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 ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

, South Wales. While he was a pupil at the

Bishop Gore School The Bishop Gore School () 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 University. In Decem ...

(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 from 1892 to 1899. He also played football for

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

. 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 ...

. Recalled to Europe in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Llewellyn joined the army as

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

. 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 (; , ) 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 ''fatāwa'' have played an important role thro ...

(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 (state), 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, be ...

. He founded the Unity High School in

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

, and the school was officially opened in 1928. In 1929 he dedicated the first church building at Atbarah 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 Christian cross, cross that is worn on the chest, usually suspended from the neck by a cord or Link chain, chain. In ancient history and the Middle Ages, pector ...

is on display at the Museum of Army Chaplaincy.

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

Boydell and Brewer website, ''First World War Diaries of the Rt Rev Llewellyn Gwynne''Official webpage of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwynne, Llewellyn Henry 1863 births 1957 deaths 19th-century Welsh Anglican priests Welsh men's footballers Clergy 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 Men's association football players not categorized by position British Army major generals Military personnel from Swansea

Early life

Bishop of Egypt and the Sudan

Bibliography

See also

References

External links