Gwilym Owen Williams (23 March 1913 – 23 December 1990) was a prominent figure in the Church in Wales who served as Bishop of Bangor from 1957 to 1982 and Archbishop of Wales from 1971 to 1982.

Biography

Williams was born to a deeply religious family in East Finchley,

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. He attended Brynrefail Grammar school and at Jesus College, Oxford He took first-class honours in English in 1933, and theology in 1935. He was made a deacon at Michaelmas 1937 (18 September) and ordained priest the following Michaelmas (24 September 1938) — both times by

William Havard William Thomas Havard (23 October 1889 – 17 August 1956) was a Welsh clergyman and rugby union international player. He served as a military chaplain during the First World War, and later as Bishop of St Asaph and then Bishop of St David ...

Bishop of St Asaph The Bishop of St Asaph heads the Church in Wales diocese of St Asaph. The diocese covers the counties of Conwy and Flintshire, Wrexham county borough, the eastern part of Merioneth in Gwynedd and part of northern Powys. The Episcopal seat is loca ...

, at

St Asaph Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saints Asaph and Cyndeyrn, commonly called St Asaph Cathedral ( cy, Eglwys Gadeiriol Llanelwy), is a cathedral in St Asaph, Denbighshire, north Wales. It is the episcopal seat of the Bishop of St Asaph. The cathedral d ...

. He served as curate at St Asaph until 1940, when he was appointed chaplain at

St David's College, Lampeter University of Wales, Lampeter ( cy, Prifysgol Cymru, Llanbedr Pont Steffan) was a university in Lampeter, Wales. Founded in 1822, and incorporated by royal charter in 1828, it was the oldest degree awarding institution in Wales, with limited ...

. In 1945 he moved to Bangor to take up a post as chaplain and tutor at St. Mary's College, Bangor, and as Lecturer in Theology at the

University of Wales, Bangor Bangor University ( cy, Prifysgol Bangor) is a Public university, public university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Bangor, Wales. It received its Royal charter, Royal Charter in 1885 and was one of the founding institutions of the federal University of Wales ...

. In 1947 he became a Canon of

Bangor Cathedral Bangor Cathedral ( cy, Eglwys Gadeiriol Bangor) is a cathedral in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It is dedicated to its founder, Saint Deiniol. The site of the present building of Bangor Cathedral has been in use as a place of Christian worship since ...

, and in 1948 moved to become headmaster of Llandovery College. He was elected Bishop of Bangor in 1957, consecrated a bishop by John Morgan, Archbishop of Wales and Bishop of Llandaff, at Llandaff Cathedral on 1 May 1957 and installed at

the following week. Williams became Archbishop of Wales in 1971, also continuing as Bishop of Bangor until his retirement in 1982. Williams was passionate about preserving the Welsh language and he would later gain prominence as a member of a deputation of three who challenged Margaret Thatcher in her attempt to reduce the status of the Welsh language. The Welsh language meant a lot to him personally, and because of this he ensured that the new Bible would be translated in Welsh. He was also influential in the decision to ordain women priests and the creation of the first Welsh television station

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking ...

. When a Welsh version of the Bible was published Williams was invited to preach before

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

in St Asaph and Westminster Abbey.

References

Wales on the Web
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Gwilym Owen 1913 births 1990 deaths Archbishops of Wales Bishops of Bangor People educated at Llandovery College Academics of Bangor University Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford 20th-century Anglican archbishops Welsh-speaking clergy 20th-century bishops of the Church in Wales People from East Finchley