Archbishop of Canterbury
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The Archbishop of Canterbury is the spiritual leader and senior clergyman of the Church of England, recognized by convention as the head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The present incumbent is Rowan Williams.
Williams is the 104th in the list of Archbishops of Canterbury, a line stretching back more than 1400 years to Saint Augustine of Canterbury, who founded the see, the oldest in England, in the year 597. Along with the Church of England as a whole, these archbishops were Roman Catholic until the English Reformation, around 1534, when the independence of the English Church was established. The Church of England is among those churches which maintain the apostolic succession and so its bishops, including the Archbishops of Canterbury, can claim that tangible link to the Twelve Apostles.
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[edit] Present roles and status
Today the archbishop fills four main roles:
- He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, which covers the east of the County of Kent and extreme north-east Surrey. Founded in 597, it is the oldest see in the English church.
- He is the metropolitan archbishop of the Province of Canterbury, which covers the southern two-thirds of England.
- As Primate of All England, he is the chief religious figure in the Church of England (the British sovereign is the "Supreme governor" of the church) and its primary leader. Along with his colleague the Archbishop of York he chairs the General Synod and sits or chairs many of the church's important boards and committees; power in the church is not highly centralised, however, so the two archbishops can often lead only through persuasion. The Archbishop of Canterbury plays a central part in national ceremonies such as coronations; thanks to his high public profile, his opinions are often in demand by the news media.
- As head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop, although without legal authority outside England, is recognized by convention as primus inter pares ("first among equals") of all Anglican primates worldwide. Since 1867 he has convened more or less decennial meetings of worldwide Anglican bishops, the Lambeth Conferences.
In respect of the last two of these functions, he has an important ecumenical and interfaith role, speaking on behalf of Anglicans in England and worldwide.
The Archbishop's main residence is Lambeth Palace in the London Borough of Lambeth. He also has lodgings in the Old Palace, Canterbury, located beside Canterbury Cathedral, where his cathedra sits.
As holder of one of the "five great sees" (along with those of York, London, Durham and Winchester), the Archbishop of Canterbury is ex officio one of the Lords Spiritual of the House of Lords. He is one of the highest-ranking men in England, ranking directly below the Royal Family.
Since Henry VIII broke with Rome, the Archbishops of Canterbury have been selected by the English (latterly British) monarch. Today the choice is made in the name of the Sovereign by the prime minister, from a shortlist of two selected by an ad-hoc committee called the Crown Nominations Commission. As the current archbishop, the Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dr Rowan Douglas Williams, the 104th Lord Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of All England was enthroned at Canterbury Cathedral on 27 February 2003; he signs himself Rowan Cantuar. He was previously Archbishop of Wales and Bishop of Monmouth.
[edit] Additional roles
In addition to his religious roles, the Archbishop also holds a number of other positions ex officio. Amongst these are:
- Visitor for the University of Kent (whose main campus is located at Canterbury)
[edit] Origins
Records suggest that the Roman Britons had three Archbishops, seated in London, York, and Caerleon, an ancient city of South Wales. However, in the fifth and sixth centuries the country was overrun by the pagan Anglo-Saxons. Of the kingdoms they set up there, Kent had the closest ties to European trade and culture[citation needed].
The first Archbishop of Canterbury was Saint Augustine who arrived in Kent in 597, sent by Pope Gregory the Great on a mission to the English. He was accepted by King Ethelbert, on his conversion to Christianity, about the year 598. Since then the Archbishops of Canterbury have been referred to as occupying the Chair of St Augustine
Before the break with Papal authority in the 16th Century, the Church of England was an integral part of the continental Western European Church. Since the break, the Church of England, an established national church, still considers itself part of the broader Western Catholic tradition as well as being the "mother church" of the worldwide Anglican Communion, though no longer in communion with the See of Rome.
[edit] Province and Diocese
The Archbishop of Canterbury exercises metropolitical (or supervisory) jurisdiction over the Province of Canterbury, which encompasses thirty of the forty-four dioceses of the Church of England. (The remaining fourteen dioceses, in northern England, fall within the Province of York.) Formerly, the four dioceses of Wales were also under the Province of Canterbury; in 1920, however, the Welsh dioceses transferred from the established Church of England to the disestablished Church in Wales.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has a ceremonial provincial curia, or court, consisting of some of the senior bishops of his province[1]. The Bishop of London—the most senior cleric of the Church with the exception of the two Archbishops—serves as Canterbury's Provincial Dean, the Bishop of Winchester as Chancellor, the Bishop of Lincoln as Vice-Chancellor, the Bishop of Salisbury as Precentor, the Bishop of Worcestor as Chaplain and the Bishop of Rochester as Cross-Bearer.
Along with primacy over the Archbishop of York, the Archbishop of Canterbury also has a precedence of honour over the other archbishops of the Anglican Communion. He is recognised as primus inter pares, or first amongst equals. The Archbishop of Canterbury, however, does not exercise any direct authority in the provinces outside England.
The Archbishop at the present time has four suffragan bishops:
- The Bishop of Dover is given the additional title of "Bishop in Canterbury" and empowered to act almost as if he were the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, since the Archbishop is so frequently away fulfilling national and international duties.
- The Bishop of Maidstone is a second assistant working in the diocese.
- Two further suffragans, the Bishop of Ebbsfleet and the Bishop of Richborough, are provincial episcopal visitors for the whole Province of Canterbury, licensed by the Archbishop as "flying bishops" to visit parishes throughout the province who are uncomfortable with the ministrations of their local bishop who has participated in the ordination of women.
[edit] Style and privileges
Both the Archbishops of Canterbury and York are styled "The Most Reverend"; retired Archbishops as "The Right Reverend". Archbishops are, by convention, appointed to the Privy Council, and may therefore also use "The Right Honourable" for life (unless they are later removed from the Council). In formal documents, the Archbishop of Canterbury is referred to as "The Most Reverend Father in God, Forenames, by Divine Providence Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of All England and Metropolitan". In debates in the House of Lords, the Archbishop is referred to as "The Most Reverend Primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury". "The Right Honourable" is not used in either instance. He may also be formally addressed as "Your Grace" - or, more often these days, simply as "Archbishop", "Father" or (in the current instance) "Dr Williams".
The surname of the Archbishop of Canterbury is not used in formal documents; only the forenames and see are mentioned. The Archbishop is legally permitted to sign his name as "Cantuar" (from the Latin for Canterbury). He shares the right to use only a title in the signature with the Archbishop of York, other bishops, and Peers of the Realm.
In the order of precedence, the Archbishop of Canterbury is ranked above all individuals in the realm, with the exception of the Sovereign and members of the Royal Family. Immediately below him is the Lord Chancellor, and then the Archbishop of York.
The Archbishop of Canterbury's official residence in London is Lambeth Palace. Until the 19th century, the Archbishops also had major residences at Croydon Palace and Addington Palace. There are also the ruins of a Palace at Otford.
[edit] See also
The Archbishops also had a Palace in Maidstone Kent - now called the Archbishop's Palace
[edit] References and external links
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