The bishop of Saint David's is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St David's.

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 David's in Pembrokeshire, founding St David's Cathedral. The current Bishop of St. David's is the Right Reverend Wyn Evans, who succeeded to the post on 1 September 2008.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Claim of Metropolitan Status 2 Further History 3 List of the Bishops of the Diocese of Saint David's 4 References

[edit] History

The history of the diocese of St David's is traditionally traced to that saint in the latter half of the 6th century Records of the history of the diocese before Norman times are very fragmentary, however, consisting of a few chance references in old chronicles, such as 'Annales Cambriae' and 'Brut y Tywysogion' (Rolls Series).

Originally corresponding with the boundaries of Dyfed (Demetia), St David's eventually comprised all the country south of the River Dyfi and west of the English border, with the exception of the greater part of Glamorganshire, in all some 3,500 square miles.

[edit] Claim of Metropolitan Status

The early ecclesiastical organisation of the Welsh church is unclear but scanty references reveal that some form of Archbishopric definitely existed, with multiple bishops under the jurisdiction of a senior see. One of the earliest mentions of the religious community at St David's Cathedral comes in the work of Asser who was trained there. In his Life of King Alfred c. 893 Asser clearly describes his kinsman, Nobis, also of St David's, as Archbishop. In the Annales Cambriae, Elfoddw is termed ‘archbishop of the land of Gwynedd’ in his obit, under the year 809.^[1]

Rhygyfarch's Life of Saint David c. 1090. states Saint David was anointed as an archbishop by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, a position confirmed at the Synod of Llanddewi Brefi by popular acclaim.

Then, blessed and extolled by the mouth of all, he is with the consent of all the bishops, kings, princes, nobles, and all grades of the whole Britannic race, made archbishop, and his monastery too is declared the metropolis of the whole country, so that whoever ruled it should be accounted archbishop.^[2]

Rhygyfarch's claim may be dubious history but there can be little doubt he was reflecting a pre-existing tradition. It is unclear when St David's came definitely under the metropolitan jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury, but about 1115 King Henry I intruded a Norman into the see, Bernard, Bishop of St David's, who prior to his ordination was confirmed by Canterbury, much to the disgust of the Brut y Tywysogyon which noted that Henry I ‘made him bishop in Menevia in contempt of the clerics of the Britons’. Once in place Bernard became convinced that St David's was a Metropolitan archbishopric (and thus of the same status as Canterbury). Bernard in the 1120s claimed metropolitan jurisdiction over Wales and presented his suit unsuccessfully before six successive popes. Pope Eugenius III was giving the case serious consideration, the issue was to be put to the synod summoned to meet at Rheims in March 1148, but the death of Bernard meant the case lapsed.^[3] The idea of Archbishops in Wales was also reflected in the work of Geoffrey of Monmouth. The claim was afterwards revived in the time of Giraldus Cambrensis who pressed it vigorously. The failure of Gerald's campaign saw the claim lapse but it was revived by Owain Glyndŵr's plan for an independent Welsh Church. The idea was also revived in the reformation with Bishop Richard Davies in the ‘Address to the Welsh nation’ prefixed to the translation into Welsh of the New Testament by him and William Salesbury referred to ‘Archbishop David'. It was only in 1920 that an Archbishop of Wales was reestablished.

[edit] Further History

The building of the present St David's Cathedral was begun under Bishop Peter de Leia (1176-1203). In the troubled times of the Reformation the former bishop of St David's, William Barlow (1536-1548) was a consecrator of Archbishop Matthew Parker in 1559.

At the Reformation the See ceased to be in communion with Rome, but it continued as a See of the Church of England, and, since disestablishment, of the Church in Wales.

[edit] List of the Bishops of the Diocese of Saint David's

The accounts of the earliest incumbents on the list are conflicting.

