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The Guardian
11-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘An impossible job': the daunting task of finding a new archbishop of Canterbury
In the bars and cafes of the University of York's campus, talk among the 500 members of the Church of England's parliament over the next few days is likely to be dominated by one issue: who will be the next archbishop of Canterbury? The General Synod is meeting eight months after Justin Welby dramatically quit over the way he handled one of the C of E's worst abuse cases, and as the opaque process of replacing him slowly grinds on. In contrast to the 17 days it took the Roman Catholic church to choose a new pope, the C of E is expected to take almost a year to appoint a new archbishop. The Crown Nominations Commission (CNC), the 17-strong body that will nominate Welby's successor, is due to meet for a second time this month. A third meeting will take place in September, after which a name will be submitted to Downing Street and then finally to King Charles for approval. Meanwhile, many C of E faithful are asking not just who is capable of leading this splintered and declining institution, but who would even want such a poisoned chalice? 'It's hard to see why anyone would be up for such an impossible job,' said one suffragan (junior) bishop. 'It's increasingly challenging even to find good clergy willing to become suffragan bishops, and I know several who are thinking about leaving. It feels a long way from what most of us came into the church to do.' The CNC for the Canterbury vacancy comprises the archbishop of York, the bishop of Norwich, three priests and three lay members from the General Synod, three members of the Canterbury diocese, and – for the first time – five representatives of the global Anglican church. It is chaired by Jonathan Evans, a former MI5 chief. The elections for the Canterbury representatives had to be run three times – apparently due to cock-ups but fuelling conspiracy theories about attempts by liberals to rig the outcome. A public consultation on the role earlier this year produced more than 11,000 responses, many suggesting a woman be appointed for the first time. In an interview with the Church Times last week, Lord Evans said: 'There is no reason why a woman should not be appointed, but whether a woman will be appointed is another question.' A first female archbishop would allow the C of E to claim a historic and radical move, but it would not please everyone. Hundreds of parish churches still refuse to accept women as priests, let alone as an archbishop, and a female leader of the global Anglican church would be resisted by those in more conservative parts of the world. The issue of same-sex marriage is even more incendiary. The C of E has seen bitter divisions over this issue for many years, with little sign of a way forward that will be accepted by traditionalists and progressives. Conservative evangelicals claim that any candidate who signed a letter in November 2023 supporting official church blessings for same-sex couples is 'dead in the water', as one put it. The 44 signatories include Guli Francis-Dehqani, the bookies' favourite to be the next archbishop of Canterbury. The requirement for the successful candidate to win the support of two-thirds of CNC members means opponents of same-sex blessings could veto anyone who has spoken publicly in favour. In the past few years, several bishop appointment processes have become deadlocked in a standoff between conservatives and liberals, leaving positions unfilled. Many believe the job of archbishop of Canterbury has become impossible. He or she must offer spiritual leadership to a country that often is not interested in hearing their message, sit and debate in the House of Lords, manage and run the C of E, whose 42 dioceses fiercely guard their independence, officiate at state occasions, and try to hold together disparate and often warring factions within the national and global churches. In theory, an archbishop can be any ordained priest, but is likely to be a senior bishop with about a decade to go before the compulsory retirement age of 70. The CNC was also seeking someone who could 'take the appropriate lead on safeguarding', said Evans. The latter could be a stumbling block for some. As the C of E struggles to get a grip on its long, dark history of abuse and cover-up, potential candidates accused of mishandling allegations could be ruled out as too high a risk, especially after Welby's downfall. Martyn Snow, the bishop of Leicester and once a favourite for the top job, may be in that position after a BBC investigation into a stalking case and his response to the initial allegations. The BBC reported that he later apologised to the victim. At the moment, the bookies' favourites are Francis-Dehqani, the bishop of Chelmsford who has a compelling backstory as a child refugee from Iran; Sarah Mullally, the capable bishop of London and a former NHS chief nursing officer, who could be installed as a short-term safe pair of hands; and Michael Beasley, the bishop of Bath and Wells, who has navigated a careful path between progressives and traditionalists on blessings for same-sex couples. Whoever makes it through the long selection process may find commanding the confidence of clergy, congregations and the wider public a challenge. 'I believe in God, but I don't particularly believe in the Church of England, and I certainly don't believe in the current crop of bishops,' said one synod member. 'We need someone with moral courage, and I have no confidence that's what we'll get.'
