Archbishop Cherry Vann

“We’ve got work to do” – Archbishop Cherry takes the helm

Wales has a new archbishop. The Bishop of Monmouth, Cherry Vann, was elected in July and will be formally enthroned later in the year. She is the 15th person – and the first woman - to hold the office.

The Bishop of St Davids, Dorrien Davies, issued a personal message of congratulation to the new Archbishop:

“The dedication, skills and experience Archbishop Cherry has will enable the Church in Wales to enter a new era; she will tackle the challenges that lie ahead with faith, kindness and compassion.

“Archbishop Cherry has a heart for the people of Wales and will do all that she can to uphold the language, values, culture and character of the Welsh nation. I very much look forward to working with the archbishop to bring peace, faith and unity."

Originally from Leicestershire, Bishop Vann was ordained in Manchester in 1994 – one of the first women to be ordained as a priest in the Church of England. She was Archdeacon of Rochdale for 11 years until being appointed Bishop of Monmouth in 2020.

The election is not without controversy. Archbishop Cherry is the first Primate elected in Britain to be openly gay and in a civil partnership, causing consternation among traditionalists both here and abroad, who claim it undermines biblical teaching.

She, however, has defended her position, emphasising her commitment to inclusivity and love. ​"It’s not my job to push something that I think the Church should be doing, but to represent the breadth of views and ensure that no one is excluded," she says. ​

The election comes as the Church in Wales undertakes a wide consultation following the Bill paving the way for same-sex couples to have their civil partnership or marriage blessed in church and the new Archbishop’s election is seen as reflecting the Church leadership’s approach to human sexuality and inclusivity.

“I don’t want to play those things down because I know how important they are to women and to people in civil partnerships and marriages,” she said.

“But I am absolutely clear that that’s not the reason why I was elected to this role. There is more to me than being a woman and a lesbian in a civil partnership.”

First steps

With only three years to go until her retirement, the new Archbishop’s immediate task will be to oversee changes to the overall culture in the Church in Wales, currently the subject of an audit under way across the Province and its cathedrals.

Her appointment follows the premature retirement of her predecessor, Andrew John, in the wake of a Visitation at Bangor Cathedral, where he was also Bishop, that identified serious shortcomings in governance and behaviours there.

The new Archbishop believes these were “unique episodes” But, there was “something around the culture in the Church in Wales that has perhaps allowed them to happen; a lack of transparency, openness and honesty, a lack of accountability, and not enough scrutiny or oversight”, she told the Church Times.

She added: ““I have to model it myself and it’s going to take a while but I think we’ve got a chance now to do some really good work across the Province to ensure that all six dioceses are in a good place.”