THE name of the Crown’s nominee as next Archbishop of Canterbury is expected to be made public on Friday.
The final meeting of the Canterbury Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) was held last week, and it is understood that a nominee was agreed by at least the required two-thirds majority.
The CNC comprised 17 members, including six elected from the General Synod, five representing the Anglican Communion, and three from the diocese of Canterbury, alongside the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, and the Archbishop of York.
The CNC was chaired by a former head of MI5, Lord Evans of Weardale, who, in an interview earlier this year, described it as “a discernment process rather than a selection process” (News, 11 July).
The length of time that it has taken to nominate a new Archbishop is not atypical, but the CNC process usually takes place while the predecessor is still in post. Archbishop Welby’s nomination was announced in October 2012, and the farewell service for the 104th Archbishop, Lord Williams, followed in December.
Archbishop Welby was expected to retire by January 2026. His sudden resignation, after criticism in Keith Makin’s report on the way in which complaints against the abuser John Smyth were handled, meant that, this time, the process has, for the most part, taken place during a vacancy in the see of Canterbury.
