The Bishop of Llandaff is the ordinary 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 ...

Diocese of Llandaff The Diocese of Llandaff is an Anglican (Church in Wales) diocese that traces its roots to pre-Reformation times as heir of a Catholic bishopric. It is headed by the Bishop of Llandaff, whose seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Pet ...

Area of authority

The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The bishop's

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

is in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (the site of a church traditionally said to have been founded in 560 by

Saint Teilo Saint Teilo ( la, Teliarus or '; br, TeliauWainewright, John. in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', Vol. XIV. Robert Appleton Co. (New York), 1912. Accessed 20 July 2013. or '; french: Télo or '; – 9 February ), also known by his ...

), in the village of

Llandaff Llandaff (; cy, Llandaf ; from 'church' and '' Taf'') is a district, community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, whose ...

, just north-west of the

City of Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the List of ci ...

. The bishop's residence is Llys Esgob, The Cathedral Green, Llandaff, in Cardiff.

Brief history

The controversial

Iolo Manuscripts Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg (; 10 March 1747 – 18 December 1826), was a Welsh antiquarian, poet and collector.Jones, Mary (2004)"Edward Williams/Iolo Morganwg/Iolo Morgannwg" From ''Jones' Celtic Encyclop ...

claim an older foundation dating to Saints

Dyfan Saint Dyfan is a highly obscure figure who was presumably the namesake of Merthyr Dyfan ("martyrium of Dyfan") and therefore an early Christian saint and martyr in southeastern Wales in Roman or Sub-Roman Britain.Bartrum, Peter C"Dyfan, St.", i ...

and

Fagan Fagan or Phagan is also a Norman-Irish surname, derived from the Latin word 'paganus' meaning ‘rural’ or ‘rustic’. Variants of the name Fagan include Fegan and Fagen. It was brought to Ireland during the Anglo-Norman invasion in the twelfth ...

, said elsewhere to have missionized the court of

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Lucius of Britain Lucius (Welsh: Lles map Coel, Lleirwg, Lleufer or Lleufer Mawr) was a supposed 2nd-century king of the Britons traditionally credited with introducing Christianity into Britain. Lucius is first mentioned in a 6th-century version of the '' Liber P ...

on behalf of

Pope 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 ...

Eleutherius around AD 166. The manuscripts—others of which are original and others now known forgeries—list Dyfan as the first bishop and, following his

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...

, Fagan as his successor. Baring-Gould refers to them as

chorepiscopi A chorbishop is a rank of Christian clergy below bishop. The name chorepiscope or chorepiscopus (plural chorepiscopi) is taken from the Greek and means "rural bishop". History Chorepiscopi are first mentioned by Eusebius as existing in the seco ...

. The present-day

St Fagans St Fagans ( ; cy, Sain Ffagan) is a village and community in the west of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is home to the St Fagans National History Museum. History The name of the area invokes Saint Fagan, according to William of Malm ...

(referenced in the manuscripts as "Llanffagan Fawr") is now a village near

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. Originally Celtic Christians, the bishops were in

full communion Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constitutes full communion, but ...

with the

Roman 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 ...

from 777 until the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. In AD 914, the Danes ravaged

Archenfield Archenfield (Old English: ''Ircingafeld'') is the historic English name for an area of southern and western Herefordshire in England. Since the Anglo-Saxons took over the region in the 8th century, it has stretched between the River Monnow and Ri ...

, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (AD 915, Worcester Manuscript, p. 99). The jarls leading the raids, Ohtor and Hroald, captured the bishop; he was later ransomed. The jarls were killed in a subsequent battle at "Killdane Field" (or "Kill Dane") in

Weston-under-Penyard Weston under Penyard is a small village in Herefordshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 1,007. It lies on the A40 road two miles east of Ross-on-Wye. The Penyard is a prominent hill. The parish church of St ...

and the raiders were subdued. The first evidence that the bishops were called ''Bishop of Llandaff'' is from the early 11th century. Before this, though still ministering to

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

and Gwent, the bishops described themselves as ''Bishop of Teilo'' and were almost certainly based at

Llandeilo Llandeilo () is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated at the crossing of the River Towy by the A483 on a 19th-century stone bridge. Its population was 1,795 at the 2011 Census. It is adjacent to the westernmost point of the B ...

Abbey. The very early bishops were probably based in

Ergyng Ergyng (or Erging) was a Welsh kingdom of the sub-Roman and early medieval period, between the 5th and 7th centuries. It was later referred to by the English as ''Archenfield''. Location The kingdom lay mostly in what is now western Herefordshir ...

. Before 1107, the title ''Bishop of Gwlad Morgan'' (Glamorgan) had been adopted. It was not until the title ''Bishop of Llandaff'' was used by Bishop Urban from . In

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

records, the bishop was sometimes referred to as the ''Archbishop of Llandaff''. This appears to have been a simple reaction to the claim of

St David's St Davids or St David's ( cy, Tyddewi, , "David's house”) is a city and a community (named St Davids and the Cathedral Close) with a cathedral in Pembrokeshire, Wales, lying on the River Alun. It is the resting place of Saint David, Wa ...

to the archiepiscopal title. In 1534, the church in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

broke allegiance with the Roman Catholic Church 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 ...

