[5] As a province of the Anglican Communion, the Church in Wales recognises the Archbishop of Canterbury as a focus of unity but without any formal authority.

This was the period when the Welsh people developed a shared national identity, arising from their language and religious beliefs.

By the mid-19th century, failing to appoint a Welsh-speaking bishop to any Welsh diocese for 150 years caused real resentment; disestablishment was seen as a way to assert national and linguistic identity.

The bill was fiercely resisted by members of the Conservative Party and blocked in the House of Lords, but it was eventually passed under the provisions of the Parliament Act 1911.

In response to this description, the writer G. K. Chesterton penned the satirical poem "Antichrist, or the Reunion of Christendom: An Ode" containing the memorable retort "Chuck It, Smith".

The Governing Body has ultimate authority "to approve liturgies, review organizational structures, and secure firm fiscal resources for the mission and ministry of the church".

[15] A few districts in the former counties of Monmouthshire, Radnorshire and Flintshire remain attached to parishes in the Dioceses of Hereford and Chester and consequently they are part of the Church of England.

A complete English rural deanery with the generalised name March containing Oswestry and areas to the north-west of Shrewsbury, was transferred from its historic setting in the Diocese of St Asaph to be consistent with the civil border there.

These particularly concern the appointment of women to the episcopate and the provincial recognition of the equal statuses of the Welsh and English languages in all aspects of church life.

[22] Between 1996 and 2016 the number of signed-up Church in Wales members dropped from 91,247 to 45,759[23] or 1.5% out of a total population of 3,113,150[24][original research?]

The number of Church in Wales members on the "Electoral Roll" dropped further to 42,441 by 2018[2][25] or 1.4% out of the total Welsh population of 3,187,203[26][27][original research?]

With the introduction of the new logos for many of the diocese, their strict use has fallen away during recent years (generally since 2006 onwards) and, as such, the coats of arms are often used synonymously.

As of 2021[update], four of the bishops used the Welsh name of their See as their episcopal signature (Bangor, Llanelwy for St Asaph, Tyddewi for St Davids,[35] and Mynwy for Monmouth);[36] Landav derives from the Latin Landavensis and the then-Bishop of Swansea and Brecon was Archbishop (who signs as Cambrensis, Latin for 'of Wales').

From 1946 until his death in 1953, Richard William Jones (Archdeacon of Llandaff and Rector of Peterston-super-Ely) was "Assistant Bishop of Wales".

Although the province tends more toward liberal and Anglo-Catholic positions in theology and liturgy, it also has a tradition of evangelicalism, especially in the southern parts of Wales, and the university town of Aberystwyth.

A translation by Richard Davies, bishop of St Davids and the scholar William Salesbury was published in 1567[42] by Humphrey Toy as Y Llyfr Gweddi Gyffredin.

A new revision — based on the 1662 English prayer book and probably by George Griffith, Bishop of St Asaph - was published in 1664.

[43] The 1662 prayer book and its Welsh equivalent continued to be used,[citation needed] even after the Church in Wales was disestablished in 1920.

A light revision of the 1966 experimental Eucharist was approved by the Governing Body, and the Book of Common Prayer for use in the Church in Wales was authorised in 1984.

The Church in Wales first considered a modern language Eucharist in the early 70s but this received a lukewarm reception.

In 2017 prayers for a child were released, together with a Revised Order for Confirmation, the latter authorised for five years experimental use following the bench of Bishops' decision to admit unconfirmed children and adults to communion.

Discontinued publications which frequently provided articles of sub-academic quality were Province, Yr Haul â'r Gangell, and Y Llan.

The basic teachings of the church, or catechism, include: The balance of Scripture, tradition and reason as authority for faith and practice is traced to the work of Richard Hooker, a sixteenth-century apologist.

[58] Beginning in the 1980s, the Church in Wales embarked on an increasingly open stand on various issues including economic justice, the ordination of women and inclusion of homosexual people.

[64] In 2018, the Welsh Bishops released a statement saying it was "unjust" to not offer formal provision for same-sex marriages and civil partnerships.

[65] Following the bishops' announcement, the General Synod voted in favour of requesting formal provision for same-sex couples.

[68] Jeffrey John, who is openly gay and in a civil partnership, was nearly elected bishop of Llandaff when he "won more than half of a Church in Wales electoral college, but fell short of the two-thirds majority required.

"[69] As of 2020, the Church in Wales has consecrated a bishop, Cherry Vann, who is openly lesbian and in a civil partnership.

"[75][76][77] The service, in Form One, gives God thanks "for [the two people] who have found such love and companionship in each other, that it has led them to dedicate their lives in support of one another.

[83] Because of the Anglo-Catholic dominance, relations with the Free Churches (formerly known during establishment times as Nonconformists), ecumenical progress has been slower in Wales than in England.