Llewellyn Henry Gwynne (11 June 18639 December 1957) was a Welsh Anglican bishop and missionary. He was the first Anglican Bishop of Egypt and Sudan, serving from 1920 to 1946.

Early life

Llewellyn Henry Gwynne was born in Britain on 11 June 1863, in

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

, South Wales. While he was a pupil at the

Bishop Gore School The Bishop Gore School ( cy, Ysgol Esgob Gore) is a secondary school in Swansea in Wales, founded on 14 September 1682 by Hugh Gore (1613–1691), Bishop of Waterford and Lismore. It is situated in Sketty, close to Singleton Park and Swansea ...

(Swansea Grammar School), his headmaster encouraged him to follow the example of his brother Charlie by working hard and pursuing his interest in the Bible. Ordained in 1886, he was curate at St Chad Derby and St Andrew Nottingham. He was then vicar of

Emmanuel Church, Nottingham Emmanuel Church, Nottingham was a Church of England church in Nottingham on Woodborough Road between 1883 and 1972. History The foundation stone was laid on 24 January 1884 by Mrs. Henry Wright of Heath House, London, Heath House, Hampstead, wi ...

from 1892 to 1899. He also played football for

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

. He began his overseas career in 1899 as a Christian missionary in east Africa. In 1905 Gwynne was appointed archdeacon for the Sudan; and in 1908 he was consecrated suffragan Bishop of Khartoum, under

George Blyth George Francis Popham Blyth (25 April 1832 – 5 November 1914) was an Anglican bishop in the last decades of the nineteenth century and the first two of the twentieth. Life He was educated at St Paul's School and Lincoln College, Oxford, and o ...

. Recalled to Europe in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Llewellyn joined the army as

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

. In July 1915 he was appointed deputy chaplain-general of the army in France, with the relative rank of major-general, serving until May 1919.

Bishop of Egypt and the Sudan

Bishop Llewellyn Gwynne returned to the Sudan in 1919. In 1920, he became the bishop of the new Anglican diocese of Egypt and the Sudan. He became a resident in Cairo, Egypt and would come to the Sudan on visits. In 1924 Gwynne held the first Annual Unity Service in Khartoum Cathedral. In 1926 Gwynne and the

Mufti A Mufti (; ar, مفتي) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatwas'' played an important rol ...

(the religious head of Moslems) stood together to bless the new

Sennar Dam The Sennar Dam is an irrigation dam on the Blue Nile near the town of Sennar in the Al Jazirah region of Sudan. The dam is long and has a maximum height of . It was designed by the Scottish engineer Sir Murdoch MacDonald, begun in 1914 and com ...

. He founded the Unity High School in

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

, and the school was officially opened in 1928. In 1929 he dedicated the first church building at

Atbarah Atbara (sometimes Atbarah) ( ar, عطبرة ʿAṭbarah) is a city located in River Nile State in northeastern Sudan. Because of its links to the railway industry, Atbara is also known as the "Railway City'. As of 2007, its population is 11 ...

Railway Station. In 1930 Bishop Gwynne laid the foundation stone for the Church of St. John the Baptist in Maadi, Cairo and in 1937 laid the foundation stone of a lepers' church in Lui. Bishop Gwynne was in Britain at the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

but returned to the Sudan in September 1942. He retired as bishop of Egypt and Sudan in 1946 when he went back to England. He died on 9 December 1957 at the age of ninety-four. His

pectoral cross A pectoral cross or pectorale (from the Latin ''pectoralis'', "of the chest") is a cross that is worn on the chest, usually suspended from the neck by a cord or chain. In ancient and medieval times pectoral crosses were worn by both clergy and ...

is on display at the

Museum of Army Chaplaincy The Royal Army Chaplains' Museum (formerly the Museum of Army Chaplaincy) tells the story of British Army chaplaincy from earliest times to the present day, with the help of archive material and historical relics from several centuries. Its coll ...

Bibliography

*Howson, Peter. ''The First World War Diaries of the Rt. Rev. Llewellyn Gwynne, July 1915 – July 1916''. (2019. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press) *Jackson, H. C. ''Pastor on the Nile''. (1960. London: SPCK) *Vantini, Giovanni. ''Christianity in the Sudan''. (1981. Bologna: EMI Publishers)

References

External links

Dictionary of African Christian BiographyOfficial webpage of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwynne, Llewellyn Henry 1863 births 1957 deaths 19th-century Welsh Anglican priests Welsh footballers People from Swansea People educated at Bishop Gore School Derby County F.C. players British Army generals of World War I Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Anglican bishops of Egypt Welsh military chaplains World War I chaplains Association footballers not categorized by position British Army major generals Welsh military personnel