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'Lock in' begins to elect bishop New Bishop of St Asaph is chosen
(about 11 hours later)
A "college" of 47 people are being locked in a cathedral to elect a new Bishop of St Asaph. A close adviser to the Archbishop of Canterbury has been elected the new Bishop of St Asaph.
Selecting the new bishop, whose diocese is in north east Wales, could take up to three days of deliberation. Canon Gregory Cameron, 49, deputy secretary general of the Anglican Communion, succeeds the Rt Rev John Davies, who retired last month.
The election follows the retirement in December of the Rt Rev John Davies, who served as bishop from 1999. Canon Cameron, an expert in church law, was chaplain to Dr Rowan Williams when he was Archbishop of Wales.
When he announced his "hard decision" to step down last June, Mr Davies described being Bishop of St Asaph as a "wonderful job." The decision followed an electoral college of 47 people at St Asaph Cathedral.
The college who will elect his successor is made up of 47 people, including the five other Welsh diocesan bishops. Monmouthshire-born Canon Cameron gave a lecture in St Asaph last year when he addressed problems facing world anglicanism.
Doorstep He said the Western church was in danger of adopting a NATO-style attitude of "intellectual superiority" over the church in the developing world.
They will nominate and vote on candidates for up to three days. The canon was ordained in 1984 and has held positions in parishes in Newport and Llanmartin in the diocese of Monmouth, and served as Dr Williams's chaplain for three years until 2003.
Once a decision is made, the Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, will unlock and open the west door of the cathedral and announce the name of the bishop-elect from the doorstep. The electoral college took less than a day of a scheduled three days to come to a decision.
Once a bishop is elected, he will have up to 28 days to accept the position. "I'm still absorbing the news, but as a Christian I really believe there's a gospel message to proclaim," said Canon Cameron.
The new bishop will be the 76th Bishop of St Asaph, an area covering the counties of Conwy and Flintshire, Wrexham county, the eastern part of Merionnydd in Gwynedd and part of northern Powys. He said he would be listening to the people in the diocese and had ideas he wanted to share.
In his farewell to the diocese where he was born, Mr Davies said he wanted to express his "deep appreciation to you all for the generosity of welcome I have received throughout the diocese and for the companionship and support you have shown". Once elected, the bishop has up to 28 days to officially accept the position.
He will become the 76th Bishop of St Asaph, an area covering the counties of Conwy and Flintshire, Wrexham county, the eastern part of Merionnydd in Gwynedd and part of northern Powys.