The Diocese of Saint Asaph is a
diocese
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...
of the
Church in Wales
The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.
The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The posi ...
in north-east Wales, named after
Saint Asaph
Saint Asaph (or Asaf, Asa) was, in the second half of the 6th century, the first Bishop of St Asaph, i.e. bishop of the diocese of Saint Asaph.
Biography
No traditional Welsh account devoted to the life of Asaph exists. He is, though, well ...
, its second bishop.
Geography
The Anglican
Diocese of St Asaph in the north-east corner of
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
stretches from the borders of
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
in the east, to the
Conwy valley in the west, to
Bala
Bala may refer to:
Places
India
* Bala, India, a village in Allahabad, India
* Bala, Ahor, a village in the Jalore district of Rajasthan
* Bala, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India
Romania
* Bala, Mehedinți, a commune in Mehedin� ...
in the south-west, and
Newtown in the south-east. The population is in excess of half a million people.
The more populous areas are to be found along the coast and in the large conurbation of
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the county ...
, the principal town. The industrial areas around Wrexham and
Deeside
Deeside ( cy, Glannau Dyfrdwy) is the name given to a predominantly industrial conurbation of towns and villages in Flintshire and Cheshire on the Wales–England border lying near the canalised stretch of the River Dee that flows from neigh ...
have undergone great change in the past decade or so. Where once the
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dead ...
,
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resist ...
and
textile
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not t ...
industries provided most of the employment, the economy is now much more diversified and one of the fastest growing in the UK. A major employer is Airbus UK (currently part of
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues ...
), while
Wrexham Industrial Estate
Wrexham Industrial Estate ( Welsh: ) is a well defined industrial area in Wrexham. It is sited on the eastern outskirts of the city and 2.5 miles from the centre of Wrexham. Originally the site of a World War II munitions factory, the estate la ...
is one of the largest in Europe. North-east Wales also acts as a dormitory area for Chester Business Park, which is dominated by
MBNA
MBNA Corporation was a bank holding company and parent company of wholly owned subsidiary MBNA America Bank, N.A., headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, prior to being acquired by Bank of America in 2006.
History
The former Maryland National ...
. This economy is ministered to by an Industrial Chaplain, a post which alternates between a
Church in Wales
The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.
The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The posi ...
priest and a
Presbyterian Church of Wales
The Presbyterian Church of Wales ( cy, Eglwys Bresbyteraidd Cymru), also known as Calvinistic Methodist Church (), is a denomination of Protestant Christianity in Wales.
History
The church was born out of the Welsh Methodist revival and the ...
minister.
Most of the diocese is rural, interspersed with small market towns and village communities. The southern area of the diocese in north
Powys
Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain.
Geog ...
is undergoing regional development, especially with the advent of a good number of small industries. Because of the beauty of the landscape, at holiday times there is a large influx of visitors from England and further afield.
Tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
is now one of the growth industries of this area of Wales.
Traditionally, the Diocese of St Asaph extended across the border into
England. However, following
disestablishment
The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...
on 31 March 1920, the
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to t ...
parishes of Criftins, Hengoed, Kinnerley, Knockin, Llanyblodwel, Llanymynech, Melverley, Morton, Oswestry, St Martins, Selattyn, Trefonen, Weston Rhyn and Whittington were transferred from the Diocese of St Asaph to the English
Diocese of Lichfield
The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers of seve ...
.
History
This diocese was founded by
St. Kentigern about the middle of the sixth century, when he was exiled from his see in Scotland. He founded a monastery called Llanelwy at the confluence of the rivers
Clwyd
Clwyd () is a preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east corner of the country; it is named after the River Clwyd, which runs through the area. To the north lies the Irish Sea, with the English ceremonial counties of Cheshire to ...
and
Elwy in north east Wales, where after his return to Scotland in 573 he was succeeded by Asaph or Asa, who was consecrated
Bishop of Llanelwy.
The diocese originally coincided with the Welsh
principality of Powys
The Kingdom of Powys ( cy, Teyrnas Powys; la, Regnum Poysiae) was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. It very roughly covered the northern t ...
, but lost much territory first by the
Mercia
la, Merciorum regnum
, conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia
, common_name=Mercia
, status=Kingdom
, status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex ()
, life_span=527–918
, era=Heptarchy
, event_start=
, date_start=
, ye ...
n encroachment marked by Watt's dyke and again by the construction of
Offa's dyke
Offa's Dyke ( cy, Clawdd Offa) is a large linear earthwork that roughly follows the border between England and Wales. The structure is named after Offa, the Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia from AD 757 until 796, who is traditionally believed to ...
, soon after 798. Nothing is known of the history of the diocese during the disturbed period that followed.
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...
gives scanty particulars of a few churches but is silent as to the
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominat ...
.
