Archbishop of Canterbury

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 first archbishop was Augustine of Canterbury, the "Apostle to the English", who was sent to England by Pope Gregory the Great and arrived in 597.^[1] The position became vacant and was not immediately filled following the resignation of Justin Welby, the 105th archbishop, effective 7 January 2025.^[2] During the vacancy the official functions of the office were delegated primarily to the archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, with some also undertaken by the bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, and the bishop of Dover, Rose Hudson-Wilkin.^[3][4] The process of selecting a new archbishop is lengthy; as of 1 September 2025 a shortlist of candidates to replace Welby had been agreed upon.

From Augustine until William Warham, the archbishops of Canterbury were in full communion with the Catholic Church and usually received the pallium from the pope. During the English Reformation, King Henry VIII broke communion with Rome and proclaimed himself the head of the Church of England. Thomas Cranmer, appointed in 1533, was the first Protestant archbishop of Canterbury and would become one of the most important figures in the development of Anglicanism.

The archbishop is appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the prime minister of the United Kingdom and formally elected by the college of canons of Canterbury Cathedral. In practice, however, candidates are chosen by the Crown Nominations Commission, a Church of England body which advises the prime minister.^[5][6][7] The Archbishops' Secretary for Appointments wrote to General Synod members regarding appointment of a successor to Justin Welby in January 2025; meetings up to September 2025 were expected, to shortlist candidates.^[8] A shortlist had been agreed by 1 September 2025, but the names were not made public.^[9]