Alfred George Edwards (2 November 1848 – 22 July 1937), known as A. G. Edwards, was elected the first

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of the disestablished

Church in Wales The Church in Wales () 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 position is currently held b ...

. The son of a priest of the Church of England, Edwards was born in

Llanymawddwy Llanymawddwy () is a village in the community of Mawddwy in south-east Gwynedd, Wales, which is to the north of the larger village of Dinas Mawddwy, on the minor road which connects Dinas Mawddwy to Llanuwchllyn over Bwlch y Groes. The most nota ...

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

. He studied at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

, before being appointed warden of

Llandovery College Llandovery College () is a coeducational independent boarding and day school in Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The college consists of Gollop Preparatory, Senior School and Sixth Form. It was previously known as "Welsh College, Llandovery" ...

in 1875. In the same year he was ordained as a priest and in 1885 he was appointed the vicar of

St Peter's Church, Carmarthen St Peter's Church (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Eglwys San Pedr'') is the Church in Wales parish church for the town of Carmarthen, Wales. Though founded much earlier, the present building dates from at least the 14th century. It is the largest churc ...

. In 1889, Edwards was appointed the

Bishop of St Asaph The Bishop of St Asaph heads the Church in Wales diocese of St Asaph. The diocese covers the counties of Conwy county borough, Conwy and Flintshire, Wrexham county borough, the eastern part of Merioneth in Gwynedd and part of northern Powys. The ...

: he was elected on 2 March at

St Asaph Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saints Asaph and Cyndeyrn, commonly called St Asaph Cathedral (), is a cathedral in St Asaph, Denbighshire, north Wales. It is the episcopal seat of the Bishop of St Asaph. The cathedral dates back 1,400 years, while t ...

and consecrated a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Lady Day In the Western liturgical year, Lady Day is the common name in some English-speaking and Scandinavian countries of the Feast of the Annunciation, celebrated on 25 March to commemorate the annunciation of the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mar ...

1889 (25 March), by

Frederick Temple Frederick Temple (30 November 1821 – 23 December 1902) was an English academic, teacher and Clergy, churchman, who served as Bishop of Exeter (1869–1885), Bishop of London (1885–1896) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1896–1902). Early ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

, at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

. He was a strong defender of the rights of the established Church of England in Wales in the face of mounting call for disestablishment from the nonconformist and liberal majority. He was Honorary Chaplain to the Denbighshire Yeomanry from 2 August 1902. When the Church of England in Wales was disestablished and became the Church in Wales in 1920, he was elected the first

Archbishop of Wales The post of Archbishop of Wales () was created in 1920 when the Church in Wales was separated from the Church of England and disestablished. The four historic Welsh dioceses had previously formed part of the Province of Canterbury, and so came ...

by his fellow Welsh bishops on 7 April 1920. From 1928 onwards he was assisted by Thomas Lloyd, Bishop of Maenan, the only example of an assistant bishop being given a territorial title in the history of the Church in Wales. He retired in 1934, died in 1937 and was buried at

St Asaph St Asaph (; "church on the Elwy") is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and community (Wales), community on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the community had a population ...

.''Ecclesiastical News, Archbishop Of Wales's Retirement (Official Appointments and Notices)'',

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

, 25 July 1934; pg. 15; Issue 46815; col D

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Alfred George Archbishops of Wales Bishops of St Asaph Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford People educated at Llandovery College 1848 births 1937 deaths 20th-century Anglican archbishops Denbighshire Hussars officers Wardens of Llandovery College 19th-century Welsh Anglican bishops