UK Church elects first female and openly gay Archbishop

It's a turning point for the church

Cherry Vann, the Bishop of Monmouth has been elected to become the Archbishop of Wales in what is a watershed moment for the UK church.

In replacing the Bishop of Bangor, Andrew John, who held the position for three-and-a-half years, Vann will become the first female and openly gay Archbishop.

The change comes as Andrew John enters into retirement.

This comes after he stepped down in August after two reports were published about concerns at Bangor Cathedral, one about inappropriate behaviour, lack of boundaries and another concerning excessive alcohol consumption.

Vann was chosen from a group of five Welsh bishops to become Wales' 15th Archbishop after being elected with a two-thirds majority.

Reacting to the news, she said: “The first thing I shall need to do is to ensure that the issues which have been raised in the last six months are properly addressed and that I work to bring healing and reconciliation, and to build a really good level of trust across the Church and the communities the Church serves.”

Originally from Leicestershire, Cherry was consecrated as Bishop of Monmouth five years ago.

In 1994, Vann was among the first women to be ordained as priests in the Church of England, going on to serve as Archdeacon of Rochdale, in the Diocese of Manchester, for 11 years.

Previously in the Church of England, Vann was charged with helping give churches the resources to welcome LGBT+ people.

The Very Revd Ian Black, Dean of Newport, spoke positively of the decision to elect Vann.

He said: “Cherry is the right person for this moment in the Church in Wales’ life. She has the skills and vision that we need to restore trust following some very public failings.

"She has brought stability to the Diocese of Monmouth, managing the change to ministry areas with clarity and purpose, showing deep care for the clergy and people. This foundation will be a good base as she leads the Province over the next few years.

"She has a deep faith, which is also open to those who take a different view to her, and this has impressed those people enormously.

"I look forward to supporting her as Dean of her Cathedral. One of our duties and pleasures here is to pray for the bishop every day and we will continue to do so gladly.”

The Church in Wales was destabilised from the Church of England in 1920 following an increase in non-conformist churches and increasingly differing views.