"THE time has come for change," declared Dominic Walker, pictured, as he was enthroned as the new Bishop of Monmouth on Saturday.

Giving a sermon at his installation ceremony at St Woolos Cathedral, Newport, he spoke of a need to reverse the decline in the Church while retaining the "joy and love for Jesus Christ and each other that is typical of Christians".

Every seat in the cathedral was taken, and the congregation of 500 saw Dean Richard Fenwick handing Bishop Dominic the diocesan pastoral staff, entrusted to the cathedral by his predecessor, Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, at his farewell service.

The service was a joyful one.

When the dean presented the people with their newly enthroned bishop, they burst into rapturous applause and there was a spontanteous standing ovation.

Readings included Corinthians 12:4-13, Mark 10:35-45, John 20:19-23, Colossians 3:12-15, and John 21:15-17.

The new Bishop of Monmouth grew up in Dartmoor, became a minister in 1972, and worked in parishes in London and Brighton.

He was rural dean, canon and prebendary of Chichester Cathedral before becoming area bishop of Reading in 1997.

Bishop Dominic - chosen as the ninth Bishop of Monmouth by its electoral college last December - said that a recent report on the growth of the Church holds important messages for the role of the diocese.

He told his congregation: "The Church may not be scratching where people are itching. We need to reach them with this treasure that we hold, this good news."

Bishop Dominic stressed that local knowledge is important and said he will take a year to get to know the parishes, before thinking about how to take the Church forward.

"I may be the new kid on the block but I want to work with you in sharing our love for Jesus and each other," he said.

"We must learn from the small percentage of churches that have grown in recent years or we will die out."