Baptist Union of Wales
 

Baptist Union of Wales (Undeb Bedydd wyr Cymru) - a fellowship of Baptist churches in Wales.

A General Baptist minister, Hugh Evans, was once of the first Baptists to preach in Wales (ca. 1646). In 1649 John Miles (1621-1683) and Thomas Proud were instrumental in forming a church at Ilston. Miles and Proud were connected to the Particular Baptists in London. 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 (1766-1838).

The Baptist Union of Wales is a member of The Evangelical Alliance Wales, The Free Church Council, Cyt (Churches Together in Wales), the European Baptist Federation, and the Baptist World Alliance. Baptist Union headquarters are in Swansea, West Glamorgan. 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.

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

The Reformed Reader Home Page  Copyright 1999, The Reformed Reader, All Rights Reserved