The Diocese of Bangor is a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

of the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglicanism, 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 bishop ...

North West Wales North West Wales ( cy, Gogledd-Orllewin Cymru) refers to an area or region of Wales, commonly defined as a grouping of the principal areas of Conwy County Borough, Gwynedd and the Isle of Anglesey in the north-west of the country. These princip ...

. The diocese covers the counties of

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

, most of

Caernarfonshire , HQ= County Hall, Caernarfon , Map= , Image= Flag , Motto= Cadernid Gwynedd (The strength of Gwynedd) , year_start= , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Caerna ...

and

Merionethshire , HQ= Dolgellau , Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= , Status= , Start= 1284 , End= , Code= MER , CodeName= ...

and the western part of

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire, also known as ''Maldwyn'' ( cy, Sir Drefaldwyn meaning "the Shire of Baldwin's town"), is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after its county tow ...

History

The diocese in the Welsh kingdom of

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...

was founded around 546 by Saint Deiniol. As with the rest of Wales, it initially resisted the

papal The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

mission of St Augustine of Canterbury in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. In 1534, the church in England and Wales broke allegiance with the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and established the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. 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 £4,464. This made it the second wealthiest diocese in Wales, after St Asaph. After a brief restoration with the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

during the reign of

Queen Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...

, the diocese remained part of the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Province of Canterbury The Province of Canterbury, or less formally the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces which constitute the Church of England. The other is the Province of York (which consists of 12 dioceses). Overview The Province consist ...

until the early 20th century. Following the

Welsh Church Act 1914 The Welsh Church Act 1914 is an Act of Parliament under which the Church of England was separated and disestablished in Wales and Monmouthshire, leading to the creation of the Church in Wales. The Act had long been demanded by the Nonconformist ...

, the Welsh dioceses formed the independent

within the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

on 31 March 1920.

Bishops of Bangor

The Bishop of Bangor is the ordinary of the Diocese of Bangor. The incumbent is

Andy John Andrew Thomas Griffith John (called Andy; born 9 January 1964) is the current Archbishop of Wales, of the Church in Wales. He became the Bishop of Bangor in 2008 and was appointed archbishop in 2021. Early life A native of Aberystwyth, John att ...

, who was consecrated the 81st Bishop of Bangor in 2008.

Archdeaconries and deaneries

Before the recent reorganisation the deaneries were: * under the Archdeacon of Bangor: Archlechwedd, Arfon, Llifon-Talybolion, Malltraeth, Ogwen, Tyndaethwy and Twrcelyn. * under the Archdeacon of Merioneth: Ardudwy, Arwystli, Cyfeiliog-Mawddwy, Llyn-Eifionydd and Ystumaner.

List of churches

The diocese is divided into 27 Ministry Areas and 170 churches. There are three deaneries where previously there were twelve. In 2018 the deaneries of Synod De Meirionnydd and Synod Gogledd Meirionnydd were merged into a single Synod Meirionnydd. There are at least 101 former churches within the area covered by the diocese, at least 23 of which have closed since 2000.

History

Bishops of Bangor

Archdeaconries and deaneries

List of churches

Synod Bangor

Closed churches in the area

Synod Meirionnydd

Closed churches in this area

Synod Ynys Mon

Closed churches in this area

References

External links