The Diocese of Monmouth 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 associa ...

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 p ...

. Despite the name, its

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 denominatio ...

is located not in Monmouth but in Newport — the Cathedral Church of St Woolos. Reasons for not choosing the title of Newport included the existence of a Catholic Bishop of Newport until 1916. This apparent anomaly arose in 1921 when the diocese was created (from the eastern part of the

Diocese of Llandaff The Diocese of Llandaff is an Anglican (Church in Wales) diocese that traces its roots to pre-Reformation times as heir of a Catholic bishopric. It is headed by the Bishop of Llandaff, whose seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Pet ...

) with no location for the cathedral yet chosen. Various options were being considered, such as restoring

Tintern Abbey Tintern Abbey ( cy, Abaty Tyndyrn ) was founded on 9 May 1131 by Walter de Clare, Lord of Chepstow. It is situated adjacent to the village of Tintern in Monmouthshire, on the Welsh bank of the River Wye, which at this location forms the bo ...

, building from scratch on Ridgeway Hill in Newport, and (the eventual choice) upgrading St Woolos, then a parish church; in the meantime the new diocese, as it covers more or less the territory of the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of Monmouth, was named the "Diocese of Monmouth". Prior to 1921 the area had been the

archdeaconry An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of mo ...

of Monmouth. It is headed by Cherry Vann, Bishop of Monmouth. She was elected the eleventh bishop in September 2019 and enthroned in

Newport Cathedral Newport Cathedral (Welsh; ''Eglwys Gaderiol Casnewydd''), also known as St Gwynllyw's or St Woolos' Cathedral, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Monmouth within the Church in Wales, and the seat of the Bishop of Monmouth. Its official title is ...

on 1 February 2020. In its own words, the diocese "covers the south 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 ...

, from Monmouth south to

Chepstow Chepstow ( cy, Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the wester ...

, westwards along the '

M4 corridor The M4 corridor is an area in the United Kingdom adjacent to the M4 motorway, which runs from London to South Wales. It is a major high-technology hub. Important cities and towns linked by the M4 include (from east to west) London, Slough, Brackne ...

' to Newport and the outskirts of

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, northwards into the south eastern valleys and east into the rural areas around

Usk Usk ( cy, Brynbuga) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, northeast of Newport. It is located on the River Usk, which is spanned by an arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. Usk Castle, above the town, overlooks th ...

, Raglan, Abergavenny and the

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...

border". In

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

terms, the territory of the diocese covers the unitary authority areas of: * Monmouthshire * Newport *

Torfaen Torfaen (; cy, Torfaen ) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. Torfaen is bordered by the county of Monmouthshire to the east, the city of Newport to the south, and the county boroughs of Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent to the south-w ...

* Blaenau Gwent (part) * Caerphilly (part) *

(part) *

(part)

Archdeaconries and deaneries

At the Diocesan Conference, October 2017, the creation of a third archdeaconry — Gwent Valleys — from the two deaneries of Bedwellty and of Pontypool, was approved.

List of archdeacons

Archdeacons of Monmouth

The archdeaconry of Monmouth was erected, from the Llandaff archdeaconry, in the

on 6 February 1844. *26 February 1844 – 1885 (ret.): William Crawley *1885–1914 (res.): William Conybeare Bruce *1914–1921 (res.): Charles Green :''From its creation in 1921, the archdeaconry has been in Monmouth diocese.'' *1922–1926 (d.): David Griffiths *1926–1930 (res.): David Roberts *1930–1940 (res.): Alfred Monahan *1940–1954: Samuel Davies *1955–1963: Joseph Ralph Jones *1963–1973: Ernest Evans *1973–1976: Cecil Percival Willis *1976–1977 (res.): Clifford Wright *1977–1986 (res.): Barrie Evans *1986–1993 (res.): Keith Tyte *1993–2001: Peter Woodman *2001–2008: Glyndwr Hackett *2008–2013 (res.):

Richard Pain Richard Edward Pain (born 21 September 1956) is a retired Anglican bishop. From 2013 to 2019, he served as Bishop of Monmouth in the Church in Wales. Early life Pain was born on 21 September 1956. He completed degrees at Bristol University and C ...

