Christmas Evans
Encyclopedia
Christmas Evans was a Welsh
Nonconformist minister, regarded as one of the greatest preachers in the history of Wales
.
Evans was born near the village of Llandysul
, Ceredigion
. His father, a shoemaker, died early, and the boy grew up as an illiterate farm labourer. At the age of seventeen, he became the servant of a Presbyterian minister, David Davies
. Under the influence of a contemporary religious revival, he learned to read and write in English
and Welsh
. The itinerant Calvinistic Methodist preachers and the members of the Baptist church at Llandyssul further influenced him, and he soon joined the latter denomination.
In 1789 he went into North Wales
as a preacher and settled for two years in the remote peninsula
of Llŷn
, Caernarfonshire
, whence he removed to Llangefni
in Anglesey
. Here, on a stipend
of £17 a year, supplemented by a little tract-selling, he built up a strong Baptist
community, modelling his organization to some extent on that of the Calvinistic Methodists. Many new chapels were built, the money being collected on preaching tours which Evans undertook in South Wales
. In 1826 Evans accepted an invitation to Caerphilly
, where he remained for two years, removing in 1828 to Cardiff
. In 1832. in response to urgent calls from the north, he settled in Caernarfon
and again undertook the old work of building and collecting. He was taken ill on a tour in South Wales, and died at Swansea
.
In spite of his early disadvantages and personal disfigurement (he had lost an eye in a youthful brawl), Christmas Evans was a remarkably powerful preacher. To a natural aptitude for this calling he united a nimble mind and an inquiring spirit; his character was simple, his piety humble and his faith fervently evangelical
. For a time he came under Sandemanian influence, and when the Wesleyans entered Wales he took the Calvinist side in the bitter controversies that were frequent from 1800 to 1810. His chief characteristic was a vivid and affluent imagination, which absorbed and controlled all his other powers, and earned for him the name of the "Bunyan of Wales".
His works were edited by Owen Davies in 3 vols. (Caernarvon, 1895–1897). See the Lives by D. R. Stephens (1847) and Paxton Hood (1883).
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
Nonconformist minister, regarded as one of the greatest preachers in the history of Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
Evans was born near the village of Llandysul
Llandysul
Llandysul is a small town in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The community of Pont Tyweli lies directly across the Teifi River in Carmarthenshire. It is in the valley of the River Teifi and is visited for its fishing and canoeing....
, Ceredigion
Ceredigion
Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...
. His father, a shoemaker, died early, and the boy grew up as an illiterate farm labourer. At the age of seventeen, he became the servant of a Presbyterian minister, David Davies
David Davies
-Politics:*David Davies , also known as David Davies Llandinam, MP for Cardigan, 1874–1885, and Cardiganshire, 1885–1886*David Sanders Davies , Liberal politician, MP for Denbigh 1918–1922...
. Under the influence of a contemporary religious revival, he learned to read and write in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
. The itinerant Calvinistic Methodist preachers and the members of the Baptist church at Llandyssul further influenced him, and he soon joined the latter denomination.
In 1789 he went into North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
as a preacher and settled for two years in the remote peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
of Llŷn
Llyn
Llyn is the Welsh word for "lake" or, occasionally, "pond" or "pool". The word and its cognates in other Celtic languages , as well their derivatives—including lyn, lynn and lin—appear in many placenames throughout the current and former Celtic world, as, for example, in Dublin and King's...
, Caernarfonshire
Caernarfonshire
Caernarfonshire , historically spelled as Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire in English during its existence, was one of the thirteen historic counties, a vice-county and a former administrative county of Wales....
, whence he removed to Llangefni
Llangefni
Llangefni is the county town of Anglesey in Wales and contains the principal offices of the Isle of Anglesey County Council. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, the population of Llangefni was 4,662 people and it is the second largest settlement on the island...
in Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
. Here, on a stipend
Stipend
A stipend is a form of salary, such as for an internship or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from a wage or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work performed, instead it represents a payment that enables somebody to be exempt partly or wholly from waged or salaried...
of £17 a year, supplemented by a little tract-selling, he built up a strong Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
community, modelling his organization to some extent on that of the Calvinistic Methodists. Many new chapels were built, the money being collected on preaching tours which Evans undertook in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
. In 1826 Evans accepted an invitation to Caerphilly
Caerphilly
Caerphilly is a town in the county borough of Caerphilly, south Wales, located at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley, with a population of approximately 31,000. It is a commuter town of Cardiff and Newport, which are located some 7.5 miles and 12 miles away, respectively...
, where he remained for two years, removing in 1828 to Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
. In 1832. in response to urgent calls from the north, he settled in Caernarfon
Caernarfon
Caernarfon is a Royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,611. It lies along the A487 road, on the east banks of the Menai Straits, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is to the northeast, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and southeast...
and again undertook the old work of building and collecting. He was taken ill on a tour in South Wales, and died at Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
.
In spite of his early disadvantages and personal disfigurement (he had lost an eye in a youthful brawl), Christmas Evans was a remarkably powerful preacher. To a natural aptitude for this calling he united a nimble mind and an inquiring spirit; his character was simple, his piety humble and his faith fervently evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
. For a time he came under Sandemanian influence, and when the Wesleyans entered Wales he took the Calvinist side in the bitter controversies that were frequent from 1800 to 1810. His chief characteristic was a vivid and affluent imagination, which absorbed and controlled all his other powers, and earned for him the name of the "Bunyan of Wales".
His works were edited by Owen Davies in 3 vols. (Caernarvon, 1895–1897). See the Lives by D. R. Stephens (1847) and Paxton Hood (1883).