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Obituary: THE VEN. ELWYN ROBERTS

04 March 2009

The Archbishop of Wales writes:

APART from nine years when he served on the staff of St Michael’s Theological College, Llandaff, the Ven. Elwyn Roberts, who died on 10 February, aged 77, spent the whole of his ministry in his native diocese of Bangor, where his father and father-in-law had both been priests.

A parish priest to the tips of his fingers, he was deeply pastoral, caring, and sympathetic, never more at home than when visiting parishioners, or later, after he became an archdeacon, caring for the clergy. He believed firmly that you could not get to know people unless you saw them in their homes. In all his parishes, he spent every afternoon visiting. As an archdeacon, he dropped in on the clergy simply to see how they were. To anyone in any kind of trouble, he was available and kind, and gave a listening ear.

Elwyn Roberts had been to school at Glasinfryn, then Friars in Bangor. He had a First in Classics from the University of Wales, Bangor, and a degree in Theology from Oxford. But he was a modest man who wore his scholarship lightly, and constantly underplayed his academic gifts, especially in discussions and meetings where there were people far less able than he. As Bishop, chairing a diocesan meeting, I would some­times long for him to join a dis­cussion that was getting nowhere. When he did, usually at my prompting, he would bring clarity and insight.

After training at St Michael’s College, Llandaff, he had been made deacon at Bangor Cathedral in 1955, to serve as Curate in the parish of Glanadda for two years. From 1957 to 1966, he lectured at St Michael’s before returning to Glanadda as Vicar for five years. He was then Rector of the Rectorial Parish of Llandudno from 1971 to 1983. He served in turn as Bishop’s Examining Chaplain, Director of Post-Ordination Training and Supplemen­tary Ministry, and Canon of Bangor Cathedral, before being appointed Archdeacon of Meirionnydd and Rector of Criccieth with Treflys, in 1983. It was during these years, when he was only 52, that he was first diagnosed with Parkin­son’s disease.

From 1986, he was full-time Archdeacon of Bangor until his retirement in 1999. During the ’90s, his health deteriorated considerably, but he never complained, and never used it as an excuse for not carrying out his duties. Indeed, at times he had to be persuaded that his presence was not, strictly speaking, necessary at a meeting.

Archdeacons in the Church in Wales are often heavily involved in provincial work. Elwyn served on the Provincial Churches Committee and the Representative Body. He chaired the Isla Johnston Committee, and also served as a Bishop’s Selector for Ministry.

The Isla Johnston Committee was charged with giving grants to clergy who wanted to study or were under pressure of some kind. He never missed any of these meetings, and would often travel from Bangor to Cardiff and back on the same day, a journey that necessitated starting out at 5.30 a.m.

His clear mind enabled him to preach and write simply and effectively. He was at his best leading retreats, or speaking to small groups. He found it hard to chastise or rebuke. In 2001, in retirement, he wrote a very modest autobiography — in order, I suspect, to give the proceeds to the Parkinson’s Society. His health worsened during these years, but, in characteristic mode, he made light of it with dry humour, wit, and self-deprecation. He was an incredibly good mimic. He was cared for tenderly by his wife Eiflyn, who gave up her teaching post to nurse him, and by his two daughters, Llinos and Sioned Eleri, who were the light of his life.

Elwyn was an unassuming, prayer­ful priest. We served as fellow-archdeacons for seven years. On my election as Bishop, years his junior, he never showed any hint of envy: just support and enormous good will. He, in turn, engendered loyalty and affection throughout the dio­cese of Bangor. I never once heard him raise his voice or lose his temper, and I have heard no one speak ill of him. Although he had been unable to pursue an active ministry for some years, he left his mark on a diocese that he loved and served all his life.

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