John James Absalom Thomas (17 May 1908 – 27 February 1995) was the

Bishop of Swansea and Brecon The Bishop of Swansea and Brecon is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Swansea and Brecon. The diocese covers the City and County of Swansea and the ancient counties of Brecknockshire and Radnorshire. The diocesan cathedral is the ...

from 1958 until 1976. Thomas was educated at the

University of Aberystwyth Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...

and

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, University Museum a ...

, and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in 1932. He held curacies at Llancaiach and

Sketty Sketty () is a surburban district and community in Swansea, Wales, about 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the Swansea city centre on Gower Road. It falls within the Sketty council ward of Swansea. Description The area approximates to the Vivian ...

after which he was the Bishop's Messenger and

Examining 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, intelligenc ...

for the Swansea diocese. He was then

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...

of Church Hostel, Bangor, and a

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

at the

University College of North Wales Bangor University () is a public research university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It was established by Royal Charter in 1885 as the University College of North Wales (UCNW; ), and in 1893 became one of the founding institutions of the federal ...

until 1944. Following this he was

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

and then Archdeacon of Gower - before being enthroned as

on 2 February 1958. He made his son,

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

, (who served as Provincial Assistant Bishop in the Church in Wales from 1996 to 2008) a deacon on 21 May 1967 at St Asaph Cathedral; Jack retired in 1976.

References

Alumni of Aberystwyth University Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Academics of Bangor University Archdeacons of Gower Bishops of Swansea and Brecon 20th-century bishops of the Church in Wales Holders of a Lambeth degree 1908 births 1995 deaths {{UK-bishop-stub