res.):
Llewelyn Wynne Jones
Llewelyn Wynne-Jones was a Welsh Anglican priest in the first third of the 20th century.
He was born in 1859 and educated at Shrewsbury and Christ Church, Oxford. Ordained in 1886 he began his career with curacies at West Ham and Upper Tooting ...
*1910–1925 (res.):
William Fletcher
*1925–1930 (d.):
Lewis Pryce
*1930–1947 (ret.):
James Williams
*1948–1957 (res.):
Richard Mackenzie Williams
Richard Mackenzie Williams (2 February 1882 – 12 December 1966) was a Welsh Anglican priest in the mid 20th century who rose to become Archdeacon of Wrexham.
Williams was educated at Jesus College, Oxford. He was ordained deacon in 1912; and pr ...
*1957-1969 (res):
Benjamin Jones-Perrott
Benjamin Peredur Jones-Perrott (4 August 1894 - 16 July 1973) was a Welsh Anglican priest in the 20th century who rose to become Archdeacon of Wrexham and afterwards Archdeacon Emeritus.
Jones-Perrott was educated at St David's College, Lampe ...
*1969–1978 (ret.):
John Davies
*1978–1987 (d.):
Raymond Foster
*1987–2001 (ret.):
Bryan Williams
*2001–2010 (res.):
Malcolm Squires
*2010–2013 (ret.):
Shirley Griffiths
*2014–2018:
Bob Griffiths
*7 October 20182021:
John Lomas (became
Bishop of Swansea and Brecon
The Bishop of Swansea and Brecon is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Swansea and Brecon.
The diocese covers the City and County of Swansea and the ancient counties of Brecknockshire and Radnorshire. The diocesan cathedral is the C ...
)
Archdeaconries and deaneries
List of churches
The diocese has expended a great deal of effort in recent years to reorganise its system of 14 deaneries and parishes into 20 Mission Areas,
each containing between six and nineteen churches and being ministered to by two to ten stipendiary clergy.
Alyn Deanery
Closed churches in the area
Cedewain Deanery
Closed churches in this area
Dee Valley Deanery
Closed churches in the area
Denbigh Deanery
Closed churches in the area
Dyffryn Clwyd Deanery
Closed churches in the area
Hawarden Deanery
Closed churches in the area
Holywell Deanery
Closed churches in this area
Llanrwst and Rhos Deanery
Closed churches in the area
1Occasional services still held
Mathrafal Deanery
Closed churches in the area
Mold Deanery
Closed churches in the area
Penedeyrn Deanery
Closed churches in the area
1occasional services still held
Pool Deanery
Closed churches in this area
St Asaph Deanery
Closed churches in this area
Valle Crucis Deanery
Closed churches in the area
Wrexham Deanery
Closed churches in the area
See also
*
Bishop of Saint Asaph
The Bishop of St Asaph heads the Church in Wales diocese of St Asaph.
The diocese covers the counties of Conwy county borough, Conwy and Flintshire, Wrexham county borough, the eastern part of Merioneth in Gwynedd and part of northern Powys. The ...
*
Archdeacon of St Asaph
References
Sources and references
*
* http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13332c.htm
{{Coord, 53.2572, N, 3.4419, W, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:GB, display=title
Dioceses of the Church in Wales