Gregory Kenneth Cameron (born 6 June 1959) is a Welsh

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 ...

bishop. He is Bishop of the

Diocese of St Asaph 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 i ...

in Wales, having been elected on 5 January 2009 and confirmed as bishop on 16 March 2009.

Life and career

Cameron was born in south east Wales in 1959 and grew up in

Llangybi, Monmouthshire Llangybi (also spelled Llangibby) is a village and community in Monmouthshire, in southeast Wales, in the United Kingdom. It is located south of the town of Usk and north of Caerleon, in the valley of the River Usk. In 2011 the village itsel ...

. He was educated at

Croesyceiliog School Croesyceiliog School ( cy, Ysgol Croes-y-ceiliog) is a state-funded secondary school in the Croesyceiliog area of Cwmbran, in South Wales, UK. Setting Situated on high ground that overlooks the valley westwards, the school site lies within the ...

Cwmbran Cwmbran ( ; cy, Cwmbrân , also in use as an alternative spelling in English) is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales. Lying within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, Cwmbran was designated as a New Town in 1949 to pro ...

and

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, the ...

, where he studied law. He was then accepted for ordination by 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 ...

and studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the olde ...

, where his tutors included

Rowan Williams Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held from December 2002 to December 2012. Previously the Bish ...

, and at

St. Michael's College, Llandaff St Padarn's Institute came into being in 2016. Until then the site belonged to St Michael's College, an Anglican theological college in Llandaff, Wales. St Michael's college was founded in Aberdare in 1892, and was situated in Llandaff from 1907 ...

. He was ordained priest in 1984. He served as a parish priest in Newport and

Llanmartin Llanmartin ( cy, Llanfarthyn) is a village and parish in the city of Newport, Wales. The community The parish contains several communities and is centred on the parish church, which is dedicated to St. Martin, and which gives the name ''"Lla ...

, later becoming Chaplain at

Wycliffe College Wycliffe College () is an evangelical graduate school of theology at the University of Toronto. Founded in 1877 as an evangelical seminary in the Anglican tradition, Wycliffe College today attracts students from many Christian denominations from ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. In 2000, he was appointed Chaplain to the

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 ...

, Rowan Williams. Cameron was appointed as Director of Ecumenical Affairs by the Secretary General of 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 ...

in 2003, becoming Deputy Secretary General in 2004. He was secretary to the Lambeth Commission that wrote the

Windsor Report In 2003, the Lambeth Commission on Communion was appointed by the Anglican Communion to study problems stemming from the consecration of Gene Robinson, the first noncelibate self-identifying gay priest to be ordained as an Anglican bishop, in the E ...

. In this role, he was described by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' as "the top

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

yer who helps run the headquarters of the worldwide Anglican Communion", and it was also said of him that "although his name is not widely known outside the church, he is arguably the most influential clergyman behind the scenes within it". His work for reconciliation in the Anglican Communion led to the award of an honorary Doctorate of Divinity by the

Episcopal Divinity School The Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) is a theological school in New York City that trains students for service with the Episcopal Church. It is affiliated with the Union Theological Seminary. Students who enroll in the EDS at Union Anglican st ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. He is also an Honorary Research Fellow in Canon Law at

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

. He was awarded the

Cross of St Augustine The Cross of St Augustine is an award of merit in the gift of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is awarded to members of the Anglican Communion who have made significant contributions to the life of the worldwide Communion, or to a particular auto ...

by the Archbishop of Canterbury on 27 March 2009. welsh-bishops

On 5 January 2009, he was elected as the 76th Bishop of St Asaph in succession to John Davies, who retired in 2008. He was consecrated on 4 April 2009 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 ...

by Barry Morgan,

, assisted by the other four Welsh diocesan bishops, together with the Archbishops of Canterbury and Armagh, the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church and 24 other co-consecrators. On 25 April 2009 he was enthroned in his cathedral at St Asaph. In 2015, he succeeded

Geoffrey Rowell Douglas Geoffrey Rowell (; 13 February 1943 – 11 June 2017) was an Anglican bishop, who served as Bishop of Basingstoke and then as the third Bishop in Europe until his retirement on 8 November 2013. Following his retirement he ministered as ...

as Anglican Co-Chair of the Anglican–Oriental Orthodox International Commission. In 2019, he was appointed as an Officer of the Most Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem (OStJ), and promoted to

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

(CStJ) in January 2022. In December 2021, Cameron received the Religious Leader award from the Ozanne Foundation for his work to allow same-sex blessings within the Church of Wales.

Heraldry, numismatics and publications

Cameron has longstanding interests in

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...

and in

coin collecting Coin collecting is the collecting of coins or other forms of minted legal tender. Coins of interest to collectors often include those that were in circulation for only a brief time, coins with mint errors, and especially beautiful or historic ...

. In 2016, a design by him was selected by the

Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by His Majesty's Treasury and is under an exclus ...

for the last round one pound coin; and in the same year he was commissioned to design the first Christmas twenty pound coin. Both coins are commemorative issues, and not intended for general circulation. In February 2017 his design of the royal arms for the

Sapphire Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II The Sapphire Jubilee of Elizabeth II on 6 February 2017, marked 65 years of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. The List of monarchs in Britain by length of reign, longest-reigning monarch in British history, Elizabeth II was the first British monarch t ...

appeared on one of the commemorative coins for that event issued by the Royal Mint. Subsequently, he has worked with the London Mint Office in the creation of designs for sovereign gold coins issued by

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

and the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

. In 2021, Canterbury Press in the UK, and Paraclete Press in the US, published his book ''An Advent Book of Days''.

Personal life

Cameron is married to Clare and has three sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Gregory Kenneth Living people 1959 births Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge People from Usk Bishops of St Asaph People educated at Croesyceiliog Grammar School 21st-century bishops of the Church in Wales Recipients of the Cross of St Augustine Commanders of the Order of St John Alumni of St Michael's College, Llandaff