Church in Wales
Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru
1920 (disestablishment)
42,441 (2018)[2]
The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The position is currently held by Andy John, Bishop of Bangor, since 2021.[4]
Unlike the Church of England, the Church in Wales is not an established church. Disestablishment took place in 1920 under the Welsh Church Act 1914.[5]
As a province of the Anglican Communion, the Church in Wales recognises the Archbishop of Canterbury as a focus of unity but without any formal authority.[6] A cleric of the Church in Wales can be appointed to posts in the Church of England, including the See of Canterbury; a former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, was from Wales and served as Archbishop of Wales before his appointment to Canterbury.
Official name[edit]
The Church in Wales (Welsh: Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) adopted its name by accident. The Welsh Church Act 1914 referred throughout to "the Church in Wales", the phrase being used to indicate the part of the Church of England within Wales. At a convention (of the Welsh Church) held in Cardiff in October 1917, Mr Justice Sankey said that, while the name "the Church of Wales" appealed to him, he advised that there were good legal reasons why the name "the Church in Wales" should be adopted, at least at first, in order to follow the wording in the act. The matter was therefore left at that convention for the second Governing Body to decide at its first session.[7]
Membership[edit]
Following disestablishment in 1920, the Church in Wales initially fared better than the Nonconformist churches, which suffered a decline during the late 20th century. In 1960 the Church claimed to have 182,854 communicants, an increase on the comparable figure of 155,911 for 1945,[16]: 107 although a reduction on the figure of 196,389 Easter communicants in 1938.[16]: 122 The Anglican Church does not have "a single definition of 'membership' in the Church in Wales."[17] In 2006 the average weekly attendance was recorded at 6,780 aged under 18 and 39,490 aged over 18. The highest attendance was at Easter, with 68,120 at worship (68,837 in 2007).[18]
In 2014, the attendance in the Church in Wales was 52,021 at Easter: a decline of about 16,000 members since 2007, but an increase from 2013. Also, in 2014, nineteen churches were closed or made redundant. Overall, in 2014, the Church in Wales reported 152,000 attenders in its parishes and congregations, compared to 105,000 in 2013.[19] In 2018, the number of communicants during Easter was 46,163 and the number of persons on the Electoral Roll was 42,441.[2]
From 2015 statistics, when all "other major acts of worship" are included, the church reported having 206,000 total attenders. "Such additional services, which include civic services, family services, Remembrance, Carol and Christingle services, registered a total attendance of some 206,000 in 2015, compared with 152,000 in 2014."[20][17] In 2017, "parishes recorded 210,000 people attending other types of traditional worship, which might include civic services, family services, Remembrance, Carol and Christingle services."[21]
In 2000, membership figures taken as a percentage of the population was 1.6%.[22] Between 1996 and 2016 the number of signed-up Church in Wales members dropped from 91,247 to 45,759[23] or 1.5% out of a total population of 3,113,150[24] The number of Church in Wales members on the "Electoral Roll" dropped further to 42,441 by 2018[2][25] or 1.4% out of the total Welsh population of 3,187,203[26][27] The Anglican church claims to be the largest denomination in Wales.[28]