TRIBUTES have been paid to a renowned Welsh poet and priest from Machynlleth who died on Sunday.

Canon Gwynn ap Gwilym died after a brave battle with cancer, aged 66.

Originally from Machynlleth, Canon ap Gwilym served in the Church in Wales in the dioceses of Bangor and Llandaff before taking on the roles of bishops’ advisor for church affairs and language officer.

Archbishop Barry Morgan described him as a “scholar priest” and said the church had lost a “brilliant language officer and translator”.

“Gwynn ap Gwilym was in the old Welsh tradition of being a scholar priest.

“He was a chaired bard of the National Eisteddfod, and was about to publish a scholarly book on one of his predecessors at Mallwyd – John Davies, who had helped translate the New Testament into Welsh.

“He also produced a metrical version of the psalms in Welsh, translated from the original Hebrew, Salmau Cân Newydd.

“He succeeded in his aims of making these psalms accessible and singable without deviating from their original meaning.

“That was only possible because of his Hebrew scholarship, his ability as a poet and his deep knowledge of the Welsh language."

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