New Bishop for St. Davids

The Dean of St. Davids Cathedral, the Very Reverend John Wyn Evans has been elected 128th Bishop of the Diocise of St. Davids.

He was elected by an Electoral College”lock in” following the resignation of the former Bishop Rt Rev. Bishop Carl Cooper in may. The Electoral College is made up of representative from all six of the Welsh dioceses, with the dioceses of St. Davids being represented by six lay people and six clergy. The remaining five dioceses by three lay people and three clergy each as well as the remaining Diocesan Bishops.

The Archbishop of Wales, Dr. Barry Morgan had this to say:

“I am delighted with the result of this election. It is obvious that Wyn has enormous support both within and without the diocese. He is a safe pair of hands and also a man who can move the diocese forward and continue its good work.”

The Rt. Rev. John “Wyn” Evans, 61, has served as Dean to the St. Davids Cathedral for the past 14, driving the fund-raising efforts to restore the Cathedral, raising a much-needed 5.5 million pounds. He was stunned and Honoured to be elected Bishop of the diocese he has served for so long.

As was inevitable, the question of his predecessor was brought up. Rt. Rev. Evans had this to say:

“We are fortunate that Bishop Carl gave the diocese a sense of purpose and direction which I look forward to continuing.”

An interesting statement considering the cloud that Bishop Carl left under. The arguments over what action should be taken on these allegations did cause a lot of resentment and bad feeling in the diocese. It will take a lot to bring the diocese back into line, especially those who had threatened to look for other kinds of leadership.

It is said that Bishop Carl was young, an experiment about whether or not Wales was ready for someone who “had ideas”, who wanted to get things done. It appears, on the most part, they were, however, the allegations seemed to undo everything. The Rt. Rev. Evans is a return to what is familiar. It is hoped that his drive and courage continue to bring St. Davids into the here and now.

~BX

Original Source: The Church In Wales