The next Archbishop of Canterbury is set to be unveiled on Friday, with two women among the frontrunners for the first time in the role’s 1,400-year history.
The announcement will come nearly a year after Justin Welby resigned from the role due to a damning review into the Church of England’s (CoE) handling of a sexual abuse scandal.
The process for choosing the new archbishop is incredibly secretive, being led by a former MI5 spy.
Here’s what you need to know.
Who are the favourites?
There is no official list of candidates, but bookmakers suggest leading contenders include two female diocesan bishops, Rachel Treweek and Guli Francis-Dehqani.
Revd Treweek became the CoE’s first female diocesan bishop in 2015 as the 41st Bishop of Gloucester, having started her life in ordained ministry in 1994.
During her time as bishop, she has launched two campaigns: #Liedentity, aimed at raising awareness of body image anxiety in young people and Fighting for Women’s Justice, aimed at improving the justice system for women.
Another potential candidate is Iranian-born Bishop Guli Francis-Dehqani, who came to the UK aged 13 as a refugee with her parents following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Dr Francis-Dehqani is currently lead bishop for housing and is chair of the board of the Church Army.
The Bishop of Leicester, Reverend Martyn Snow, is also a favourite, having served there since 2016.
He was previously the lead bishop for “living in love and faith”, which required him to lead the CoE’s contentious process to bless same-sex couples, but he stepped down earlier this year, saying he could not unite the Church.
Pete Wilcox, Bishop of Sheffield, has reportedly emerged as another frontrunner, having been ordained for more than 30 years. He is also the author of three books and a former senior lecturer in creative writing at Manchester Metropolitan University.
A female archbishop wouldn’t be entirely popular
It’s the first time women are eligible for the role, as female bishops weren’t consecrated by the CoE when the last archbishop was chosen in 2013.
A decade on from when women started being consecrated, they now make up close to a third of all bishops in England.
But there are concerns that some conservative Christians would struggle to accept a woman as the symbolic figurehead for 85 million Anglicans worldwide.
The conservative Global Anglican Future Conference, which says it represents the majority of Anglicans worldwide, believes only men should be consecrated as bishops.
In June, the Diocese of Canterbury published a so-called ‘statement of needs’ setting out a long list of requirements for the 106th archbishop.
They said the next archbishop would need to be:
• A person with “theological depth” who is a strong communicator with people of all ages and backgrounds.
• Someone of the “utmost integrity who is able to speak honestly” about issues and injustices in the church.
• A “servant leader who shows compassion towards the disadvantaged and marginalised”.
• “Unapologetic about offering a Christian perspective to local, national, and international dialogue”.
• Someone with a willingness to ordain and consecrate both men and women, support the ministry of both, and may themselves be male or female.
• Someone who previously “worked, and will continue to work constructively” around ongoing discussions around blessing services for same-sex couples, but also someone who can “embrace” both those who support and oppose same-sex marriage in the church.
How is the archbishop chosen?
The archbishop is chosen by the Crown Nominations Commission, a committee chaired by Jonathan Evans, a former director-general of the MI5 security service.
The commission is made up of 17 voting members, including five representatives from the global Anglican Communion, three from Canterbury, and six from the CoE’s governing body.
After the group reaches a two-thirds majority on two preferred candidates, the nominations are presented to the prime minister, who selects one to be formally appointed by the King.
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Candidates must be aged at least 30 and generally younger than 70, and historically they have been people already holding senior leadership roles in the Church or elsewhere in the Anglican Communion.
Mr Evans previously said he wanted to avoid a list of candidates where all were “white, Oxbridge, male and come from the southeast of England”.
What does the Archbishop of Canterbury do?
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior leader of the Church of England, below the King, who is its supreme governor.
They preside over the church and its work in the southern two-thirds of England, while the Archbishop of York leads in the north.
Along with all bishops, the archbishops determine the direction of the church and make decisions on its role in society.
They also chair the General Synod, which is the church’s ruling committee – made up of bishops, clergy, and laity – that meets twice a year to discuss church law and matters of public interest.
The Archbishop of Canterbury sits in the House of Lords as a ‘Lord Spiritual’, acts as patron for various organisations and charities, and is in charge of the Anglican chaplains for each of the British Armed Forces.
