The Archbishop of Wales has announced this evening that he has retired with immediate effect as Archbishop. He will also retire as Bishop of Bangor on 31 August. There are statements from the Archbishop, the Bench of Bishops and the Chair of the Representative Body in this press release, copied below.
Retirement of the Archbishop of Wales
Posted: 27 June 2025
Statement from the Archbishop of Wales, the Most Revd. Andrew John
Dear Friends,
I am writing to you to announce my immediate retirement today as Archbishop of Wales. I also intend to retire as Bishop of Bangor on August 31st.
It has been an enormous joy to serve in the Church in Wales for over 35 years. I cannot thank you enough for the privilege of working at your side for the sake of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
I would very much like to thank the clergy and congregations of this wonderful diocese before I retire and I will be in touch again about the way in which this might happen.
Thank you, and Christ give you joy and peace in believing.
+Andy
Statement on behalf of the Bench of Bishops of the Church in Wales
The Bishop of St Asaph, the Rt Rev’d Gregory Cameron, Senior Bishop of the Church in Wales, spoke on behalf of the Bench of Bishops:
“As Archbishop Andrew announces his retirement today as Archbishop of Wales and his forthcoming retirement as Bishop of Bangor, the Bench of Bishops of the Church in Wales wish to express our heartfelt thanks for his service to the Church during his ministry.
“Andy has dedicated thirty-six years of his life to ordained ministry in the Church in Wales, and has served with commitment and energy to proclaim the Christian Gospel and draw people to deeper faith in Jesus Christ. He has given so much for the good of the Church in Wales. He now lays down his considerable responsibilities in the same spirit in which he has served for these decades.
“We offer most sincere thanks, and our commitment to hold him and his family in prayer at this time and in the days ahead.”
Statement by Professor Medwin Hughes, Chair of the Representative Body of the Church in Wales
As Archbishop Andrew retires from his duties, I wish to thank him on behalf of The Representative Body of the Church in Wales for his hard work, commitment and vision during his time as Archbishop of Wales and Bishop of Bangor.
The Archbishop has led the Church through a time of immense change and challenge. Throughout his time in post, has shown his deeply felt concern for the welfare, not just of the Church itself, but of our society and the world as a whole.
I know that everyone who has worked with The Archbishop during his ministry will have been touched by his pastoral care and his profound dedication to improving the life of the Church in Wales and of the wider community.
As he now passes that work to other hands, I want to place on record my sincere gratitude for all he has achieved, together with my admiration for the integrity of his ministry to the people of Wales. All members of the Representative Body will continue to hold The Archbishop and his family in our prayers.
From the Guardian: They came after a review by ThirtyOne: Eight, a Christian safeguarding agency, heard accounts of excessive alcohol consumption, inappropriate language and humiliating banter and a “culture in which sexual boundaries seemed blurred, and to some … promiscuity was acceptable”. Homophobic comments and an “unhappy working environment” were also reported. Which is amusing, for about five seconds, and then it isn’t. This isn’t just an opportunity to snark at strange cult-like behaviour in remote parts of the country, or to ponder slack-jawed how anyone working within a million miles of a place of worshop can think this is acceptable (a… Read more »
It’s worth saying that “the prevalence of swearing and an excessive intake of alcohol among bishops and senior clergy”, together with the existence of “a culture of entitlement”, were also highlighted in the report of the enquiry into the former Bishop of Monmouth, published (after lengthy delays and redaction) in 2021. https://www.churchinwales.org.uk/en/publications/administration-and-business/the-monmouth-enquiry-and-review-report/
A catastrophic state of affairs and scandal that dragged on for years.
There is a truly devastating letter about Andy John’s episcopate on the Nation Cymru website from Rowena Lewis. It really tells the truth as experienced by the people in the pews and the ordinary clergy, and reveals the pitiful condition not only of the diocese of Bangor but of the whole Church in Wales after the years of manipulative and bullying micromanagement by Archbishop Barry Morgan.
While making no comment on the background to this retirement, how exciting that the Church in Wales may soon have its first woman archbishop.
A more appropriate successor to Barry Morgan would have been Gregory Cameron.
A more appropriate successor to Andrew John must surely be Gregory Cameron?
Floreat St. Asaph !
The Church in England is likely to have a women archbishop first!
There are only five candidates to be archbishop. If box tickers want a woman, that’s either Llandaff – not very long in the job and also busy on the Canterbury CNC; or Monmouth who has a same sex partner. I mention that latter point because Jeffrey John was rejected for Llandaff and apparently also Bangor. If they choose St Asaph, Gregory Cameron is 66 and in poor shape. If he made it to 70, that’s less than four years. It’s a mess but with about 10,000 communicants, the Church in Wales will soon be extinct, a tragedy of its own… Read more »
I have just watched this wonderful ordination service from Newport Cathedral.
https://www.youtube.com/live/vJRNHSuA9YA?si=zvI293qmKFq-aa35
I see no evidence of extinction quite the reverse. I see humility, passion, love, service and hope.
