Sgwrs gydag Archesgob Cymru
Diolch yn fawr iawn am gyfarfod â mi'r prynhawn 'ma. Mae’n hyfryd eich gweld.
Hyfryd i dy weld di hefyd.
Hoffech gyflwyno eich hun i bawb?
Ie. Fy enw i yw Andy John a dw i newydd gael fy ethol fel Archesgob Cymru
Gwych. Dych chi wedi bod yn Esgob yma ym Mangor ers...
13 mlynedd.
13 mlynedd! Mae 'di dod yn gartref. Mae’n lle o gynefindra.
Felly, eich rôl newydd fel Archesgob, sut gallwn ni, yma yn Esgobaeth Bangor, gweddïo drosoch? Dros beth allwn ni weddïo?
Dwi’n meddwl bod yna sawl rhan i fod yn Archesgob. Yn gyntaf, y rôl daleithiol o wneud yn siŵr bod llais yr eglwys yn cael ei glywed o fewn yr eglwys ac o fewn y gymdeithas. Dyna rôl yr Archesgob, felly gweddïwch y bydd gen i’r doethineb i ddweud y pethau cywir a’r gras o arweinyddiaeth sydd yn arwain nid trwy eiriau’n unig ond trwy esiampl. Mae hynny’n bwysig iawn.
Mae ‘na rôl arall sef y rôl ryngwladol, rôl mae angen i’r Archesgob chwarae yn ehangach. I mi i fod yn llais da a chynorthwyol mewn perthynas â’r Cymundeb Anglicanaidd oherwydd rydym yn gwynebu heriau sylweddol. Mae’n bwysig iawn bod yna llais da dros Gymru ond hefyd llais Cymraeg da ac i’r Cymundeb cyfan. Byddai’r pethau yna yn hynod o dda i weddïo drosodd yn rheolaidd.
Fel esgobaeth mae gynnon ni Y Ddolen sy’n cael ei dosbarthu'n wythnosol. A fydd pethau’n cael ei diweddaru yno i bobl fedru cadw llygaid ar bwyntiau gweddi?
Bendant. Byddaf wrth fy modd petai bobl yn fodlon gweddïo drosof yn rheolaidd. Ac os gallwn ddefnyddio hynny i’w wneud mae hynny’n swnio'n dda i mi.
Mae llawer iawn o amser ac ymdrech yn mynd i mewn i’r swydd o Archesgob. Sut ydych chi’n gobeithio cael y balans rhwng gwaith Esgob Bangor ac Archesgob ar yr un pryd?
Un o’r pethau sydd angen ar yr Archesgob yw cymorth. Mae yna rôl dros fod yn ymwybodol o’r hyn sy’n mynd ymlaen fel nad ydych yn gwneud camgymeriadau ac mae hynny’n golygu cael rhywun sy’n gallu gwneud gwaith ymchwil. Mae hynny’n bwysig o ran cael cymorth mewn rôl taleithiol.
Dw i wedi dod yn fwy ymwybodol bod fy nghydweithwyr ‘archidiaconal’ a fy nghydweithwyr o fewn Tŷ Deiniol wedi bod yn cymryd y straen o fewn yr esgobaeth a dw i’n meddwl y bydd hynny’n parhau am ychydig nes i ni weithio allan sut i gyfuno’r swyddi yma o esgobaethol a daleithiol. Ond rydyn ni wedi adeiladu tîm arbennig yma dros y blynyddoedd ac mae hynny’n golygu fy mod i’n medru trosglwyddo darnau o waith llawn hyder. Rwy’n gwybod nad ydym yn mynd i syrthio yn ddarnau. Mae gynnon ni bobl sy’n ddoeth, yn weddigar, sy’n gweithio’n galed ac rwy’n sicr y byddwn yn gallu gwneud i hynny gweithio. Er bydd yn cymryd ychydig o amser i wneud yr addasiadau.
Rydych chi wedi dal y portffolio ar gyfer Cymraeg yn y Dalaith am yr ychydig flynyddoedd diwethaf.
Ydw
A ydych chi'n bwriadu cadw'r rôl honno neu ei rhoi i rywun arall? A allech chi ddefnyddio'ch rôl fel Archesgob i annog y Gymraeg?
Wel, mae annog y Gymraeg fel Archesgob yn bwysig wrth gwrs. Ond ar hyn o bryd fi yw'r unig Esgob sy'n gallu gwneud pethau'n fyw. Er bod eraill sy'n gallu defnyddio'r Gymraeg, ni allant wneud hynny yn fyw mewn cyfweliadau ac ar y teledu. Felly rwy'n credu y byddaf yn parhau i ddal y portffolio hwnnw ac rwy'n hollol hapus i wneud hynny.
Mae hynny'n rhywbeth sy'n bwysig iawn i ni yn Esgobaeth Bangor. Nid yr iaith yn unig ydyw ond mae'n ymwneud â bywyd yn Gymraeg.
Yn sicr, yn sicr yma ym Mangor ond hefyd yr hyn sy'n bwysig yw cynnydd y Gymraeg i lawr yn ne Cymru hefyd. Mae yna lawer o bobl sy'n gweithio yn y Gymraeg ac yn byw eu bywydau trwy'r Cymraeg. Felly mae sicrhau bod llais yr eglwys yn Gymraeg yn bwysig i mi, yn bersonol.
A oes unrhyw beth yr ydym wedi llwyddo i'w wneud fel esgobaeth yma yr hoffech ei weld yn cael ei estyn ledled Cymru?
