Dictionary

Words on this page

Anglican

Anglicans form the family of Christians closely related to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Whilst tracing their inheritance back to Christ and the earliest Christians and to the ancient Roman Catholic church, the sixteenth century Reformation was a crucial moment for Anglicanism.

Bishop

‘Bishop’ comes from the Greek word for ‘overseer’. So a bishop is a senior Christian minister authorised to have oversight for God’s people. As well as duties given to deacons and priests, bishops confirm and ordain.

Diocese

‘Diocese’ refers to the geographical territory in which a bishop exercises oversight. The Church in Wales is divided into six dioceses each with its own cathedral in which is housed the cathedra (the bishop’s ‘chair’ or ‘throne’).

Ecumenical

The Christian Church is divided due to different interpretations of the faith and different religious practices. The ecumenical movement promotes dialogue and understanding between Christians and works for visible unity.

Holy Communion

At Holy Communion blessed bread and wine is shared, by which we receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The congregation gives thanks for Jesus’ life, his death and resurrection and his continuing presence. See also Eucharist.

Theological

‘Theology’ means literally ‘words about God’. Christian theology involves our trying to understand and explain what God has revealed about himself through Scripture. This work is aided by the writings of past and present theologians and human reason.

Home Faith Faithful Stewards

Faithful Stewards

Details of how to register for the online sessions to explore the report Faithful Stewards can be found towards the bottom of this page.

The Standing Doctrinal Commission

The purpose of the Commission

The purpose of the Standing Doctrinal Commission is primarily to advise the Bench of Bishops on matters of doctrine and to undertake theological work as directed by the Bench.

The Commission also seeks to encourage doctrinal engagement in the wider Church and good stewardship of the theological treasury with which it has been entrusted.

The Doctrinal Commission’s work needs to be academically sound through drawing creatively on a wide range of fine theological thinkers and aspiring towards high standards in research and writing. However, the work is not undertaken for a purely scholarly purpose but needs to relate meaningfully to the wider Church so as to resource its mission and ministry.

Membership

The Standing Doctrinal Commission is chaired by the Revd. Dr Mark Clavier, Residentiary Canon of Brecon Cathedral, and its Minutes Secretary is the Revd. Dominic Cawdell OGS, Vicar of Holywell and Greenfield in the Estuary and Mountain Mission Area of the Diocese of St. Asaph. There are no other permanent members as individuals are nominated by the Bench of Bishops to serve for the duration of the specific task in hand according to their particular expertise. Other Christian denominations in Wales also nominate observers to the Commission and their contribution is greatly appreciated. Currently serving in this capacity are Professor Josef Lössl (Cardiff University) and Dr Catrin Williams (University of Wales: Trinity Saint David). The Commission is assisted by the Revd. Dr Ainsley Griffiths, Director of Faith, Order and Unity, who liaises as necessary with the Bench and other parts of the Church in Wales.

Recent work

The Commission has undertaken two major pieces of work during the last decade.

The first was detailed theological reflection on the options available to the Church in Wales in seeking to recognise and affirm same-sex relationships. This work led to the publication, in 2014, of the major report The Church in Wales and Same-sex Partnerships (PDF).
More recently, the Commission has been working on the theology of ordained ministry as our ancient parish structures are transformed into ministry / mission areas. The final report is a collection of ten theological essays on various aspects of the threefold ministry under the title Faithful Stewards in a Changing Church: Understanding Ordained Ministry in light of the 2020 Vision. The report will be launched at the Governing Body meeting in April 2021. The report is available here, together with an expanded study edition:
- Faithful Stewards in a Changing Church: Understanding Ordained Ministry in light of the 2020 Vision (PDF)
- Faithful Stewards - Study Guide (PDF)

Reflecting on ‘Faithful Stewards’

In addition to the published report, the Commission is also producing five videos involving interviews with the authors of the essays and these will be released over the coming weeks.

The following videos are currently available:

Interview 1 (Introduction and Essays 1-3)

Faithful Stewards: Exploring the Introduction and Essays 1-3

Interview 2 (Section 2; Essays 4-6)

Faithful Stewards: Interview 2 (Section 2; Essays 4-6)

Interview 3 (Section 3; Essays 7-8)

Interview 4 (Section 4; Essays 9 and 10)

Following the release of each video, there will be a live Zoom call during which questions and comments can be addressed to the authors. The first four conversations will be in English and the final one in Welsh available here.

They will take place as follows:

Monday 21 June at 7.00pm

Surveying the report (in Welsh).
This live discussion will involve the Revd. Canon Dr Trystan Owain Hughes, the Revd. Dr Manon Ceridwen James and the Revd. Dr Ainsley Griffiths.
To register click here.