A New Primate for a Fractured Church: Cherry Vann Elected Archbishop of Wales
On 30 July 2025, the Church in Wales elected Bishop Cherry Vann of Monmouth as its fifteenth Archbishop—marking not only a personal milestone for the 66-year-old cleric, but a wider shift within Anglicanism across the United Kingdom and beyond. Her election, which required a two-thirds majority from the Church in Wales’ Electoral College meeting at Chepstow, was subsequently confirmed by the Bench of Bishops and announced publicly the following day¹.
Bishop Vann, who has served as Bishop of Monmouth since 2020, succeeds Archbishop Andy John of Bangor, whose resignation earlier this year followed widespread criticism of the Church’s handling of safeguarding complaints and administrative failures, particularly in the Diocese of Bangor. Vann’s appointment thus comes at a time of institutional fragility, both moral and organisational, for the six-diocese province of the Anglican Communion.
The new Archbishop will continue to serve concurrently as Bishop of Monmouth. Her enthronement as Archbishop is expected later this year at Newport Cathedral, the seat of her episcopal see².
Historic Firsts and Personal Testimony
Vann’s election is historic for several reasons. She becomes the first woman to hold the office of Archbishop in the United Kingdom, and the first person in a same-sex civil partnership to lead an Anglican province anywhere in the world³. Her appointment was welcomed by progressive factions within the Anglican Communion as a sign of inclusion and cultural relevance, particularly in the wake of debates surrounding women’s ordination, same-sex unions, and gender identity.
In interviews following the announcement, Vann was frank about her personal journey, including the years she spent concealing her sexual orientation while serving in the Diocese of Manchester. “There’s more to me than being a woman and a lesbian in a civil partnership,” she told Church Times, adding that she hoped her election would help “rebuild trust” in an institution shaken by scandal⁴. Her vision for the Church includes healing, reconciliation, and a more outward-facing witness—though what theological or moral compass will guide that witness remains unclear.
Reactions: Celebration and Separation
Reactions to Vann’s election have been sharply divided along theological lines. Progressive media outlets heralded her rise as a breakthrough for inclusivity in Church leadership, echoing similar sentiments expressed at the time of her original episcopal appointment in 2020. Conversely, conservative Anglican provinces expressed profound concern. The Church of Nigeria, one of the largest provinces in the Anglican Communion, announced on 5 August 2025 that it was severing all formal ties with the Church in Wales, stating that Vann’s election represented a “departure from biblical Christianity and apostolic faith”⁵.
The Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) issued a similar statement, reaffirming its support for dioceses and congregations seeking alternative oversight in light of “false shepherds and doctrinal compromise.” These responses signal the increasing fragmentation of global Anglicanism, in which once-shared bonds of Communion are now strained—if not broken—by diverging views on moral doctrine, ecclesial authority, and Scripture.
A Mirror of the Times
Vann’s election is emblematic of the Church in Wales’ trajectory in recent decades—a provincial Church struggling with steep numerical decline, internal crisis, and growing reliance on the language of modern activism to maintain public relevance. Whether her tenure will stabilise or accelerate these trends remains to be seen.
For faithful Christians observing from within or without Anglican structures, the appointment raises unavoidable questions: Is the office of bishop now primarily symbolic—an agent of institutional branding rather than apostolic guardianship? Can a Church which increasingly conforms to the zeitgeist maintain its claim to divine mission? And at what point does inclusion become indistinguishable from doctrinal indifference?
Such questions are not only ecclesiological—they are theological, pastoral, and eschatological. They demand more than slogans; they require repentance, fidelity, and a return to the perennial faith, “once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 1:3).
- “New Archbishop of Wales elected,” Diocese of St Asaph, 30 July 2025.
- Ibid.
- “Cherry Vann: UK’s first female archbishop tells of how she hid her sexuality,” The Guardian, 3 August 2025.
- “There is more to me than being a woman and a lesbian,” Church Times, 2 August 2025.
- “Nigerian Anglican Church cuts ties with Church in Wales over lesbian archbishop,” Punch Nigeria, 5 August 2025.
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