Publication Of The Final Volume Of Gofal Ein Gwinllan

The fourth and final volume in a series exploring the contribution of the Church in Wales to literature, history and culture has just been published by Y Lolfa press.

Since 2021, several series of online seminars have explored the contribution of the Church in Wales to our literature, history and culture as Welsh speakers. This volume, Gofal ein Gwinllan 4 edited by A. Cynfael Lake and D. Densil Morgan contains excellent essays that accompany the seminars.

The Rev. Canon Dr Ainsley Griffiths, Director of Faith, Order and Unity with the Church in Wales and one of the founders of the seminar series:

"It is a pleasure to publish this fourth volume. The seminars have been a significant and revealing project which has brought to light a number of characters and contributions that have been unknown to most. The four volumes ensure a permanent written record of what has been presented, with the hope that the acclaimed scholarship will stimulate greater interest in this field and spur future researchers."

The Very Reverend Dr Manon Ceridwen Jones, Dean of Bangor said:

"According to Professor Densil Morgan, the Church in Wales thrives when it recognises and nurtures its unique Welsh identity. I hope, therefore, that this volume, along with all the other volumes in the series and associated lectures, will help us to celebrate and deepen our understanding of that special identity."

In this volume, some of the figures who sustained the Welshness of the Church in Wales are discussed from the middle of the reign of Queen Victoria to the first decades of the twentieth century. Among them are clergy and laity, musicians and editors, historians and scholars, Nobles and evangelists, diligent parish priests and some of the deans of the cathedrals along with two bishops. The chapters are testament to the vitality that increasingly characterised Welsh Anglicanism from the second half of the nineteenth century onwards, while the increasingly fervent drive to disassociate and de-segregate the four dioceses and separate them from the Church of England is the backdrop to the whole.

The series will consist of 55 chapters tracing the contribution of the Church in Wales to the Welsh language, its literature and culture, from the time of Kynniver Llith a Ban, William Salesbury's translation of the New Testament litas in 1551, to the founding of the modern Church in Wales in 1920. Between all of this, it is a significant contribution to understanding and appreciating an important tradition in the nation's history.

Gofal ein Gvinllan 4 was launched at the Garreg Las National Eisteddfod with Dr Dewi Alter, Reverend Canon Dr Rosie Dymond and Reverend Professor D. Densil Morgan acclaiming the contribution made through this initiative since its inception in 2021.

Gofal ein Gwinllan 4 and the other volumes in the series are available now (£12, Y Lolfa).