Gerwyn Capon, the new Dean of Llandaff, and Gerwyn with the Archbishop, Dr Barry Morgan
The Archbishop of Wales installed his former chaplain as Dean of Llandaff in front of a packed congregation at Llandaff Cathedral last night (Friday).
The Revd Gerwyn Capon, 48, served as chaplain for nearly four years before being appointed as one of the diocese’s most senior clergy and the Archbishop, Dr Barry Morgan admitted it was a wrench to lose him.
He said, “Normally at a service such as this people fall into two categories – mourners and rejoicers. The mourners are people from the person’s previous post and the rejoicers are those who are receiving the new person. I find myself in both camps because I am losing a chaplain whom I do not really want to lose at this time but, of course, I am glad to place the cathedral in his hands or else I would not have appointed him in the first place, and I rejoice for him and for the cathedral.”
The Archbishop thanked those who had steered the Cathedral through a difficult year, ensuring the life and worship continued day by day, particularly the Archdeacon of Llandaff, Peggy Jackson, and Canon Graham Holcombe. “I know more than most how much we depend on the sheer goodwill of so many people in this cathedral, so my thanks to all of you,” he said. “Tonight we begin a new chapter in our life together in this place. We now ask God to help us to put aside our past and present difficulties, to remake us and enable us to live for the future – which is of course, God’s future.”
Addressing the congregation, which included his family from North Wales, and his former parishioners from Blackburn, the new Dean, said, “I have no doubt that we are to continue boldly to allow this cathedral to play its part in deepening the faith of the people of God in our shared witness to the love of Christ. I look forward to working together in this ancient place of worship and helping it play its crucial part in the life of this capital city of Wales.”
A collection was taken during the service for churches which support foodbanks and those which support Street Pastors – ministry to young people in towns and cities late at night.
Gerwyn, 48, came to Llandaff as Chaplain in 2007, when he also served as Diocesan Director of Ordinands. He left in 2009 to serve as an incumbent in Blackburn diocese but returned as Chaplain in 2012. He grew up in Anglesey and was a Chartered Surveyor and a partner in a commercial property firm before his ordination.