In short I see “faith in our future” which is the motto of the Diocese of Monmouth.
My guess is that John Lomas would be the popular choice, but he hasn’t been in post for very long.
He is indeed highly thought of by many, but he is also quite close to retirement, having been born in 1958.
Based on the information in the public domain thus far, it would seem there are only 3 Bishops who are not implicated in some way in the events of Bangor: +Monmouth, +St Davids and +Swansea and Brecon, all of whom are spoken highly of in their dioceses.
He was doomed …
It was inevitable…
I can only wish him well.
What lovely sincere statements! It must be a joy to work in this “wonderful diocese” where life has been improved by dedicated pastoral care. It would be awful if there had been any bullying, corruption or sexual shenaningans!
Although living in Wales, I’m not a member of the CinW. My understanding – which may be wrong – is that, up till now, the Archbishop has been chosen by and from the Bench of Bishops. However the “Harries Report” of 2012 proposed something different which I don’t think was implemented: see sections 17 and 23. https://churchinwales.contentfiles.net/media/documents/Church_in_Wales_Review_2012.pdf
The post of archbishop of Wales has almost invariably gone to the senior bishop. That is clearly how Andy John got the job when John Davies retired, despite Gregory Cameron standing against him. The electorate is – as Baptist Trainfan reminds us – the Bench of Bishops and they alone. The senior bishop is now Gregory Cameron, who was born in 1959 and isn’t therefore far from retirement. He is a great enthusiast for same-sex marriage, and may wish to be archbishop when this comes to the Governing Body next year. The next senior bishop is the bishop of Llandaff,… Read more »
One has to ask whether – quite apart from the appointments process – this is the moment for a roots-and-branches review of the Diocesan structure? I appreciate that Wales covers a large area with poor communication – but does a church community which is now so small, and a national population of little over 3 million, warrant six dioceses? It will never happen, but one could perhaps envisage a structure along the lines of Cardiff/Newport/Monmouth; Swansea/West Wales/mid-Wales up to Aberystwyth/Machynlleth; all of Wales north of the Dyfi. But that would be too radical!
The Heads of the Valleys Road marks the cultural boundary between north and south Wales.
A similar call is made from time to time regarding Scotland but it seems to me that, while there might be an argument for pooling resources to avoid duplication e.g. sharing DDOs and the like, merging dioceses isn’t particularly helpful. If anything I would be looking at more, smaller dioceses, paying bishops no more than parish priests, and eliminating middle layers in the hierarchy. Let the bishop be the leader of their diocese in a practical sense, a common sight in its churches and on its streets.
The choice of Archbishop is by electoral college with elected clergy and laity alongside bishops. The statement that only bishops choose the Archbishop of Wales is very out of date. I write as a retired cleric in this church.
Thank you – I said that I wasn’t sure.
Very out of date? Really? But Andy John was chosen by the other members of the Bench. When did things change? It is the bishops who are chosen by electoral college, not the archbishop.
No, Andy John was elected as archbishop by an electoral college of the bishops plus three clergy and three laity from each diocese. https://www.churchinwales.org.uk/en/news-and-events/election-of-the-archbishop-of-wales/ and https://www.churchinwales.org.uk/en/news-and-events/new-archbishop-of-wales-elected/
At least that absolves the then Bench of Bishops from some of the blame for such a disastrous choice. But my apologies for misleading the readers of Thinking Anglicans.
In fact, the Bishop of Llandaff is the most recently elected Welsh diocesan bishop and, thus, the most junior. The Welsh system has often been criticised for defaulting to the “Buggins’ turn” principle. The results have not been stellar successes in several cases. As it stands, the Church in Wales is faced with having had four archbishops in under ten years. Since three of the potential candidates this time are over 65, the tally could soon be five in fifteen years! That could be made worse if the new archbishop were someone subsequently found wanting in the ongoing investigations into… Read more »
Three Archbishops have resigned as archbishop before resigning as diocesan bishops. Charles Green announced that he would resign as Archbishop on 12 April 1944, but not as Bishop of Bangor. It has been said that he hoped to influence the election of his successor as archbishop, but he died on 7 May before the Electoral College met. David Prosser resigned as Archbishop on 30 April 1949, but remained Bishop of St Davids until his death on 28 February 1950. Glyn Simon resigned as Archbishop on 30 June 1971 and as Bishop of Llandaff on 31 August. (Almost precisely the same… Read more »
Again apologies. I was thinking of the bishop who would have been senior bishop had Andy John gone on to retire at 70. The only obvious candidate now is Gregory Cameron and I wouldn’t want to speculate who might get the job if he doesn’t stand, or who will succeed him if he does stand. I should add that one particular group in the Church in Wales comes out of this sad affair with considerable credit. I refer to the Provincial Board – the body that considers candidates for oradained ministry. I suspect that they knew full well that Sion… Read more »
Correction: +Saint Davids (c. 2024) is “the most recently elected Welsh diocesan bishop and, thus, the most junior” (Tonge, 2025). Stallard was elected Bishop of Llandaff in 2023 (c. 2022 as Assistant Bishop of Bangor).
