Archbishop of Canterbury
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the spiritual leader of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion. He is the head of the Church, and lives in the English city of Canterbury. The leader is always chosen by the English ruler, or monarch.
The office of Archbishop of Canterbury began in the year 597. In that year, Saint Augustine came to England, to the area called Kent. He had been sent by the Pope to convince the local people to become Christians. The people accepted him and Christianity when their King (Ethelbert of Kent) became a Christian. Since then, there has been an Archbishop at Canterbury in Kent.
The Archbishop of Canterbury used to be head of the Roman Catholic Church in England, but in the 1500s the English church broke away from the Roman church. The new church called itself the Church of England, and now the Archbishop is the leader of that church.
[edit] Other related articles
List of Archbishops of Canterbury
