John Owen (bishop)
Encyclopedia
John Owen was the Professor
of Welsh
at the St David's College
, as well as the Dean of St Asaph. He became the Bishop of St David's
in 1897.
Born at Ysgubor Wen, Caernarfonshire
(Gwynedd
), his father Griffith Owen was a Welsh Calvinistic Methodist
. Though he never deviated from his own loyalties, he watched his son’s career as an Anglican
with great pride. Owen’s mother, Ann Jones from Aberdaron
, could not easily reconcile herself to her son joining the Anglican church, however, nor could she wholly accept the fact the he married an English
wife.
In 1872, Owen was awarded a mathematical
scholarship
at Jesus College, Oxford
, where he read Classics
and Mathematics
. As a graduate, he began a teaching career at Botwnnog grammar school. Whilst at Botwnnog
, Owen discovered an interest in the Anglican church, and he was gradually drawn towards ordination
, though decided to teach for a few years until he was sure of his vocation.
As a respected educator
, Owen was appointed Professor of Welsh at St David’s College, Lampeter (now the University of Wales, Lampeter
) in 1879, and committed himself in two respects: he would advance the study of the Welsh language
at the college, and would aim to be ordained before, or soon after joining the college
. In both respects, he was successful, and was ordained deacon
in 1879 and priest in 1880.
In 1889, Alfred Edwards
, newly appointed Bishop of St Asaph
, invited Owen to join him as dean
. At St Asaph, Owen maintained an interest in education, and his colleagues nominated him to serve on the charter committee
of the nascent University of Wales, established in 1891, which gave him a new emphasis to his existing interest in higher education
.
In 1892, Owen returned to Lampeter
as principal, an office he was to hold until he became bishop of Saint David’s in 1897. Owen’s time as principal was not an easy one: he fought a sustained battle for Lampeter to be included in the newly formed federal University of Wales
, which had already embraced the colleges at Aberystwyth
, Bangor and Cardiff
. Lampeter already conferred its own degrees
under Royal Charter
, and for Owen, it was unthinkable that it should be excluded from this new university
. Those against Lampeter's admission, however, argued that the original plan for Lampeter had been to found a theological college
, and as such, it should be excluded like any other denominational
college in the nation. Owen was furious, regarding Lampeter as a university institution and theological college, and petitioned the privy council
, sparking a debate in the House of Lords
. Lampeter’s case was upheld, but Prime Minister
William Ewart Gladstone
refused to be moved, and the University of Wales received its royal charter, with Lampeter firmly excluded. Too late to effect this outcome, Owen established a supplemental charter for the college, re-affirming in the plainest terms that the college existed to "receive and educate any person whatsoever, whether destined for Holy Orders or not". Lampeter was not to be admitted to the University until 1971.
In January 1897, William Basil Jones
, bishop of St David’s, died, and within six weeks, Owen has been named as his successor. Much of Owen’s episcopate was marked by controversy, and Owen was not afraid of confrontation, even so he led the Church in Wales
through the difficult disestablishment
, and become regarded as spokesman for the Welsh church during this time. In private correspondence, that was even a suggestion that he should become Wales’ first archbishop
, but he refused to consider it. In Easter
week 1920, he presided over the election of Bishop Edwards as the first Archbishop of Wales
.
He died of a short illness on 4 November 1926 and was buried on 9 November at Abergwili
, Carmarthenshire
.
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of 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...
at the St David's College
University of Wales, Lampeter
University of Wales, Lampeter is a university in Lampeter, Wales. Founded in 1822 by royal charter, it is the oldest degree awarding institution in Wales and may be the third oldest in England and Wales after Oxford and Cambridge...
, as well as the Dean of St Asaph. He became the Bishop of St David's
Bishop of St David's
The Bishop of St David's is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St David's.The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the city of St David's in Pembrokeshire, founding St David's Cathedral. The current Bishop of St...
in 1897.
Born at Ysgubor Wen, 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....
(Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
), his father Griffith Owen was a Welsh Calvinistic Methodist
Welsh Methodist revival
The Welsh Methodist revival was an evangelical revival that revitalised Christianity in Wales during the 18th century. Methodist preachers such as Griffith Jones, William Williams and Howell Harris were such powerful speakers that they converted thousands of people back to the church...
. Though he never deviated from his own loyalties, he watched his son’s career as an Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
with great pride. Owen’s mother, Ann Jones from Aberdaron
Aberdaron
Aberdaron is a community and former fishing village at the western tip of the Llŷn Peninsula in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. It lies west of Pwllheli and south west of Caernarfon, and has a population of 1,019. It is sometimes referred to as the "Land's End of Wales"...
, could not easily reconcile herself to her son joining the Anglican church, however, nor could she wholly accept the fact the he married an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
wife.
In 1872, Owen was awarded a mathematical
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
at Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...
