BANGOR, WALES (ANS) -- After two-and-a-half days locked in a cathedral, members of the Church in Wales have named their choice for the next Bishop of Bangor, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reports.

The Electoral College of the Church in Wales made the decision on the third and final day of its meeting behind closed doors at Bangor Cathedral. The 46-member electoral college had been meeting in the city's cathedral since Tuesday.

The Venerable Andrew John (right) will be the 81st Bishop of Bangor.

The BBC said the Archdeacon of Cardigan, the Venerable Andrew John, aged 44, is the ecumenical officer for the St David's diocese in west Wales. He will be the 81st Bishop of Bangor and now has 28 days to decide if he will take on the role.

The election follows the death of the former Bishop of Bangor, the Right Reverend Anthony Crockett in June.

The new bishop said he was looking forward to leading the Bangor diocese. "I am aware that I have a hard act to follow and that the diocese is still grieving for Bishop Tony. I am very honored to have been chosen and I hope I will quickly gain the support and the confidence of the people I will serve.

"Bangor is a very special diocese in a beautiful part of the world and I am very much looking forward to beginning this new chapter in my ministry," he added.

The BBC said the Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, who was the president of the electoral college, welcomed the appointment.

He said: "Andy John is a talented, energetic and popular priest with a good understanding of the needs and challenges of a predominantly rural and Welsh-speaking diocese, having served from quite a young age as Archdeacon of Cardigan.

The archbishop said the Bangor diocese has been through a "difficult and uncertain period" after the long illness and death of the former bishop.
However, he was confident the new bishop would "take the diocese forward with fresh inspiration and vigor."

According to the BBC, Mr. John, a married father-of-four whose wife Caroline is also a church deacon, grew up in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion and is a fluent Welsh speaker who graduated in law at the University of Wales, Cardiff, in 1986 and in theology at the University of Nottingham in 1988. He also studied for a Diploma in Pastoral Studies in 1989 at St John's College, Nottingham.

The new bishop was ordained as a deacon in 1989 and as priest in the Diocese of St David's in 1990 and has served all his ministry so far within that diocese. He has been vicar of Pencarreg and Llanycrwys since 2006 and Archdeacon of Cardigan since 2006.

** Michael Ireland, Chief Correspondent of ANS, is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station. Michael's involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- Michael Ireland Media Missionary (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International.