The Baptist Union of Wales (Undeb Bedyddwyr Cymru) is a fellowship of 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...

 churches in 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...

.

History

The General Baptist

General Baptist

General Baptists is a generic term for Baptists who hold the view of a general atonement, as well as a specific name of groups of Baptists within the broader category.General Baptists are distinguished from Particular or Reformed Baptists.-History:...

 minister Hugh Evans was one of the first Baptists to preach in Wales around 1646, in the parishes of Llan-hir

Llanyre

Llanyre is a village in Powys, Wales. The parish had a population of 1,061 as of 2001. -Location:Llanyre is to the west of Llandrindod Wells, in the upper Wye Valley...

, Cefnllys

Cefnllys

Cefnllys was a mediaeval town in Radnorshire in central Wales. Only St Michael's Church remains standing, with mounds indicating the remains of other buildings existing before the decline of the town in the 19th century. Close by on the hill known as Castle Rock are the remains of what is known...

, Nantmel and Llanddewi Ystradenny

Knighton Rural District

Knighton was, from 1894 to 1974, a rural district in the administrative county of Radnorshire, Wales.The district was formed by the Local Government Act 1894, when the existing Knighton Rural Sanitary District was divided into three: the section in Herefordshire was reconstituted as Wigmore Rural...

, as well as in districts across the upper Wye Valley

Wye Valley

The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an internationally important protected landscape straddling the border between England and Wales. It is one of the most dramatic and scenic landscape areas in southern Britain....

 in Brecknock. In 1649 John Myles (1621–1683) and Thomas Proud led in the formation of a congregation at Ilston, before Myles emigrated to Swansea, Massachusetts

Swansea, Massachusetts

Swansea is a town in Bristol County in southeastern Massachusetts.It is located at the mouth of the Taunton River, just west of Fall River, 47 miles south of Boston; and 12 miles southeast of Providence, Rhode Island....

 in 1663. Myles and Proud were connected to the Particular Baptists in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. In 1650 three Baptist congregations held the first general meeting of Baptists in Wales. The national union was organized in 1866. One of the most notable Welsh Baptist ministers was Christmas Evans

Christmas Evans

Christmas Evans was a Welsh Nonconformist minister, regarded as one of the greatest preachers in the history of Wales....

 (1766–1838).

Membership

The Baptist Union of Wales is a member of the Free Church Council

Free Church Federation

Free Church Federation is a voluntary association of British Nonconformist churches for cooperation in religious social work. It was the outcome of a unifying tendency displayed during the latter part of the 19th century...

, Cytûn

Cytûn

Cytûn is the ecumenical Christian organisation of Churches Together in Wales. It was formed in 1990 and is the successor of the former Council of Churches for Wales. The office is located in Richmond Road, Cardiff...

 (Churches Together in Wales), the European Baptist Federation

European Baptist Federation

The European Baptist Federation is a federation of 51 Baptist associations and is one of six regional fellowships in the Baptist World Alliance. The EBF was founded in Ruschlikon, Switzerland, in 1949. It lays a great deal of emphasis on human rights, religious liberty and aid programs. The...

, and the Baptist World Alliance

Baptist World Alliance

The Baptist World Alliance is a worldwide alliance of Baptist churches and organizations, formed in 1905 at Exeter Hall in London during the first Baptist World Congress.-History:...

. Baptist Union headquarters is located at Y Llwyfan at Trinity University College in Carmarthen

Carmarthen

Carmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....

. In 1995 the Union had 544 congregations with 25,384 members. 146 of these churches (with 9552 members) held dual membership in the Baptist Union of Great Britain

Baptist Union of Great Britain

The Baptist Union of Great Britain, despite its name, is the association of Baptist churches in England and Wales. -History:...

.

Though English is spoken by most citizens of Wales, many churches hold their services in their native 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...

. Amongst the young Pastors of the Welsh language Churches are John Derek Rees, Aron Treharne, Rhun Murphy and Rhys Llwyd.

External links

• Undeb Bedyddwyr Cymru/Baptist Union of Wales - official Web Site
• Shropshire Baptist History Introduction