Thanks. So much for an old man’s memory!
I’m also fascinated to read of the previous resignations of the archbishopric but not of the see. I should have remembered Glyn Simon’s.
Correction: the next senior bishop to +Saint Asaph is +Monmouth.
The next senior bishop is Llandaff. Not true! Monmouth and Swansea and Brecon have both been diocesan bishops for longer. And both are people of real integrity who are plain speaking and truthful
Personally I have found it interesting to compare this with the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury in the last twelve months. Firstly, I don’t recall such a fulsome attempt at an apology from +Justin as given here by +Andrew in the period leading up to resignation. Secondly, it would appear that the Representative Body and some fellow Bishop’s were able to make clear that it be better for him to retire/resign without having the assistance of a day or two of BBC headlines and public prouncements by a ‘rogue’ Bishop. It strikes me that the Church in Wales has… Read more »
Again may I please comment. The C in W has no suffragan bishops. The Archbishop of Wales appoints an assistant bishop whose role ends with the retirement of the Archbishop. Such were David Yeoman and David Wilbourne in Llandaff and Mary Stallard ( who became a diocesan while an assistant bishop) and then David Morris, in Bangor. Usually they don’t have a place attached to them and their role is whatever the Archbishop delegates to them. Very different from a C of E suffragan bishop
A very helpful correction from Peter Sedgwick regarding Assistant over Suffragan. Perhaps this should be reflected upon by the Welsh bench, Representative Body, and whomever else need be consulted.
To add one detail to Peter’s helpful comment. In the 1980s the Representative Body strongly felt that an Archbishop deserved episcopal assistance funded by the central body, without any present or future financial drain on whichever diocese happened to host the archiepiscopacy. They therefore resolved to fund any such post beyond the tenure of the Archbishop in question, so that any Assistant Bishop is not a heartbeat away from redundancy, nor an archdiocese a heartbeat away from funding an additional bishop. Resigning as Archbishop prior to resigning as Diocesan is not unprecedented. Glyn Simon, Archbishop and Bishop of Llandaff, did… Read more »
The act of 1534 made provision for a Suffragan Bishop of Penrydd. I think there was only ever one occupant.
Further to the excellent and helpful comments from Michael H. and Tom Kitten, it has been my direct experience of the CiW (which is admittedly slanted towards the south and east of the principality) that there are only two dioceses which still have a meaningful critical mass of viable congregations – Llandaff and Monmouth, unsurprisingly, and over vast tracts of the rest of Wales it seems that the pulse has either disappeared completely or else beats very weakly. When the Church was disestablished and disendowed in 1914 it lost all of its pre-1662 assets, i.e., the bulk of its property,… Read more »
Large is not necessarily beautiful either. What is needed is “Faith in Our Future” to quote the motto of the Diocese of Monmouth. I can only worship online at St Woolas Cathedral Newport but what I see is a small building with the intimacy of a large parish church but the intellectual and spiritual resources of a cathedral. St Woolas feels to me like a spiritual family that really does have faith in it’s future. For example it constantly shows that it takes care and values the young people in the Cathedral Choir. I am by nature a pragmatist and… Read more »
The Church in Wales didn’t choose disestablishment and disendowment, and yet for the first fifty years or so it flourished, despite very uninspiring leadership at the beginning (archbishop A.G.Edwards), whereas Welsh Nonconformism that thought it had triumphed in securing disestablishment rapidly declined and is now largely moribund. The second fifty years, from around 1970, have been years of accelerating and now headlong decline. The very important question of the continuance or otherwise of rural ministry, and how it can be funded, is surely one that demands a separate discussion, although we do need to remember that those who live in… Read more »
Why does the Archbishop need an assistant? Surely being Bishop of Bangor with 25 clergy is not the most onerous of roles and Archbishop seems mainly honorific. When people complained about June Osborne in Llandaff, +Andy said he had no jurisdiction outside his own diocese. Not like being Archbishop of Canterbury!