Early in the twelfth century, Norman influence asserted itself and in 1143
Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, consecrated one Gilbert as Bishop of St. Asaph, but the position of his successors was very difficult and one of them, Godfrey, was driven away by poverty and the hostility of the Welsh. A return made in the middle of the thirteenth century (British Library, Cotton MSS, Vitellius, c. x.) shows the existence of eight rural deaneries, seventy-nine churches, and nineteen chapels. By 1291 the deaneries had been doubled in number and there were
Cistercian houses at
Basingwerk,
Aberconway,
Strata Marcella
The Abbey of Strata Marcella ( cy, Abaty Ystrad Marchell) was a medieval Cistercian monastery situated at Ystrad Marchell (''Strata Marcella'' being the Latinised form of the Welsh name) on the west bank of the River Severn near Welshpool, Powys ...
and
Valle Crucis, and a
Cistercian nunnery
Cistercian nuns are female members of the Cistercian Order, a religious order belonging to the Roman Catholic branch of the Catholic Church.
History
The first Cistercian monastery for women, Le Tart Abbey, was established at Tart-l'Abbaye in th ...
,
Llanllugan Abbey. The cathedral, which had been burnt in the wars, was rebuilt and completed in 1295. It was a plain massive structure of simple plan, and was again destroyed during the English succession
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the throne of England, English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These w ...
. When it was restored by Bishop Redman the palace was not rebuilt and thus the bishops continued to be nonresident. At the end of the fifteenth century there was a great revival of church building, as is evidenced by the churches of that date still existing in the diocese.
The chief shrines in the diocese were St. Winefred's Well, St. Garmon in Yale ( cy, Iâl), St. Dervel Gadarn in
Edeirnion
Edeirnion or Edeyrnion is an area of the county of Denbighshire and an ancient commote of medieval Wales in the cantref of Penllyn. According to tradition, it was named after its eponymous founder Edern or Edeyrn. It was included as a Welsh ...
, St. Monacella at Pennant and the Holy Cross in
Strata Marcella
The Abbey of Strata Marcella ( cy, Abaty Ystrad Marchell) was a medieval Cistercian monastery situated at Ystrad Marchell (''Strata Marcella'' being the Latinised form of the Welsh name) on the west bank of the River Severn near Welshpool, Powys ...
. All these were demolished at the
Anglican Reformation. At that time the diocese contained one archdeaconry, sixteen deaneries and one hundred and twenty-one parishes. The bishop at this time had five episcopal residences, four of which were assumed by the Church of England bishop under Edward VI.
The ''Report of the Commissioners appointed by his Majesty to inquire into the Ecclesiastical Revenues of England and Wales'' (1835) found the see had an annual net income of £6,301. This made it the wealthiest diocese in Wales and the fourth richest in Britain after Canterbury, London and Winchester.
Lists of archdeacons
Archdeacons of St Asaph
Archdeacons of Montgomery
:''The archdeaconry was created from that of St Asaph on 6 February 1844.''
Archdeacons of Wrexham
:''The archdeaconry was created from those of St Asaph and of Montgomery on 25 March 1890.''
:''Some archdeacons of Wrexham are recorded with the title Archdeacon of Wrexham and Ruthin.''
*1890–1897 (res.):
David Howell
*1897–1910 (res.):
Llewelyn Wynne Jones
*1910–1925 (res.):
William Fletcher
*1925–1930 (d.):
Lewis Pryce
*1930–1947 (ret.):
James Williams
*1948–1957 (res.):
Richard Mackenzie Williams
*1957-1969 (res):
Benjamin Jones-Perrott
*1969–1978 (ret.):
John Davies
*1978–1987 (d.):
Raymond Foster
*1987–2001 (ret.):
Bryan Williams
*2001–2010 (res.):
Malcolm Squires
*2010–2013 (ret.):
Shirley Griffiths
*2014–2018:
Bob Griffiths
*7 October 20182021:
John Lomas (became
Bishop of Swansea and Brecon)
Archdeaconries and deaneries
List of churches
The diocese has expended a great deal of effort in recent years to reorganise its system of 14 deaneries and parishes into 20 Mission Areas,
each containing between six and nineteen churches and being ministered to by two to ten stipendiary clergy.
Alyn Deanery
Closed churches in the area
Cedewain Deanery
Closed churches in this area
Dee Valley Deanery
Closed churches in the area
Denbigh Deanery
Closed churches in the area
Dyffryn Clwyd Deanery
Closed churches in the area
Hawarden Deanery
Closed churches in the area
Holywell Deanery
Closed churches in this area
Llanrwst and Rhos Deanery
Closed churches in the area
1Occasional services still held
Mathrafal Deanery
Closed churches in the area
Mold Deanery
Closed churches in the area
Penedeyrn Deanery
Closed churches in the area
1occasional services still held
Pool Deanery
Closed churches in this area
St Asaph Deanery
Closed churches in this area
Valle Crucis Deanery
Closed churches in the area
Wrexham Deanery
Closed churches in the area
See also
*
Bishop of Saint Asaph
*
Archdeacon of St Asaph
References
Sources and references
*
* http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13332c.htm
{{Coord, 53.2572, N, 3.4419, W, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:GB, display=title
Dioceses of the Church in Wales