The Church in Wales

The Church in Wales (CiW) acquired its name in deference to The Welsh Church Act of 1914, which referred to the Welsh area of the Church of England in those terms. Although many wanted to call the newly-formed branch of the Anglican Communion the ‘Church of Wales’, it was judged prudent to stick to the legal wording.

WW1 delayed the actual creation of the CiW until 1920, whereupon the four Welsh dioceses were split into six. Each diocese has a Bishop, one of whom is also the Archbishop of Wales. Under the Bishops are the Archdeacons and the Deans. CiW beliefs centre around Jesus Christ, baptism, the Bible and the Holy Communion. There are around 42,000 followers today, the peak numbers having occurred in the CiW’s early days.

The CiW centenary was marked by a plan entitled ‘2020 Vision‘. This reorganised the 900 parishes but kept the dioceses intact. There are now ‘Ministry Areas’ which comprise several parishes and are served by a ‘team’ of travelling clergy and laypeople. The aim is to have leaders with specialities, such as inducting newcomers, speaking to children or providing music, all in anticipation of reviving interest, re-engaging with the community and re-energising the CiW profile and its clergy.

(Image: Ceri Thomas at geograph.org.uk / CC BY-SA 2.0)