Tenure	Incumbent	Notes
545 to 589	Saint David
589 to 606	Cynog
606 to c. 610	Saint Telio
c. 610 to ???	Saint Ceneu
??? to ???	Morfael
??? to ???	Haerwnen
??? to ???	Elfaed
??? to ???	Gwrnwen
??? to ???	Llunwerth I
??? to ???	Gwrgwst
??? to ???	Gwrgan
??? to ???	Clydog
??? to ???	Einion
??? to ???	Elffod
??? to ???	Ethelman
??? to ???	Elane
??? to ???	Maesgwyd
??? to 831	Sadwrnfen
831 to ???	Cadell
??? to 840	Sulhaithnay
840 to 874	Nobis
874 to ???	Idwal
??? to ???	Arthfael
??? to ???	Samson
??? to ???	Ruelin
??? to ???	Rhydderch
??? to ???	Elwin
??? to ???	Morbiw
??? to 873	Llunwerth II
873 to 944	Eneuris
944 to ???	Sulhidyr (alias Hubert)
??? to 978	Ivor
978 to 999	Morgeneu
999 to ???	Nathan
??? to ???	Ieuan (alias Jevan)
??? to 1016	Arwystl
1016 to 1023	Erbin
1023 to 1039	Trahaearn
1039 to 1061	Joseph
1061 to 1071	Bleiddud
1071 to 1072	Sulien
1072 to 1078	Abraham
1078 to 1088	Sulien	Restored
1088 to ???	Rhygyfarch ap Sulien
??? to 1115	Wilfrid (alias Gruffydd)
1115 to 1115	Daniel (alias Deiniol)	Elected but set aside; became Archdeacon of Powys
1115 to 1148	Bernard	Chancellor to Queen Adelize; first bishop to submit to the see of Canterbury
1148 to 1176	David FitzGerald	Archdeacon of Cardigan
1176 to 1198	Peter de Leia	Prior of Wenlock
1198 to 1203	Giraldus Cambrensis	Election disputed and not ratified by the king; resigned
1203 to 1214	Geoffrey de Henlaw
1214 to 1229	Gervase (alias Iorwerth)	Died in office
1230 to 1248	Anselm De la Grace
1248 to 1256	Thomas Wallensis
1256 to 1280	Richard Carew
1280 to 1298	Thomas Bek	Archdeacon of Dorset
1298 to 1328	David Martyn
1328 to 1347	Henry Gower
1347 to 1350	John de Thoresby	Lord Chancellor; translated to Worcester
1350 to 1353	Reginald Brian	Translated to Worcester
1353 to 1361	Thomas Fastolf	Parson of Fakenham, Norfolk
1361 to 1389	Adam Houghton	Lord Chancellor
1389	Richard Metford	Elected but set aside by the pope
1389 to 1397	John Gilbert	Translated from Hereford
1397 to 1408	Guy Mone	Lord Treasurer
1408 to 1414	Henry Chichele	Archdeacon of Salisbury; translated to Canterbury
1414 to 1415	John Catterick	Translated to Lichfield
1415 to 1417	Stephen Patrington	Translated to Chichester
1417 to 1433	Benedict Nichols	Translated from Bangor
1433 to 1442	Thomas Rodburn	Archdeacon of Sudbury
1442 to 1446	William Lyndwood	Lord Privy Seal
January 1447 to May 1447	John Langton	Chancellor of Cambridge; died in office
15 September 1447 to 1460	John De la Bere	Dean of Wells
1460 to 1482	Robert Tully	Monk of Gloucester
1482 to 1483	Richard Martin	Privy Councillor to Edward IV
1483 to 1484	Thomas Langton	Prebendary of Wells
1484 to 1485	Andrew …	Surname not known
1485 to 1496	Hugh Pavy	Archdeacon of Wiltshire
1496 to May 1504	John Morgan (alias John Young)	Dean of Windsor; died in office
1505 to 1509	Robert Sherborne	Dean of St Paul's, London; translated to Chichester
1509 to 1522	Edward Vaughan	Prebendary of Saint Paul's, London; died in office
1523 to 1536	Richard Rawlins	Warden of Merton College, Oxford, Prebendary of Saint Paul's, London
1536 to 1549	William Barlow	Translated from St Asaph; translated to Bath & Wells
1549 to 1553	Robert Ferrar	Consecrated 9 September 1548; deprived by Queen Mary; burned at the stake
1553 to 1559	Henry Morgan	Principal of St Edward's Hall, Oxford; deprived by Queen Elizabeth
1559 to 1561	Thomas Young	Chancellor of St David's; translated to York
1561 to 7 November 1581	Richard Davies	Translated from St Asaph; died in office
1582 to 1592	Marmaduke Middleton	Translated from Waterford; deprived and driven into exile by Queen Mary
1592 to 1594	vacant
1594 to 1615	Anthony Rudd	Dean of Gloucester
1615 to 1621	Richard Milbourne	Dean of Rochester; translated to Carlisle
1621 to 1627	William Laud	Dean of Gloucester; translated to Bath & Wells
1627 to 1635	Theophilus Field	Translated from Llandaff
1635 to 1653	Roger Mainwaring	Dean of Worcester; died in office
1653 to 1660	vacant	Until the Restoration
1660 to 1677	William Lucy	Rector of High Clere, Huntingdonshire; died in office
1677 to 1683	William Thomas	Dean of Worcester; translated to Worcester
1683 to 1686	Lawrence Womach	Archdeacon of Suffolk
1686 to 1687	John Lloyd	Principal of Jesus College, Oxford
1687 to 1699	Thomas Watson	Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge; deprived for crimes including simony
1699 to 1705	vacant	For 5 years
1705 to 1710	George Bull	Archdeacon of Llandaff
1710 to 1712	Philip Bisse	Translated to Hereford
1712 to 1723	Adam Ottley	Archdeacon of Salop and Prebendary of Hereford
1723 to 1730	Richard Smalbroke	Treasurer of Llandaff; translated to Lichfield & Coventry
1730 to 1731	Elias Sydall	Dean of Canterbury; translated to Gloucester
1731 to 1743	Nicholas Clagget	Dean of Rochester; translated to Exeter
1743 to 1744	Edward Willes	Dean of Lincoln; translated to Bath & Wells
1744 to 1752	The Honourable Richard Trevor	Canon of Windsor; translated to Durham
1752 to 1761	Anthony Ellis	Prebendary of Gloucester
1761 to 1766	Samuel Squire	Dean of Bristol
1766 to 1766	Robert Lowth	Prebendary of Durham; translated to Oxford
1766 to 1774	Charles Moss	Archdeacon of Colchester; translated to Bath & Wells
1774 to 1779	The Honourable James York	Dean of Lincoln; translated to Gloucester
1779 to 1783	John Warren	Archdeacon of Worcester; translated to Bangor
1783 to 1788	Edward Smallwell	Translated to Oxford
1788 to 1793	Samuel Horsley	Prebendary of Gloucester; translated to Rochester
1793 to 1800	The Honourable William Stuart	Canon of Christ Church, Oxford; translated to Armagh
20 December 1800 to 3 June 1803	Lord George Murray	Died in office
25 June 1803 to 1825	Thomas Burgess	Prebendary of Durham; translated to Salisbury
18 June 1825 to 7 July 1840	John Banks Jenkinson	Died in office
23 July 1840 to 1874	Connop Thirlwall	Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge
1874 to 1897	William Basil Jones, DD
1897 to 1926	John Owen
1926 to 1950	David Lewis Prosser, LLD	Also Archbishop of Wales 1944-1949
1950 to 1956	William Thomas Havard, MC, TD, DD
1956 to 1971	John Richard Richards, DD
1971 to 1982	Eric Matthias Roberts, MA
1982 to 1991	George Noakes	Also Archbishop of Wales 1987-1991
1991 to 1995	Ivor Rees
1995 to 2002	David Huw Jones
2002 to 29 April 2008	Carl N Cooper	resigned
2008-	John Wyn Evans

