on Wednesday, 17 June 2026 at 5.56 pm by Peter Owen
categorised as Church in Wales, News
The Very Revd Dr Manon Ceridwen James has been elected as the 82nd Bishop of Bangor in the Church in Wales. She is the Dean of Bangor Cathedral. Details are in a press release on the provincial website.
I am reminded of a post I made recently on TA about what seems to be a pattern of women stepping into difficult posts, sometimes to clear up the mess, after men have moved on or been moved on. I cited Bishop Karen in Salisbury, Bishop Debbie in Winchester, and (Arch)Bishop Sarah in London and now Canterbury.
Is there a similar pattern in Wales, with Cherry Vann and now this appointment?
When Tim Dakin ‘stood back’ as Bishop of Winchester, David Williams, Suffragan Bishop of Basingstoke, did the same (and for associated reasons) clearly ruling out his being eligible as Acting Bishop. That role fell to Debbie Sellin, Bishop of Southampton as the other Suffragan in the Diocese.
Subsequently both have become Diocesans, of Truro and Peterborough respectively, and Bishop Debbie is also a Lord Spiritual.
Thank you Rowland. Whilst my post was about the women, I do acknowledge, and agree with you, about David Williams honourable but less visible actions in Winchester. I am pleased that both have moved onwards and upwards.
Given the total radio silence on the official announcement about the recent history of the diocese and appointment of a bishop, it would be interesting to know a little more about why you have such confidence in her.
Sam Jones
19 days ago
I have no view on Dr James, but given the circumstances of Andrew John’s departure would it not have been better for the new bishop to come from outside the diocese (and possibly from outside the Church in Wales)? The appointment of the dean of the cathedral which has had serious safeguarding issues, considerable financial difficulties and been the subject of multiple serious incident referrals to the Charity Commission, does not inspire confidence.
It is worth asking those who know about whether that has, in fact, been achieved, either in full or in part. One of the things I have discovered about the CiW since asking contacts I have about the different things reported from across the Dioceses, some of which have caused me to raise my eyebrows (to vastly understate) has been it is extremely rare to hear unanimity of any kind in accounts shared. That’s perhaps inevitable in a smaller denomination. But very unusually, I have heard no dissenting voices thus far among the people I’ve spoken to (which has been… Read more »
It is widely recognised that it is important for the Bishop of Bangor to be able to communicate with some fluency in the Welsh language (it is the Diocese with by far the biggest concentration of first-language Cymraeg) – the pool of appointable (and willing) candidates from outside the Church in Wales must be very small indeed, unless there is a Patagonian Archdeacon that I’ve somehow missed!
William Price
15 days ago
I wish the Bishop-elect of Bangor well in her new ministry, but I hope that her election is not seen as a reason to forget past events in the cathedral. Over the years there have been many very serious allegations of spiritual abuse, of financial irregularities, and even of criminal activity. These allegations need to be probed thoroughly and rigorously. To leave them without investigation would be a serious blot on the integrity of the leadership of the Church in Wales.
Da iawn a diolch i Canon William Price. As usual, wisdom and common sense from Canon Price. Surely, there can never, ever be proper closure and complete healing in Bangor until the whole fiasco/debacle of the past few years is fully, properly and, most importantly, transparently probed and the report published in full unredacted form. It may take some time, but without that I fear Bangor will continue to fester and wither. People of the cathedral, the diocese and, indeed, the whole Church in Wales, are entitled to know (1) whether there is foundation for the allegations, (2) who knew… Read more »
An inspired and inspiring appointment!
I am reminded of a post I made recently on TA about what seems to be a pattern of women stepping into difficult posts, sometimes to clear up the mess, after men have moved on or been moved on. I cited Bishop Karen in Salisbury, Bishop Debbie in Winchester, and (Arch)Bishop Sarah in London and now Canterbury.
Is there a similar pattern in Wales, with Cherry Vann and now this appointment?
When Tim Dakin ‘stood back’ as Bishop of Winchester, David Williams, Suffragan Bishop of Basingstoke, did the same (and for associated reasons) clearly ruling out his being eligible as Acting Bishop. That role fell to Debbie Sellin, Bishop of Southampton as the other Suffragan in the Diocese.
Subsequently both have become Diocesans, of Truro and Peterborough respectively, and Bishop Debbie is also a Lord Spiritual.
Thank you Rowland. Whilst my post was about the women, I do acknowledge, and agree with you, about David Williams honourable but less visible actions in Winchester. I am pleased that both have moved onwards and upwards.
Decluttering the Anglican Communion by 85% is certainly remarkable.
Given the total radio silence on the official announcement about the recent history of the diocese and appointment of a bishop, it would be interesting to know a little more about why you have such confidence in her.
I have no view on Dr James, but given the circumstances of Andrew John’s departure would it not have been better for the new bishop to come from outside the diocese (and possibly from outside the Church in Wales)? The appointment of the dean of the cathedral which has had serious safeguarding issues, considerable financial difficulties and been the subject of multiple serious incident referrals to the Charity Commission, does not inspire confidence.
Perhaps, but she only became the Dean of Bangor in October last year, i.e. specifically put in to sort out the Cathedral.
TA reported the announcement of that appointment last July here https://www.thinkinganglicans.org.uk/dean-of-bangor/
Before that she was in the diocese of Monmouth.
She became dean in October “specifically put in to sort out the Cathedral.”
And now, 8 months later is appointed the diocesan Bishop…
It is worth asking those who know about whether that has, in fact, been achieved, either in full or in part. One of the things I have discovered about the CiW since asking contacts I have about the different things reported from across the Dioceses, some of which have caused me to raise my eyebrows (to vastly understate) has been it is extremely rare to hear unanimity of any kind in accounts shared. That’s perhaps inevitable in a smaller denomination. But very unusually, I have heard no dissenting voices thus far among the people I’ve spoken to (which has been… Read more »
It is widely recognised that it is important for the Bishop of Bangor to be able to communicate with some fluency in the Welsh language (it is the Diocese with by far the biggest concentration of first-language Cymraeg) – the pool of appointable (and willing) candidates from outside the Church in Wales must be very small indeed, unless there is a Patagonian Archdeacon that I’ve somehow missed!
I wish the Bishop-elect of Bangor well in her new ministry, but I hope that her election is not seen as a reason to forget past events in the cathedral. Over the years there have been many very serious allegations of spiritual abuse, of financial irregularities, and even of criminal activity. These allegations need to be probed thoroughly and rigorously. To leave them without investigation would be a serious blot on the integrity of the leadership of the Church in Wales.
Da iawn a diolch i Canon William Price. As usual, wisdom and common sense from Canon Price. Surely, there can never, ever be proper closure and complete healing in Bangor until the whole fiasco/debacle of the past few years is fully, properly and, most importantly, transparently probed and the report published in full unredacted form. It may take some time, but without that I fear Bangor will continue to fester and wither. People of the cathedral, the diocese and, indeed, the whole Church in Wales, are entitled to know (1) whether there is foundation for the allegations, (2) who knew… Read more »