Spectator
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
The tangled bureaucracy of appointing an Archbishop
Cardinals elected the new Pope within a fortnight but it will take almost a year to choose our next Archbishop of Canterbury. The beloved Anglican interregnum is intended to 'take soundings'. These are unproductive if held in an echo chamber. The chairman of the Crown Nominations Commission for the successor to Justin Welby, Lord Evans of Weardale, is an efficient and discreet public servant. But most of the large group of voting members, including both its C of E bishops (York, Norwich), come from the fastest-declining part of the Church, its liberal wing. Thanks to Welby's reforms, the commission now has no fewer than five members from the wider Anglican communion, only one of whom is from the burgeoning, usually traditionalist African churches (total membership c. 43 million). The others include an engineer from Argentina (total membership c. 22,500), a Maori hemp farmer and a bishop from the ever-shrinking liberal Church in Wales. Then come six elected by the mainly liberal General Synod and three from the ultra-liberal Diocese of Canterbury. Read the last's 'statement of needs' about 'the Archbishop we are seeking', to feel whither the wind bloweth. It orders the next Archbishop to get on well with his or her suffragan, the Bishop of Dover, who shoulders most of the diocesan duties, expressly emphasising the importance of this particular one, the liberal Rose Hudson-Wilkin, a protegée of Archbishop Welby. You would think she had the right of veto over any candidate proposed. The statement also insists that the successful candidate 'has worked and will continue to work constructively with the Living and Loving in Faith Process' (LLF). This entirely liberal project, little known to the outside world, is the latest attempt to permit same-sex marriage in church. Opponents protest at the procedural sleight of hand which evades the rule that a change of doctrine can pass only with a two-thirds majority in all three houses of the synod. If pushed forward, LLF will split the Church at the February synod, with orthodox believers (the growing part of the Church) departing. LLF has been so beset by controversies that even its current chairman, the liberal Bishop of Leicester, Martin Snow, has recently resigned. It was beginning to dribble away. But if Canterbury's 'needs' prevail, it will jump back up again. Oh dear, things were so much fairer when a well-instructed prime minister – say, Harold Macmillan choosing Michael Ramsey – simply made the appointment himself. Without bureaucracy, the established Church sort of worked. With it, it sort of doesn't. Last Saturday, we went to London for a lovely party to celebrate the 90th birthday of my ever-vigorous uncle by marriage, John Oliver, ex-Bishop of Hereford. It was held in a club in Pall Mall. On our walk to and from Charing Cross, we saw the following things: 1) About 30 dog-carts, drawn by horses trotting and occasionally cantering past. They were unpoliced and unstewarded, and dashed along, scattering pedestrians as they turned the corner at the bottom of Haymarket. I loved watching, but they were dangerous. 2) On emerging from the club, several people in morning dress and cavalry officers in ceremonial uniform having come from Trooping the Colour. 3) Thirty seconds later, 100 or so naked people, mainly men, riding bicycles as fast as they could peddle, some carrying Pride flags. The intention, I think, was genial, but the overall impression was genital, and repulsive. The next day, at a party in the country, I met Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary. He told me about his ongoing campaign to dramatise the degradation of the public realm under Labour and brandished a photo taken the day before of two men, naked except for their shoes, smoking weed in the park opposite Apsley House. I wonder if they were two resting bicyclists. I later discovered that we had witnessed an annual event called the World Naked Bike Ride, 'a protest against car culture and oil dependency'. I agree with Mr Jenrick that a growing constituency are utterly sick of exhibitionists of all kinds who hog the public space and create what mayors call a 'vibrant' city. If he could persuade the teams of police currently deployed to arrest solitary women praying outside abortion clinics to clear this mess up, he might one day become prime minister. Sir Geoff Palmer has died, professor of beer and first black professor of anything in Scotland. His obituaries repeated his story that when seeking a job in agricultural research at Nottingham University in 1964, he had been interviewed by Keith Joseph, cabinet minister and future mentor of Margaret Thatcher. In Sir Geoff's account, Joseph 'told me to go back where I came from and grow bananas'. When I first heard this story, I greatly doubted it [see Notes in September and October 2015]. Joseph, said Sir Geoff, was the Min of Ag representative on the interview panel. But Joseph was never an agriculture minister and knew nothing about agriculture. I was also assured by a former MAFF permanent secretary that it was against departmental rules for a minister to interview anyone for such a post. Besides, Joseph, whom I knew, was a scrupulously courteous anti-racist, the only member of Ted Heath's shadow cabinet to refuse to oppose Labour's Race Relations Act. Sir Geoff had got the wrong man. He hotly denied this, but never produced any evidence. Of course, I never doubted his claim that somebody said this unpleasant thing to him, but that person was not Keith Joseph. In further researches, I found a professor long associated with Kew Gardens with a very similar name. I wondered if this might explain the mix-up, but did not push the point in case this too would unfairly blame another. In fairness to Sir Keith's reputation, I think all Sir Geoff's obituaries should take the story down, as has Wikipedia.