Rwy’n cofio bod Cynhadledd Arloesi tua 2 flynedd yn ôl, yn 2019, a’r hyn a a wnaeth fy nharo yno yw bod Bangor wedi bod yn eithaf llwyddiannus wrth gymysgu pethau newydd gyda’r hen. Mae gennym hanes a thraddodiad arbennig ac felly i weld y ffordd y mae'r eglwys wedi gwneud pethau cyfoes ond gyda rhai o'r hen bethau'n dod yn bwysicach. Mae pobl yn gofyn am straeon a’r chwedlau am y saint ond nid oherwydd ei hanes ond oherwydd eu bod yn ffordd i egluro ac annog yr Efengyl. Dyna pam rwy'n credu y gall Esgobaeth Bangor rannu gyda'r Eglwys yng Nghymru ac ar draws y byd. Rydyn ni wedi bod ar flaen y gad wrth gymysgu, yn Saesneg byddem yn dweud ‘a mixed ecology of church life’ ac rwy’n credu bod rhywbeth pwysig y gallwn ei wneud yma i helpu pobl i weld. Does dim bygythiad yma. Mae'n bosib gwneud y ddau.
Gwych, y cwestiwn olaf
Wrth gwrs
O beth ‘dych chi’n fwyaf balch dros eich 13 mlynedd ym Mangor?
Adeiladu tîm sy’n cymysgu ffydd, gobaith a chariad. Pobl sy’n dod â’u blynyddoedd o brofiad i wasanaethu. Rydym yn gwybod, wrth i ni weithio gyda’n gilydd, ein bod yn llawer mwy tebygol o gyflawni’n gobeithion ac mae’r tîm yn Esgobaeth Bangor yn dîm arbennig. Mae hi wedi bod yn fraint ac yn anrhydedd i weithio gyda nhw ac ‘rwyf yn edrych ymlaen at barhau gyda hynny. Rwy’n meddwl, os fedra i gymeradwyo un syniad i’r Ardaloedd Weinidogaeth, gwnewch ynghyd.
Archesgob Andrew, diolch. Diolch yn fawr am eich amser
Mae wedi bod yn bleser, diolch.
In conversation with the Archbishop of Wales
Thank you very much for meeting me this afternoon. It's nice to see you.
Lovely to see you too.
Would you like to introduce yourself to everyone?
Yes. My name is Andy John and I have just been elected Archbishop of Wales
Great. You have been a Bishop here in Bangor since ...
13 years.
13 years! It has become home. It's a place of familiarity.
So, your new role as Archbishop, how can we, here in the Diocese of Bangor, pray for you? For what can we pray?
I think there are many parts to being an Archbishop. First, the provincial role of making sure that the church's voice is heard within the church and within society. That's the Archbishop's role, so pray that I will have the wisdom to say the right things and the grace of leadership that leads not just by word but by example. That is very important.
There is another role, the international role, a role that the Archbishop needs to play more widely. For me to be a good and helpful voice in relation to the Anglican Communion because we face significant challenges. It is very important that there is a good voice for Wales but also a good Welsh voice and for the whole of Communion. Those things would be extremely good for praying for me on a regular basis.
As a diocese we have Y Ddolen which is distributed weekly. Will things be updated there for people to keep an eye on prayer points?
Definitely. I would love for people to pray for me on a regular basis. And if I could use that to do it that sounds good to me.
A great deal of time and effort goes into the office of Archbishop. How do you hope to get the balance between the work of the Bishop of Bangor and the Archbishop at the same time?
One of the things the Archbishop needs is help. There is a role for being aware of what is going on so that you do not make mistakes and that means having someone who can do research. That is important when it comes to getting help in a provincial role.
I have become more aware that my 'archidiaconal' colleagues and colleagues at Ty Deiniol have been taking the strain within the diocese and I think that will continue for a while until we work out how to combine these diocesan and provincial positions. But we've built a great team here over the years and that means I can pass on pieces of work with a lot of confidence. I know we are not going to fall apart. We have wise, prayerful, hard-working people and I am sure we will be able to make that work. Although it will take a while to make the adjustments.
You’ve held the portfolio for Welsh within the Province for the last few years.
I have
Do you intend to keep that role or hand it to someone else? Might you use your role as Archbishop to encourage the Welsh language?
Well, encouraging the Welsh language as Archbishop is important of course. But at the moment I am the only Bishop who can do things live. Even though there are others who can use Welsh they can’t do so live in interviews and on the TVtv. So I think I’ll continue to hold that portfolio and I’m completely happy to do that.
That’s something that’s really important for us within the Diocese of Bangor. It’s not just the language but it’s about life in welsh.
Certainly, certainly here in Bangor but also what’s important is the increase of Welsh down in the south of Wales too. There are lots of people who work in Welsh and live their lives through the medium Welsh. So ensuring that the voice of the church is Welsh is important to me, personally.
Is there anything that we have succeeded in doing as a diocese here that you would like to see extended across Wales?
I remember there was a Pioneer Conference about 2 years ago, in 2019, and what struck me there is that Bangor has been quite successful in mixing new things with the old. We have a special history and tradition and so to see the way the church has done contemporary things but with some of the old things becoming more important. People are asking for stories and the tales about the saints but not because it’s history but because they’re a way to explain and encourage the Gospel. That’s why I think the Diocese of Bangor can share with the Church in Wales and right across the world. We have been at the forefront of mixing, in English we would say ‘mixed ecology of church life’ and I think there’s something important we can do here to help people to see. There’n threat here. It’s possible to do both.
Fantastic, and the last question
Of course
What are you most proud of during your 13 years at Bangor?
Build a team that mixes faith, hope and love. People who bring their years of experience to service. We know that as we work together, we are far more likely to achieve our hopes and the team in the Diocese of Bangor is a special team. It has been an honour and a privilege to work with them and I look forward to continuing with that. I think that if I can approve one idea for the Ministry Areas, do it together.
Archbishop Andrew, Thank you. Thank you very much for your time.
It’s been a pleasure, thank you.