Religion in Wales HARRI PRITCHARD JONES


Wales. With the retreat from religion in gen- eral, and Nonconformity in particular, Wales is no longer a Christian country. Yet it has a very rich and historic tradition of that faith on which to re-build. St David, its patron saint (and unlike those of Scotland and England, a native) had a simple message: “Keep the faith and do the little things.” In the decree “Cambro Celtica” in 1916, the present Pope’s predecessor and namesake, Benedict XV, recognised that Wales was a distinct nation with its own age-old Christian


‘Keep the faith’ A


rchbishop George Stack, when he


comes to the Metropolitan See of Cardiff, will become a leading figure in the movement to re-evangelise


traditions. But until recently few Welsh people and few of the Catholic authorities in London have been aware of the Catholic past of Wales. Archbishop Stack comes to Wales when


Wales is finding its feet,


having become a political unit for the first time since the days of Owain Glyndwr


the only native bishop, Bishop Edwin Regan of Wrexham, is retiring. That bishop speaks Welsh, but the only other ordinary does not. The language is important, being the usual


George Stack was installed at Archbishop of Cardiff this week at a time when Christianity is losing its way in Wales. But the nation has a rich and varied history as a Christian country – something that the new incumbent could build on


tongue of about a quarter of the population, and a much greater proportion of practising Christians. It is now taught to every school pupil and used extensively as a medium of education up to third level; it is prominent in the arts, in public life, and used extensively in religious activities. However, the language is not simply impor- tant as a badge of nationality or even as a culture-carrier. Welsh, apart from being the historic language of the nation and a living one to this day, is also the repository of the nation’s priceless literary and spiritual treas- ures. These include the remarkable hymnology, and with the tragic demise of Nonconformity, there is a danger that it may be forgotten, together with its four-part harmony. The substantial corpus of Welsh hymns,


in which there is not one hymn a Catholic cannot accept, contains a unique wealth of scriptural theology. Some of the hymns in the plygain (cockcrow) services derive from watch-night ones in pre-Reformation days. They have been preserved in parts of mid- Wales, and are now becoming popular all over the country. They feature extemporary renderings by individuals or families or small groups of traditional songs replete with bib- lical imagery in a very sophisticated style, sometimes akin to plainchant. Then there are the hymns of the Methodist


“For I know well the plans I have in mind for you”,


says the Lord. “Plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope.” Jeremiah 29:11


The 9th of July marks a momentous occasion – the birth of South Sudan as an independent nation.


After decades of conflict, it is a time of hope in looking to a peaceful and prosperous future for both North and South Sudan.


Let’s stand together in hope with the people of Sudan at this time and pray for lasting peace.


cafod.org.uk/sudanpeace Prayers, pictures, stories and actions:


10 | THE TABLET | 25 June 2011


Revivalists and Anglicans, which are again biblical, and frequently focused on the person of Christ. There are hymns which illuminate the doctrine of the Trinity in a remarkable way, and the late Donald Allchin compared some of them to the great mosaic reredos in Eastern Orthodox churches. Hardly any of them have been translated or are known in the English-speaking Wales or beyond, apart from William Williams’ “Guide Me, Oh Thou Great Jehovah”. Allchin, however, quoted from translations he had obtained or produced of some of the most superb of them in the first series of Orthodox- Anglican discussions, when he was a canon of Canterbury, especially the work of Ann Griffiths (1776-1805). Many of these hymn writers were compar- atively unlearned in matters other than biblical theology, but it was the strength and wealth of the tradition that enabled them to write memorable religious poetry. This tradition extended to most of the many professional and highly learned poets in the


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Photography: David Snyder /CRS


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