. 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 Welsh dioceses 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 ...

from the reign of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

until the early 20th century. Following the passing of 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 church in Wales and Monmouthshire was disestablished and the independent

was created on 31 March 1920. The bishopric and diocese of Llandaff now constitute part of the Church in Wales within the wider

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 1924, the '' Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff''' was named after

Joshua Pritchard Hughes Joshua Pritchard Hughes (13 February 1847 – 8 April 1938) was Bishop of Llandaff from 1905 to 1931. Hughes was born into an ecclesiastical family, the son of Joshua Hughes ( Bishop of St Asaph 1870–1889). His older brother was the geologis ...

, who was bishop from 1905 to 1931. A long-serving recent bishop of Llandaff was Barry Morgan; when elected as bishop in 1999 his official signature was ''Barry Landav'', but once elected

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 ...

in 2003 his archiepiscopal signature ''Barry Cambrensis'' took precedence. He was supported by

David Wilbourne David Jeffrey Wilbourne (born 15 September 1955) is an Anglican bishop. The son of a priest, he has spent the majority of his ministry in Yorkshire. He was the Assistant Bishop of Llandaff from 2009 until 2017, working alongside the Archbishop ...

, assistant bishop of Llandaff from 2009 to 2017. Following Morgan's retirement, on 27 April 2017 it was announced that

June Osborne June Osborne (born 10 June 1953) is a British retired Anglican bishop. From 2017 to 2022, she served as the Bishop of Llandaff in the Church in Wales. Between 2004 and 2017, she served as the Dean of Salisbury, and was the first woman to head o ...

would become the first female bishop of Llandaff. Her election was confirmed at a Sacred Synod meeting on 14 July 2017, whereby she legally took up her new post. She was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

a bishop on 15 July 2017 by John Davies, Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, during a service at

Brecon Cathedral Brecon Cathedral ( cy, Eglwys Gadeiriol Aberhonddu), in the town of Brecon, Powys, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon in the Church in Wales and seat of the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon. Previously the church of Brecon Priory ...

. She was installed as the 72nd Bishop of Llandaff during a service at

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 Peter ...

on 22 July.

List of bishops

(Dates in italics indicate ''de facto ''continuation of office.)

Pre-Reformation

Diocese of 'Glamorgan and Gwent' – ''Traditional list''

Diocese of Llandaff

During the Reformation

Post-Reformation

Bishops of 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 ...

Bishops of the disestablished
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 ...

Assistant bishops

Among those non-retired bishops who have assisted the bishops of Llandaff have been: *2 June 191730 April 1921 (ret.):

Lloyd Crossley Owen Thomas Lloyd Crossley (30 April 18603 March 1926) was the fourth Anglican Bishop of Auckland for a short period during the second decade of the 20th century. Educated at the Belfast Academy and Trinity College, Dublin he was made deacon 8 ...

, Rector of St Andrew's Major and former bishop of Auckland *19611970 (ret.):

Thomas Hughes Thomas Hughes (20 October 182222 March 1896) was an English lawyer, judge, politician and author. He is most famous for his novel ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (1857), a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended. ...

Archdeacon of Margam The Archdeacon of Margam is a senior cleric of the Diocese of Llandaff. The archdeacon is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy in the deaneries of Neath, Margam, Bridgend, the Cynon Valley, the Rhondda and the Vale of Glamorg ...

(until 1965), then Archdeacon of Llandaff (until 1969) *19751976 (res.): John Poole Hughes, Curate at

Llantwit Major Llantwit Major ( cy, Llanilltud Fawr) is a town and community in Wales on the Bristol Channel coast. It is one of four towns in the Vale of Glamorgan, with the third largest population (13,366 in 2001) after Barry and Penarth, and ahead of Cowb ...

and previously Bishop of South-West Tanganyika; became diocesan bishop of Llandaff *19771983 (ret.):

David Reece David L. Reece is an American singer who has been active in the heavy metal rock scene professionally since the late 1980s, recording with several bands in diverse genres including Bonfire from January 2015 to July 2016. He is best known for hi ...

, Archdeacon of Margam (until 1981) *20042009 (ret.):

David Yeoman David Yeoman (born 5 March 1944) is a Welsh Anglican bishop. Yeoman was educated at the University College of South Wales and St. Michael's College, Llandaff. He was and ordained in 1971. After curacies in Cardiff and Caerphilly he held incu ...

Archdeacon of Morgannwg The Diocese of Llandaff is an Anglican (Church in Wales) diocese that traces its roots to pre-Reformation times as heir of a Catholic bishopric. It is headed by the Bishop of Llandaff, whose seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Pet ...

(until 2006) *20092017 (ret.):

Citations

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{Anglican Bishops & Archbishops - Great Britain

Bishop of Llandaff The Bishop of Llandaff is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. Area of authority The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The bishop's seat is in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (the site of a ...

Llandaff