North Wales Chronicle
06-06-2025
- Politics
- North Wales Chronicle
Archbishop of Canterbury job advert seeks ‘servant leader of utmost integrity'
The Church of England post has been vacant since January when Justin Welby formally left office having announced his resignation the previous November amid safeguarding failures surrounding a Christian camp leader who had been a serial abuser. In a so-called statement of needs, published this week, the Diocese of Canterbury set out a lengthy list of requirements the chosen candidate should have. While, technically, the King is head of the Church of England, the person holding the role of archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior bishop and is the spiritual leader of the Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) – the body charged with nominating the new archbishop – held the first of three planned private meetings last month. It is expected there could be an announcement on a nomination for the 106th archbishop of Canterbury by autumn – a year after Mr Welby announced he was standing down. He said on November 12 2024 that he was to quit following failures in handling a Church abuse scandal involving barrister and religious camp leader John Smyth – thought to be the most prolific abuser associated with the Church. More than 11,000 people took part in February and March in a public consultation for the next archbishop of Canterbury – aimed at giving people the chance to influence the future of leadership within the Church, by submitting both names and the qualities they think are required. The Canterbury diocese said the statement of needs incorporates views from the public consultation 'as well as explaining what life in our diocese is like for those who live, work and worship here'. Among the requirements are a person with 'theological depth' who is a good communicator with people of different ages and backgrounds, someone of 'the utmost integrity who is able to speak honestly' about failures and injustices in the Church, and a 'servant leader, who shows compassion towards the disadvantaged and marginalised'. They must also be 'unapologetic about offering a Christian perspective to local, national and international dialogue', the statement says. Issues such as same-sex marriage and women's roles in the Church are also referenced. The chosen person must be someone who is happy to ordain and consecrate women and men and 'will unequivocally affirm and support the ministry of both, and may themselves be male or female'. While women have been ordained in the Church of England for a number of years, there has never been a female in the top role. The chosen person must also have 'worked and will continue to work constructively' around ongoing discussions around blessings services for same-sex couples, and 'embrace' both those who support and others who oppose same-sex marriage in the Church. On what has been a divisive and difficult debate in the Church, the person 'will recognise with honesty the complexity of the current situation and the strongly held, but different, convictions present in the diocese as in the Church of England more widely'. Rather than applying, it is usual that candidates are 'invited in' to the process. Historically, candidates have been people who already have senior leadership roles in ministry in the Church or elsewhere in the Anglican Communion. They must be at least 30 years old, and generally younger than 70. Chairman of the Vacancy in See Committee, the Venerable Dr Will Adam, said: 'The (consultation) responses gathered have helped us put together a Statement of Needs that captures the opportunities and challenges in our diverse corner of the country, reflecting the coastal, urban and rural communities and the church in all its variety in this diocese. 'The document will be enormously helpful to the Crown Nominations Commission and to candidates as we continue to discern who God is calling to be our next Archbishop.'
