Some of these articles appeared before the announcement of Archbishop John’s retirement.
Gavin Drake The Living Church Welsh Primate Resigns in Cathedral Leadership Scandal
Church Times Archbishop of Wales steps down, with immediate effect
Harriet Sherwood The Guardian Archbishop of Wales stands down after Bangor cathedral scandal
Gwyn Loader BBC News Archbishop retires amid cathedral behaviour failings
Martin Shipton Nation Cymru Church in Wales charities probed by Charity Commission
Here is the personal statement by the Archbishop issued on Monday this week: Statement on Bangor Cathedral Visitation Report implementation.
The process for electing a new Archbishop is in the Constitution. Within thirty days after a vacancy arises in the archbishopric, the senior Diocesan Bishop (currently the Bishop of St Asaph) shall summon each member of the Archbishop’s Electoral College to a meeting to be held not less than fourteen and not more than thirty days after the date of such summons. So the meeting must be held not later that 26 August.
The only reason for delay is if a see is vacant or becomes vacant within 14 days of the archbishopric becoming vacant. In that case the process does not start until the vacant see has been filled. But Bishop John has delayed his resignation from his see by more than 14 days, so the timetable above must be followed.
The letter from Rowena Lewis is to be found in the Martin Shipton report. It is worth reading to get some idea of the depth of feeling about the situation in the diocese of Bangor.
This is an unusual process.
It would be good to hear the thinking behind this decision to have an immediate archiepiscopal election when the diocese of Bangor will be vacant.
This is unprecedented.
Of course archbishops have previously resigned from both positions at the same moment.
Thus the election of a new Archbishop has been delayed until all the Sees are filled..
So why this change?
Why now?
What is the reasoning around this ??
It needs to be made clear.
On further reflection … It has been obvious for a few months that Andy John couldn’t survive this series of decisions and the extraordinary consequences of his judgment. It seems that in the last few weeks the bench of bishops have been discussing the Archbishops exit strategy and have come up with a plan. The plan can only work if there isn’t a sixth bishop as that sixth bishop might not help to contrive the outcome. Under the threat of potential implosion with further scandals to come it seems that it has been decided there will only be one candidate… Read more »
The problem they’ve got is that +StAsaph was complicit in John’s questionable appointment, and the others are all new enough to be unproven. Add to that, that all of them have been silent while the Bangor mess has grown and grown, and it’s hard to see that any appointment will command sufficient assent to be viable.