Carl Norman Cooper (born 4 August 1960) is a Welsh former

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

bishop who was the

Bishop of St David's The Bishop of St Davids is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St Davids. The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the city of St Davids in ...

from 2002 to 2008.

Early life

Cooper was born on 4 August 1960 and grew up in

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. He first spent time in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

as an

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

at the

University of Wales, Lampeter University of Wales, Lampeter () was a university in Lampeter, Wales. Founded in 1822, and incorporated by royal charter in 1828, it was the oldest Academic degree, degree awarding institution in Wales, with limited degree awarding powers sinc ...

, where he took a degree in French and joined

the 16' Club The 16' Club, commonly referred to as The Sixteens, the College Sixteen or simply 16,Secret Societies: From the Ancient and Arcane to the Modern and Clandestine, by David V. Barrett, is a private dining club for male members of University of ...

, then studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

Wycliffe Hall Wycliffe Hall () is a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford affiliated with the Church of England, specialising in philosophy, theology, and religion. It is named after the Bible translator and reformer John Wycliffe, who was mast ...

in Oxford. Unusually for a non-native Welsh bishop, Cooper is a fluent Welsh-speaker. He received a Master of Philosophy degree for a study in bilingualism in the

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 ...

Ordained ministry

He served as

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

, then as the Rector of

Ciliau Aeron is a community and small village 4 miles from Aberaeron in Ceredigion, Wales on the left bank of the River Aeron. The community includes the village of Cilcennin. The word ''Ciliau'' comes from the Welsh for ''corners''. ''Aeron Corners'' in ...

Ceredigion Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...

. He also served at

Dolgellau Dolgellau (; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the traditional county town of the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Merion ...

and as Archdeacon of Meirionnydd. He was elected and consecrated

in 2002. In his role as bishop, Cooper was invited to Uganda by the "old friend of west Wales", George Katwesigye, there he met MP and University of Wales graduate David Bahati. At that meeting Cooper was quoted as saying, "Wales' influence often stretches further than we realise." David Bahati later tried to pass an act through the Ugandan Parliament to have the death penalty applied to certain homosexual acts. Bishop George Katwesigye has accused "perpetrators" of homosexuality of "indirectly bringing back colonialism in Uganda". In February 2008 it was announced that Cooper was separating from his wife of 25 years, Joy. There then followed press speculation linking Cooper with his

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

and communications officer, Mandy Williams-Potter. After consultation with the

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 ...

, Cooper took a leave of absence on 12 March 2008; and then resigned his position on 29 April 2008.

Later life

After standing down as a bishop of the Church in Wales, Cooper was in 2008 appointed Chief Executive of the Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations (PAVO). He left this role in 2022 to become Chair of Powys Teaching Health Board.

Personal life

Cooper was married to Joy and they have four children together. They separated in 2008 after 25 years of marriage. In 2008, he stepped down as Bishop of St David's because of allegations that he had been having an affair with his chaplain, Mandy Williams-Potter. They both denied the affair. Williams-Potter had been married to her husband for 15 years and they had had two children together, before splitting in 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Carl 1960 births Living people People from Wigan Alumni of the University of Wales, Lampeter Bishops of St Davids Alumni of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford 21st-century bishops of the Church in Wales