Leader Live
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Leader Live
Archbishop of Canterbury job advert seeks ‘servant leader of utmost integrity'
The Church of England post has been vacant since January when Justin Welby formally left office having announced his resignation the previous November amid safeguarding failures surrounding a Christian camp leader who had been a serial abuser. In a so-called statement of needs, published this week, the Diocese of Canterbury set out a lengthy list of requirements the chosen candidate should have. While, technically, the King is head of the Church of England, the person holding the role of archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior bishop and is the spiritual leader of the Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) – the body charged with nominating the new archbishop – held the first of three planned private meetings last month. It is expected there could be an announcement on a nomination for the 106th archbishop of Canterbury by autumn – a year after Mr Welby announced he was standing down. He said on November 12 2024 that he was to quit following failures in handling a Church abuse scandal involving barrister and religious camp leader John Smyth – thought to be the most prolific abuser associated with the Church. More than 11,000 people took part in February and March in a public consultation for the next archbishop of Canterbury – aimed at giving people the chance to influence the future of leadership within the Church, by submitting both names and the qualities they think are required. The Canterbury diocese said the statement of needs incorporates views from the public consultation 'as well as explaining what life in our diocese is like for those who live, work and worship here'. Among the requirements are a person with 'theological depth' who is a good communicator with people of different ages and backgrounds, someone of 'the utmost integrity who is able to speak honestly' about failures and injustices in the Church, and a 'servant leader, who shows compassion towards the disadvantaged and marginalised'. They must also be 'unapologetic about offering a Christian perspective to local, national and international dialogue', the statement says. Issues such as same-sex marriage and women's roles in the Church are also referenced. The chosen person must be someone who is happy to ordain and consecrate women and men and 'will unequivocally affirm and support the ministry of both, and may themselves be male or female'. While women have been ordained in the Church of England for a number of years, there has never been a female in the top role. The chosen person must also have 'worked and will continue to work constructively' around ongoing discussions around blessings services for same-sex couples, and 'embrace' both those who support and others who oppose same-sex marriage in the Church. On what has been a divisive and difficult debate in the Church, the person 'will recognise with honesty the complexity of the current situation and the strongly held, but different, convictions present in the diocese as in the Church of England more widely'. Rather than applying, it is usual that candidates are 'invited in' to the process. Historically, candidates have been people who already have senior leadership roles in ministry in the Church or elsewhere in the Anglican Communion. They must be at least 30 years old, and generally younger than 70. Chairman of the Vacancy in See Committee, the Venerable Dr Will Adam, said: 'The (consultation) responses gathered have helped us put together a Statement of Needs that captures the opportunities and challenges in our diverse corner of the country, reflecting the coastal, urban and rural communities and the church in all its variety in this diocese. 'The document will be enormously helpful to the Crown Nominations Commission and to candidates as we continue to discern who God is calling to be our next Archbishop.'
The Independent
06-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Archbishop of Canterbury job advert seeks ‘servant leader of utmost integrity'
A job description for the next archbishop of Canterbury has stated the chosen person must be someone of the 'utmost integrity', able to speak on the issues affecting the society's most vulnerable, and could be a woman for the first time in the role's history. The Church of England post has been vacant since January when Justin Welby formally left office having announced his resignation the previous November amid safeguarding failures surrounding a Christian camp leader who had been a serial abuser. In a so-called statement of needs, published this week, the Diocese of Canterbury set out a lengthy list of requirements the chosen candidate should have. While, technically, the King is head of the Church of England, the person holding the role of archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior bishop and is the spiritual leader of the Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) – the body charged with nominating the new archbishop – held the first of three planned private meetings last month. It is expected there could be an announcement on a nomination for the 106th archbishop of Canterbury by autumn – a year after Mr Welby announced he was standing down. He said on November 12 2024 that he was to quit following failures in handling a Church abuse scandal involving barrister and religious camp leader John Smyth – thought to be the most prolific abuser associated with the Church. More than 11,000 people took part in February and March in a public consultation for the next archbishop of Canterbury – aimed at giving people the chance to influence the future of leadership within the Church, by submitting both names and the qualities they think are required. The Canterbury diocese said the statement of needs incorporates views from the public consultation 'as well as explaining what life in our diocese is like for those who live, work and worship here'. Among the requirements are a person with 'theological depth' who is a good communicator with people of different ages and backgrounds, someone of 'the utmost integrity who is able to speak honestly' about failures and injustices in the Church, and a 'servant leader, who shows compassion towards the disadvantaged and marginalised'. They must also be 'unapologetic about offering a Christian perspective to local, national and international dialogue', the statement says. Issues such as same-sex marriage and women's roles in the Church are also referenced. The chosen person must be someone who is happy to ordain and consecrate women and men and 'will unequivocally affirm and support the ministry of both, and may themselves be male or female'. While women have been ordained in the Church of England for a number of years, there has never been a female in the top role. The chosen person must also have 'worked and will continue to work constructively' around ongoing discussions around blessings services for same-sex couples, and 'embrace' both those who support and others who oppose same-sex marriage in the Church. On what has been a divisive and difficult debate in the Church, the person 'will recognise with honesty the complexity of the current situation and the strongly held, but different, convictions present in the diocese as in the Church of England more widely'. Rather than applying, it is usual that candidates are 'invited in' to the process. Historically, candidates have been people who already have senior leadership roles in ministry in the Church or elsewhere in the Anglican Communion. They must be at least 30 years old, and generally younger than 70. Chairman of the Vacancy in See Committee, the Venerable Dr Will Adam, said: 'The (consultation) responses gathered have helped us put together a Statement of Needs that captures the opportunities and challenges in our diverse corner of the country, reflecting the coastal, urban and rural communities and the church in all its variety in this diocese. 'The document will be enormously helpful to the Crown Nominations Commission and to candidates as we continue to discern who God is calling to be our next Archbishop.'
