Cherry Vann

Cherry Elizabeth Vann (born 29 October 1958) is a British Anglican bishop serving in the Church in Wales as Archbishop of Wales since 2025 and Bishop of Monmouth since 2020. She is the first woman to be elected as an Anglican archbishop in the United Kingdom and the first openly gay and partnered bishop to serve as a primate in the Anglican Communion. Before joining the Church in Wales, she had spent her entire ordained ministry in the Church of England's Diocese of Manchester and was Archdeacon of Rochdale in the diocese from 2008 to 2020.

Early life and education Vann was born on 29 October 1958 in Whetstone, Leicestershire, England. She studied piano and violin at the Royal College of Music, becoming an Associate of the Royal College of Music (ARCM) diploma in 1978 and a Graduate of the Royal Schools of Music (GRSM) graduate in 1980. The GRSM was, from 1977, an honours degree for the purpose of teacher training.

In 1986, Vann entered Westcott House, Cambridge, an Anglican theological college, She was parish deacon at St Michael's Church, Flixton, from 1989 to 1992 and St Peter's Church, Bolton, from 1992 to 1994. This was the first year that women were ordained to the priesthood in the Church of England. She was then the incumbent of the team ministry, as team rector, from 2004 to 2008.

In May 2008, Venn was announced as the next Archdeacon of Rochdale. She was the first woman to become a senior priest (either an archdeacon or a dean) in the Diocese of Manchester. In January 2016, she was re-elected, having stood unopposed.

Episcopal ministry On 19 September 2019, Vann was elected the next Bishop of Monmouth in the Church in Wales. She was bishop-elect until her election as diocesan bishop was confirmed by the bench of bishops at a synod on 5 January 2020 (by which she legally took possession of the see); she was then consecrated as a bishop at Brecon Cathedral on 25 January and was enthroned as the 11th Bishop of Monmouth at Newport Cathedral on 1 February 2020. Vann was the third woman to become a bishop in the Church of Wales, following Joanna Penberthy and June Osborne who were consecrated in 2017.

Since 2021, Vann is a patron of the Open Table Network, an ecumenical Christian community for LGBT people and their allies.

On 30 July 2025, Vann was announced as the new Archbishop of Wales, having received the required two-thirds majority of votes on the second day of the meeting of the electoral college at Chepstow. In addition to heading the Church in Wales as its archbishop, she remains the Bishop of Monmouth. Vann's enthronement as the 15th Archbishop of Wales was held at Newport Cathedral on 8 November 2025.

Personal life Vann lives with her civil partner, Wendy Diamond. The Church in Wales allows clergy to be in same-sex civil partnerships.