Race to replace Justin Welby begins as archbishop formally steps down
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Appointing new archbishop of Canterbury likely to take months after Welby’s resignation over abuse scandal. Justin Welby will relinquish his role as archbishop of Canterbury at midnight on Monday, formally starting the firing gun in the search for a new de facto leader of the Church of England and the global Anglican church.
The process is expected to take months, with the name of the new archbishop unlikely to be announced until the autumn. Welby quit over failures to take effective action against a sadistic serial abuser. An independent review concluded that John Smyth, an eminent barrister and Christian camp leader who abused as many as 130 boys and young men over five decades, might have been brought to justice had Welby formally reported him to police in 2013.
The unprecedented resignation of the most senior cleric in the C of E has plunged the church into a seismic crisis, with no clear path to restoring trust and confidence in its leadership. Since Welby announced his resignation on 12 November, there have been repeated calls for Stephen Cottrell, the archbishop of York, who will take over Welby’s duties in the interim, to stand down over a separate abuse case.
Welby has kept a low profile since announcing his resignation, and did not give the traditional Christmas Day sermon from Canterbury Cathedral. He is expected to spend Monday privately at his London headquarters, Lambeth Palace, attending a lunchtime Eucharist and later a service of Evensong. During the latter, he will lay down his bishop’s crozier – a ceremonial long staff – in a symbolic act that marks the official end of his ministry as archbishop of Canterbury.
