Women in running to be Wales’ next archbishop
TWO female bishops are on a shortlist of six to be elected the new Archbishop of Wales next week.
The Bishop of St Davids, Joanna Penberthy, and the Bishop of Llandaff, June Osborne, will be the first two women ever considered for the post since the Church in Wales was created 97 years ago, at the time when it separated from the Church of England.
They are joined on the shortlist by John Davies, the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon; Andy John, the Bishop of Bangor; Gregory Cameron, the Bishop of St Asaph; and Richard Pain, the Bishop of Monmouth.
The doors of Holy Trinity Church in Llandrindod Wells will be locked for up to three days on September 5 as the Church’s Electoral College meets inside to choose the 13th Archbishop of Wales.
The Powys town has been the location for the election of all the Archbishops of Wales since the first in 1920, due to its central location.
This election follows the retirement of Dr Barry Morgan, who held the office for 14 years.
Those making the decision represent churches across Wales.
Each of the six dioceses elects three clerics and three lay people on to the College and the bishops are also members – making a total of 42 people.
The College President is the Senior Bishop, Bishop John Davies, who is also the favourite to be elected.
The meeting will begin at 9.30am with a public service of Holy Communion, to which everyone is welcome. Following that, however, only College members and staff supporting the work of the College will be allowed to remain in the church, as its discussions are confidential.
After a discussion on the needs of the Province and a period of prayer and reflection, the President will call for nominations. The bishops nominated then withdraw from the discussion, only returning to vote.
A nominee must achieve twothirds of the votes of the college in order to be elected Archbishop. If after a vote is taken no candidate receives the necessary votes, the process begins again with fresh nominations, which may or may not include those who had been nominated in the previous round.
Once the Archbishop is elected, the church doors will open and the announcement be made. The normal practice is for the bishop to confirm his or her election immediately. The new Archbishop is then enthroned in his or her home cathedral.
The College can take up to three days to elect an Archbishop. If it fails to do so after this time, the decision passes to the Bench of Bishops.
Controversially, the Bench of Bishops recently refused to appoint Jeffrey John, the gay Dean of St Albans, as Bishop of Llandaff. He was backed for the post by a majority of voters in the Electoral College but failed to gain the required two-thirds majority.
Later Dr John had released to him emails exchanged between bishops which he claimed demonstrated that they were concerned at a possible negative reaction if a gay cleric was elected to be a bishop.
He also claimed that during a phone call with one of the bishops he was told that his homosexuality and civil partnership were the only objections to his appointment raised and that the bishops were “just too exhausted” to deal with the problems they believed his appointment would cause.
Dr John said he responded: “I put it to you that this is not a moral or legal basis on which to exclude me.”