Archbishop of Canterbury

Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishopric
anglican
Coat of arms of the
Arms of the Diocese of Canterbury: Azure, an episcopal staff in pale or surmounted by a pall proper edged and fringed of the second charged with four crosses pattée fitchée sable
Incumbent:
Justin Welby
since 4 February 2013
StyleThe Most Reverend and Right Honourable (otherwise His Grace)
Location
Ecclesiastical provinceCanterbury
Residence
Information
First holderAugustine of Canterbury
DenominationAnglican
Established597 (597)
DioceseCanterbury
CathedralCanterbury Cathedral
Website
www.archbishopofcanterbury.org Edit this at Wikidata

The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justin Welby, who was enthroned at Canterbury Cathedral on 21 March 2013. Welby is the 105th person to hold the position, as part of a line of succession going back to the "Apostle to the English" Augustine of Canterbury, who was sent to the island by the church in Rome in 597. Welby succeeded Rowan Williams.[1]

From the time of Augustine until the 16th century, the archbishops of Canterbury were in full communion with the See of Rome, and usually received the pallium from the Pope. The various prerogatives of Henry VIII—emerging parallel with the spread of Protestantism on the continent—culminated in the English Reformation, wherein the Crown broke communion with Rome and seized leadership of the church, and with it the right to appoint bishops. Henry appointed Thomas Cranmer as the first Protestant archbishop of Canterbury in 1533, who would ultimately become one of the most important figures in the development of Anglicanism. The ascent of Henry's daughter Mary to the throne would bring with it a brief restoration of Catholic rule in England, with Cranmer replaced by Reginald Pole as archbishop in 1556. For his role in the Reformation, Cranmer was tried for heresy, and ultimately burned at the stake. Pole would be the final Roman Catholic to hold the office.

Before the modern era, there was a considerable variety in who appointed church offices, depending on era and political happenstance. Before the dissolution of the monasteries that occurred as part of the Reformation, the choice had often been made by the monks living in Canterbury Cathedral. At other times, the pope in Rome or the reigning monarch would fill the office. Today, the British prime minister is expected to advise the monarch regarding the appointment of the archbishop of Canterbury, with the prime minister in turn receiving a shortlist of two recommendations for the position from an ad hoc committee known as the Crown Nominations Commission.

  1. ^ "Announcement of the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury". Archbishop of Canterbury Website. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.