, where he read Classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
and Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
. As a graduate, he began a teaching career at Botwnnog grammar school. Whilst at Botwnnog
Botwnnog
Botwnnog is a village and community in Gwynedd in Wales, located on the Llŷn Peninsula. It has a population of 955.It lies between Mynytho and Sarn Meyllteyrn, and is the home to two schools, a primary Pont Y Gof Primary School, and secondary . It also has the main branch of general practician ...
, Owen discovered an interest in the Anglican church, and he was gradually drawn towards ordination
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
, though decided to teach for a few years until he was sure of his vocation.
As a respected educator
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, Owen was appointed Professor of Welsh at St David’s College, Lampeter (now the University of Wales, Lampeter
University of Wales, Lampeter
University of Wales, Lampeter is a university in Lampeter, Wales. Founded in 1822 by royal charter, it is the oldest degree awarding institution in Wales and may be the third oldest in England and Wales after Oxford and Cambridge...
) in 1879, and committed himself in two respects: he would advance the study of the Welsh language
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...
at the college, and would aim to be ordained before, or soon after joining the college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
. In both respects, he was successful, and was ordained deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
in 1879 and priest in 1880.
In 1889, Alfred Edwards
Alfred George Edwards
Alfred George Edwards was elected the first Archbishop of the disestablished Church in Wales.The son of a priest of the Church of England, Edwards was born in Llanymawddwy in Gwynedd. He studied at Jesus College, Oxford before being appointed Warden of Llandovery College in 1875...
, newly appointed Bishop of St Asaph
Bishop of St Asaph
The Bishop of St Asaph heads the Church in Wales diocese of St Asaph.The diocese covers the counties of Conwy and Flintshire, Wrexham county borough, the eastern part of Merioneth in Gwynedd and part of northern Powys. The Episcopal seat is located in the Cathedral Church of St Asaph in the town of...
, invited Owen to join him as dean
Dean (religion)
A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
. At St Asaph, Owen maintained an interest in education, and his colleagues nominated him to serve on the charter committee
Charter Party
The Charter Party of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, is a minor political party. The party is Cincinnati's third party. Members of this party are called "Charterites."-History:...
of the nascent University of Wales, established in 1891, which gave him a new emphasis to his existing interest in higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
.
In 1892, Owen returned to Lampeter
Lampeter
Lampeter is a town in Ceredigion, South West Wales, lying at the confluence of the River Teifi and the Afon Dulas.-Demographics:At the 2001 National Census, the population was 2894. Lampeter is therefore the smallest university town in both Wales and the United Kingdom...
as principal, an office he was to hold until he became bishop of Saint David’s in 1897. Owen’s time as principal was not an easy one: he fought a sustained battle for Lampeter to be included in the newly formed federal University of Wales
University of Wales
The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...
, which had already embraced the colleges at Aberystwyth
University of Wales, Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth University is a university located in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding Member Institution of the former federal University of Wales. As of late 2006, the university had over 12,000 students spread across seventeen academic departments.The university was founded in 1872 as...
, Bangor and Cardiff
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
. Lampeter already conferred its own degrees
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
under Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
, and for Owen, it was unthinkable that it should be excluded from this new university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
. Those against Lampeter's admission, however, argued that the original plan for Lampeter had been to found a theological college
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
, and as such, it should be excluded like any other denominational
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...
college in the nation. Owen was furious, regarding Lampeter as a university institution and theological college, and petitioned the privy council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
, sparking a debate in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. Lampeter’s case was upheld, but Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
refused to be moved, and the University of Wales received its royal charter, with Lampeter firmly excluded. Too late to effect this outcome, Owen established a supplemental charter for the college, re-affirming in the plainest terms that the college existed to "receive and educate any person whatsoever, whether destined for Holy Orders or not". Lampeter was not to be admitted to the University until 1971.
In January 1897, William Basil Jones
William Basil Jones
William Basil Jones was a Welsh priest and scholar who became the Bishop of St David's in 1874, holding the post until his death in 1897.-Personal history:...
, bishop of St David’s, died, and within six weeks, Owen has been named as his successor. Much of Owen’s episcopate was marked by controversy, and Owen was not afraid of confrontation, even so he led the Church in Wales
Church in Wales
The Church in Wales is the Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.As with the primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Archbishop of Wales serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The current archbishop is Barry Morgan, the Bishop of Llandaff.In contrast to the...
through the difficult disestablishment
State religion
A state religion is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state...
, and become regarded as spokesman for the Welsh church during this time. In private correspondence, that was even a suggestion that he should become Wales’ first archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
, but he refused to consider it. In Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
week 1920, he presided over the election of Bishop Edwards as the first Archbishop of Wales
Archbishop of Wales
The post of Archbishop of Wales was created in 1920 when the Church in Wales was separated from the Church of England , and disestablished...
.
He died of a short illness on 4 November 1926 and was buried on 9 November at Abergwili
Abergwili
Abergwili is a village in Carmarthenshire, West Wales, lying near to the junction of River Towy and River Gwili.- Bishop's Palace :It is known for its Bishop's Palace, home to the Bishop of St David's since 1542, when Bishop William Barlow transferred his palace from St David's to Abergwili,...
, Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
.