Diocese of St Davids

Diocese of St Davids Esgobaeth Tyddewi
Coat of arms
Location
Ecclesiastical province	Wales
Archdeaconries	St Davids, Cardigan, Carmarthen
Headquarters	Diocesan Office, Abergwili, Carmarthen
Information
Cathedral	St Davids Cathedral
Current leadership
Bishop	Joanna Penberthy
Dean	Sarah Rowland Jones
Archdeacons	Eileen Davies, Archdeacon of Cardigan Dorrien Davies, Archdeacon of Carmarthen Paul Mackness, Archdeacon of St Davids
Map
Map of the dioceses in the Church in Wales
Website
stdavids.churchinwales.org.uk

The Diocese of St Davids is a diocese of the Church in Wales, a church of the Anglican Communion. The diocese covers the historic extent of Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, together with a small part of western Glamorgan. The episcopal see is the Cathedral Church of St David in the City of St Davids, Pembrokeshire. The present cathedral, which was begun in 1181, stands on the site of a monastery founded in the 6th century by Saint David.

The diocese is divided into the three archdeaconries of St Davids, Carmarthen and Cardigan. The bishop's residence is Llys Esgob in Abergwili, Carmarthenshire.

History

An engraving of St David's Cathedral c.1790 with an account of its history

The history of the diocese of St Davids is traditionally traced to that saint in the latter half of the 6th century. Records of the history of the diocese before Norman times are very fragmentary, however, consisting of a few chance references in old chronicles, such as Annales Cambriae and Brut y Tywysogion (Rolls Series).

Originally corresponding with the boundaries of Dyfed (Demetia), St Davids eventually comprised all the country south of the River Dyfi and west of the English border, with the exception of the greater part of Glamorganshire, in all some 3,500 square miles (9,100 km²). Until 1852 the diocese also included some parishes in Herefordshire.

The diocese assumed its current extent in 1923, when the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon was created from the eastern part of the diocese.^[1]

The office of Bishop of St David's has existed since the founding of the cathedral. The current bishop, the 129th, is Joanna Penberthy, whose election was confirmed on 30 November 2016,^[2] whose consecration was scheduled for 21 January 2017 at Llandaff Cathedral and her enthronement at St Davids Cathedral was scheduled for 11 February 2017. She became the first woman ordained a bishop in the Church in Wales upon her consecration.^[3]

In 2019 the diocese began to reorganise its churches into 23 Ministry Areas.^[4]

Archdeaconries and deaneries

List of churches: Archdeaconry of Cardigan

Deanery of Cemais and Sub-Aeron

Closed churches in this area

Deanery of Emlyn [2]

Closed churches in this area

Deanery of Glyn Aeron

Closed churches in this area

Deanery of Lampeter and Ultra-Aeron

Closed churches in this area

Deanery of Llanbadarn Fawr

Closed churches in this area

Archdeaconry of Carmarthen

Deanery of Bro Lliedi

Deanery of Carmarthen

Deanery of Cydweli

Deanery of Dyffryn Aman

Closed churches in the area

Deanery of Llandeilo

Deanery of Llandovery

Archdeaconry of St Davids

Deanery of Daugleddau

Deanery of Dewisland and Fishguard

Deanery of Pembroke

Deanery of Roose

Dedications

This table is drawn from the above lists. Up to and including Deanery of Carmarthen only.

References

Coordinates: 51°52′55″N 5°16′04″W / 51.8819°N 5.2678°W / 51.8819; -5.2678