Overview

• Cherry Vann was elected on July 30 as the 15th Archbishop of Wales and will be enthroned at Newport Cathedral this autumn as the first woman and first openly gay archbishop in the UK.
• Vann revealed that she kept her sexuality hidden for decades and publicly disclosed her civil partnership with Wendy Diamond upon becoming Bishop of Monmouth in 2020.
• She has identified ‘healing and reconciliation’ as her top priorities and has initiated a Wales-wide cultural audit to address safeguarding failures and mend fractured communities after the Bangor Cathedral scandal.
• Christian Concern’s Andrea Williams and conservative Anglican primates from GAFCON and the Global South have condemned Vann’s appointment as contrary to traditional biblical teaching on marriage.
• Progressive denominations have welcomed her leadership as she navigates doctrinal divisions over blessing same-sex unions and the timing of church-sanctioned gay marriage.