Former solicitor elected Church in Wales bishop

Jan 30 2008 by David Williamson, Western Mail

THE Dean of Brecon Cathedral has become the latest bishop elected in the Church in Wales.

The Very Rev John Davies was yesterday named as Bishop of Swansea and Brecon.

A former solicitor specialising in criminal law, the 54-year-old father of two was originally drawn to Anglicanism through his love of church music.

Now he is responsible for a diocese stretching from the Gower coast into Mid Wales.

He may be one of the last bishops to be selected from an all-male pool of candidates.

In April the church’s governing body will vote on proposals to admit women to the episcopate.

The bishop-elect said, “All I can say at the present time is it’s a debate that must take place.

“I very much look forward to being part of that debate.”

He is married to Jo, a senior staff nurse in Cardiff, and has two children, Kate, 19, a student at Uwic, and Christopher, 17, who is studying at Christ College, Brecon.

He confessed to feeling “excited” but “exhausted” following the lengthy selection process which began on Monday. The electoral college of 47 people were locked in Brecon Cathedral and had three days to select a bishop.

The election follows the retirement of the Rt Rev Anthony Pierce who served as bishop of the diocese from 1999.

Mr Davies believes the church can connect with the population, despite decades of numerical decline.

Around 40,000 people attend a Church in Wales congregation on Sundays