[edit] References

• Haydn's Book of Dignities (1894) Joseph Haydn/Horace Ockerby, reprinted 1969
• Whitaker's Almanack 1883 to 2004 Joseph Whitaker & Sons Ltd/A&C Black, London
• http://tejones.net/religion/Bishops

v • d • e Anglican hierarchy in the United Kingdom and Ireland   Church of England Province of Canterbury Diocesan bishops Archbishop of Canterbury • Bath & Wells • Birmingham • Bristol • Chelmsford • Chichester • Coventry • Derby • Ely • Exeter • Gibraltar in Europe • Gloucester • Guildford • Hereford • Leicester • Lichfield • Lincoln • London • Norwich • Oxford • Peterborough • Portsmouth • Rochester • Saint Albans • St Edmundsbury & Ipswich • Salisbury • Southwark • Truro • Winchester • Worcester Suffragan bishops Aston • Barking • Basingstoke • Bedford • Bradwell • Brixworth • Buckingham • Colchester • Crediton • Croydon • Dorchester • Dorking • Dover • Dudley • Dunwich • Ebbsfleet • Edmonton • Europe • Fulham • Grantham • Grimsby • Hertford • Horsham • Huntingdon • Kensington • Kingston-upon-Thames • Lewes • Ludlow • Lynn • Maidstone • Plymouth • Ramsbury • Reading • Repton • Richborough • Sherborne • Shrewsbury • Southampton • St Germans • Stafford • Stepney • Swindon • Taunton • Tewkesbury • Thetford • Tonbridge • Warwick • Willesden • Wolverhampton • Woolwich Province of York Diocesan bishops Archbishop of York • Blackburn • Bradford • Carlisle • Chester • Durham • Liverpool • Manchester • Newcastle • Ripon and Leeds • Sheffield • Sodor & Man • Southwell • Wakefield Suffragan bishops Beverley • Birkenhead • Bolton • Burnley • Doncaster • Hull • Hulme • Jarrow • Knaresborough • Lancaster • Middleton • Penrith • Pontefract • Selby • Sherwood • Stockport • Warrington • Whitby other Bishop to the Forces   Church in Wales Archbishop of Wales • Bangor • Llandaff • Monmouth • Saint Asaph • Saint David's • Swansea & Brecon   Scottish Episcopal Church Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church • Aberdeen and Orkney • Argyll & the Isles • Brechin • Edinburgh • Glasgow & Galloway • Moray, Ross & Caithness • Saint Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane   Church of Ireland Province of Armagh Archbishop of Armagh • Clogher • Connor • Derry and Raphoe • Down & Dromore • Kilmore, Elphin & Ardagh • Tuam, Killala & Achonry Province of Dublin Archbishop of Dublin • Cashel & Ossory • Cork, Cloyne & Ross • Limerick & Killaloe • Meath & Kildare