Gwilym Owen Williams was Bishop of Bangor

Bishop of Bangor

The Bishop of Bangor is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Bangor.The diocese covers the counties of Anglesey, most of Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire and a small part of Montgomeryshire...

 from 1957 to 1982 and Anglican 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...

 from 1971 to 1982.

Williams was educated at Brynrefail Grammar school and 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...

. He took first-class honours in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 in 1933, and theology

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

 in 1935. He was ordained as a deacon in 1937 and as a priest in 1938, and was a curate at St Asaph

St Asaph

St Asaph is a town and community on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 3,491.The town of St Asaph is surrounded by countryside and views of the Vale of Clwyd. It is situated close to a number of busy coastal towns such as Rhyl, Prestatyn, Abergele,...

 until 1940, when he was appointed chaplain at St . David's College, 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 1945 he moved to Bangor

Bangor, Wales

Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...

 to take up a post as chaplain and tutor at St. Mary's College, Bangor, and as Lecturer in Theology at the University of Wales, Bangor

In 1947 he became a Canon of Bangor Cathedral

Bangor Cathedral

Bangor Cathedral is an ancient place of Christian worship situated in Bangor, Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is dedicated to its founder, Saint Deiniol....

, and in 1948 moved to become headmaster of Llandovery College

Llandovery College

Llandovery College is an independent school in Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It was founded and endowed by Thomas Phillips in 1847 to provide a classical and liberal education in which the Welsh language; the study of Welsh literature and history were also to be cultivated.Llandovery...

. He was elected Bishop of Bangor in 1957 and became Archbishop of Wales in 1971, also continuing as Bishop of Bangor until his retirement in 1982.

Williams gained prominence as a member of a deputation of three who challenged Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...

 in her attempt to reduce the status 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...

. He was decisive in the decision to ordain women priests.