A senior adviser to the Archbishop of Canterbury was today elected as the next Bishop of St Asaph.

The Rev Canon Gregory Cameron, 49, who is Deputy Secretary General of the Anglican Communion Office in London, was chosen by members of the Electoral College of the Church in Wales meeting at St Asaph Cathedral.

The announcement was made by the Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, at the west door of the cathedral on the first day of the meeting.

Canon Gregory Cameron will be the 76th Bishop of St Asaph, an area covering the north-east corner of Wales – the counties of Conwy and Flintshire, Wrexham county borough, the eastern part of Merioneth in Gwynedd, Denbighshire and part of northern Powys. His election follows the retirement in December of the Rt Rev John Davies who served as Bishop of the diocese from 1999.

A Welshman who was ordained in the Diocese of Monmouth, Mr Cameron has been involved in the ecumenical relations of the Anglican Communion at global level for the past five years. Previously, he served as Chaplain to the Archbishop of Wales, then Dr Rowan Williams.
 
Married to Clare, the couple have three sons, aged 11, nine and six.

Canon Gregory said he was looking forward to leading the Diocese of St Asaph. He said, “I am conscious that for the family of St Asaph the choice of a new bishop is a profoundly important point in their life and that of the Gospel in North-East Wales. I am both stunned and honoured by the choice of the Electoral College and hope that by God’s grace I can at least in part live up to people’s expectations. I will need the prayers of all the diocese and the church as we find a way forward together.”

The Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, who is President of the Electoral College, welcomed the decision. He said, “Canon Gregory is an immensely gifted man with wide experience of the worldwide Anglican Communion and of our ministry here in Wales. I look forward to working with him and welcoming him back to his home Province.”

A detailed biography follows below.

A photograph of the Canon Gregory and his wife Clare can be found at:
http://www.churchinwales.org.uk/dynamic/shared/library/fullsize/302.jpg

For more information, please contact:
Anna Morrell
Archbishop's Media Officer / Swyddog y Cyfryngau i'r Archesgob
Tel: 02920 348208; mobile: 07 91 91 587 94
39 Cathedral Rd, Cardiff / 39 Heol y Gadeirlan,Caerdydd
CF11 9XF
http://www.churchinwales.org.uk

Canon Gregory Cameron – Biography

Gregory Cameron was born in the valleys of South East Wales, and grew up in the village of Llangybi near Usk in Monmouthshire, where he discovered his faith as a teenager, and started attending the local Anglican Church (St Cybi).  He was educated in Croesyceiliog Comprehensive School in Cwmbran.  While reading Law at Oxford University, he received a vocation to the ordained ministry, and, on being accepted as an ordinand of the Church in Wales, began a degree in Theology in Cambridge.  Here he was taught early church history by the young Rowan Williams.  After studying at St Michael’s College, Llandaff, Gregory was ordained in the Diocese of Monmouth, serving in the Parish of St Paul, Newport, and then in the Rectorial Benefice of Llanmartin.  Subsequently, he undertook ministry as a school chaplain (Wycliffe College, Stonehouse) and as director of an educational charity (The Bloxham Project).  In 2000, Rowan Williams, then Archbishop of Wales, appointed Gregory as his Chaplain. 

In 2003, he was appointed by the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion as Director of Ecumenical Affairs at the Anglican Communion Office in London, becoming Deputy Secretary General a year later.  In this role, he has been involved in the ecumenical relations of the Anglican Communion at global level, and responsible for staffing the Lambeth Commission, which produced the Windsor Report.  He has lectured in Old Testament at St Michael’s College, Llandaff, and is currently an Honorary Research Fellow in Canon Law at the Centre for Law and Religion in Cardiff University.  He was granted an honorary Doctorate of Divinity by the Episcopal Divinity School, Massachussetts, in 2007, in recognition of his contribution to reconciliation in the Anglican Communion.

Gregory, 49, is married to Clare, a teacher of music and a composer, and together they have three sons, aged 11, 9 and 6.  Gregory enjoys reading, drawing and calligraphy and is a keen Egyptologist.  He is a Welsh learner, and became a fan of Eisteddfodau after winning a scholarship to the Bro Dwyfor Eisteddfod in 1975, although six years living in England have blunted his conversational skills.  In all his ministry, he has sought to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ in fresh and exciting ways, and believes that the Christian faith offers hope and profound challenge to the world and to today’s society.  This does not stop him being a strong devotee of Dr Who.