*24 November 201312 March 2021: Ambrose Mason *20 June 2021present: Ian Rees

Archdeacons of Newport

The archdeaconry of Newport was created from the Monmouth archdeaconry in 1930. *1931–1935: the

Dean of Monmouth Newport Cathedral (Welsh; ''Eglwys Gaderiol Casnewydd''), also known as St Gwynllyw's or St Woolos' Cathedral, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Monmouth within the Church in Wales, and the seat of the Bishop of Monmouth. Its official title is ...

provisionally *1935–1948 (ret.): Vaughan Rees *1948–1953 (d.): Thomas Parry Pryce *1953–1964 (ret.): Charles Lewis (afterwards archdeacon emeritus) *1964–1973:

Ivor Philips Ivor Lloyd Phillips, (1904-1997) was Archdeacon of Newport from 1964 to 1973. Phillips was educated at Aberystwyth University and St Michael's College, Llandaff. He was ordained deacon in 1931 and priest in 1932. After curacies in Machen and ...

*1973–1976: Ernest Evans *1976–1977: (d) Cecil Percival Willis *1977–1986 (res.): Clifford Wright *1986–1993 (ret.): Barrie Evans *1993–1997 (ret.): Keith Tyte *1997–2008:

Kenneth Sharpe Kenneth William Sharpe (b 1940) was a senior Welsh Anglican priest, most notably Archdeacon of Newport from 1997 to 2008. Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/9: p734 London, Church House, 2008 Sharpe was educated at St David's College, Lampet ...

*2008–2012: Glyndwr Hackett *9 September 2012–present: Jonathan Williams :''Newport archdeaconry was split in 2018 to create Gwent Valleys archdeaconry''

Archdeacons of the Gwent Valleys

The archdeaconry was erected from Newport archdeaconry in 2018. *7 July 2018July 2021 (d.):Diocese of Monmouth — Tribute to Pinnington
(Accessed 25 July 2021)

Sue Pinnington Suzanne Jane Pinnington MBE (196624 July 2021) was a British Anglican priest. She served as Archdeacon of the Gwent Valleys in the Church in Wales Diocese of Monmouth from 2018 until her death in office. Pinnington was educated at Trevelyan ...

*19 June 2022 :

Stella Bailey The Diocese of Monmouth is a diocese of the Church in Wales. Despite the name, its cathedral is located not in Monmouth but in Newport — the Cathedral Church of St Woolos. Reasons for not choosing the title of Newport included the existence of ...

(Archive accessed 13 March 2022)
/ref>

List of churches

Deanery of Abergavenny

Closed churches in the area

Deanery of Monmouth

Closed churches in this area

Deanery of Netherwent

Closed churches in the area

Deanery of Raglan-Usk

Closed churches in this area

Deanery of Bassaleg

Closed churches in this area

Deanery of Newport

Closed churches in this area

Deanery of Bedwellty

Closed churches in this area

Deanery of Pontypool

Closed churches in the area

Dedications

This table is drawn from the above lists.

References

External links

Diocese of Monmouth
{{authority control History of Monmouthshire Dioceses of the Church in Wales Organisations based in Newport, Wales

Archdeaconries and deaneries

List of archdeacons

Archdeacons of Monmouth

Archdeacons of Newport

Archdeacons of the Gwent Valleys

List of churches

Deanery of Abergavenny

Closed churches in the area

Deanery of Monmouth

Closed churches in this area

Deanery of Netherwent

Closed churches in the area

Deanery of Raglan-Usk

Closed churches in this area

Deanery of Bassaleg

Closed churches in this area

Deanery of Newport

Closed churches in this area

Deanery of Bedwellty

Closed churches in this area

Deanery of Pontypool

Closed churches in the area

Dedications

See also

References

External links