The controversial
Iolo Manuscripts claim an older foundation dating to Saints
Dyfan and
Fagan, said elsewhere to have
missionized the court of
King Lucius of Britain on behalf of
Pope Eleutherius around AD 166. The manuscripts—others of which are original and others now known forgeries—list Dyfan as the first bishop and, following his
martyrdom, Fagan as his successor.
Baring-Gould refers to them as
chorepiscopi. The present-day
St Fagans (referenced in the manuscripts as "Llanffagan Fawr") is now a village near
Cardiff. Originally
Celtic Christians, the bishops were in
full communion with the
Roman Catholic Church from 777 until the
Reformation. In AD 914, the Danes ravaged
Archenfield, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (AD 915, Worcester Manuscript, p. 99). The jarls leading the raids, Ohtor and Hroald, captured the bishop; he was later ransomed. The jarls were killed in a subsequent battle at "Killdane Field" (or "Kill Dane") in
Weston-under-Penyard and the raiders were subdued. The first evidence that the bishops were called
Bishop of Llandaff is from the early 11th century. Before this, though still ministering to
Glamorgan and
Gwent, the bishops described themselves as
Bishop of Teilo and were almost certainly based at
Llandeilo Abbey. The very early bishops were probably based in
Ergyng. Before 1107, the title
Bishop of Gwlad Morgan (Glamorgan) had been adopted. It was not until the title
Bishop of Llandaff was used by
Bishop Urban from . In
medieval records, the bishop was sometimes referred to as the
Archbishop of Llandaff. This appears to have been a simple reaction to the claim of
St David's to the archiepiscopal title. In 1534, the church in
England and Wales broke allegiance with the Roman Catholic Church and established the
Church of England. After a brief restoration with the
Holy See during the reign of
Queen Mary I, the Welsh dioceses remained part of the
Anglican Province of Canterbury from the reign of
Queen Elizabeth I until the early 20th century. Following the passing of the
Welsh Church Act 1914, the church in Wales and Monmouthshire was disestablished and the independent
Church in Wales was created on 31 March 1920. The bishopric and diocese of Llandaff now constitute part of the Church in Wales within the wider
Anglican Communion. had a
Dahlia ''
Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff''' named for him in 1924 In 1924, the ''
Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff''' was named after
Joshua Pritchard Hughes, who was bishop from 1905 to 1931. A long-serving recent bishop of Llandaff was
Barry Morgan; when elected as bishop in 1999 his official signature was
Barry Landav, but once elected
Archbishop of Wales in 2003 his archiepiscopal signature
Barry Cambrensis took precedence. He was supported by
David Wilbourne, assistant bishop of Llandaff from 2009 to 2017. Following
June Osborne's retirement, on 19 January 2023, it was announced that
Mary Stallard,
Assistant Bishop of Bangor, had been elected that day by the Electoral College of the Church in Wales at
Llandaff Cathedral to become the next diocesan Bishop of Llandaff. She legally took up her See as of the Sacred Synod to
confirm her election; which occurred on 19 April 2023 at Holy Trinity,
Llandudno. ==List of bishops==