John Richards Richards (3 March 1901 – 10 March 1990) was an Anglican

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

during the third quarter of the 20th century. Educated at Ardwyn School, Aberystwyth and the

University College of Wales , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

, he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

after a period of study 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 ...

in 1925. Crockford's Clerical Directory1940-41 Oxford,

OUP Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

,1941 He was a Curate at

Pembrey Pembrey ( Welsh: ''Pen-bre'') is a village in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated between Burry Port and Kidwelly, overlooking Carmarthen Bay, with a population of about 2,154 in 2011. The electoral ward having a population of 4,301. It is in t ...

and then a CMS missionary in Iran until 1945. He then held incumbencies at

Skewen Skewen ( cy, Sgiwen) is a village within the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, in Wales. The village is served by Skewen railway station and has its own rugby club. History Skewen was once an industrial village. There were a number of col ...

and then

Pontypridd () ( colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng ( Trallwn) and Treforest (). ...

until 1955 when he became

Dean of Bangor 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 t ...

. In 1956 he became

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, ...

, a post he held until 1971. A Sub-Prelate of the

Order of St John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

, he had become a Doctor of Divinity (DD). Richards physical stature sometimes led to the famous criticism of Cosmo Gordon Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury, at the time of William Orpen's portrait being levelled at him. He had no fear of controversy: at the funeral of the wife of David James, the businessman and founder of the Pantyfedwen Trust, he insisted on the usage of the psalms specified in the new Welsh funeral rite (forbidding James' wish for Psalm 23); when the local water board sent in surveyors for a new dam at

Llangyndeyrn Llangyndeyrn () is a village, community and electoral ward in the River Gwendraeth valley, Carmarthenshire, in Dyfed region of West Wales, United Kingdom. The village name is often spelt as Llangendeirne. The Welsh language name of the villag ...

, Carmarthenshire, which could have involved the submersion of the entire village, Richards authorised the ringing of the church bells as a warning signal.

References

1901 births People educated at Ardwyn School, Aberystwython of successor Alumni of Aberystwyth University Deans of Bangor Bishops of St Davids 20th-century bishops of the Church in Wales Holders of a Lambeth degree 1990 deaths Anglican missionaries in Iran English Anglican missionaries {{Anglican-bishop-stub