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chrishansenhomeThe news that the Most Rev'd and Rt Hon Rowan Douglas Williams, PC, Lord Archbishop of Canterbury would be stepping down from that office to take up the post of Master of Magdalen College, Cambridge was a surprise only in the timing.
As soon as the echoes from Lambeth had died down, the speculation began. There is no organisation more political than the Church of England; there is also no organisation that takes such pains to conceal its politicisation. The process of replacing Williams will take months, and will be carried out partly in secret until the white smoke emerges from Lambeth Palace's chimney. Only a bard could have made something like this up and immortalise it in poetry.
When the vacancy is in a diocese other than Canterbury or York, the general rule is that the diocesan bishop actually hands in his license and appoints what is referred to as a "bishop commissariat" to exercise the authority of the diocesan bishop during the appointments process. Only after they have "closed the tomb and withdrawn" will the normal process start.
When a vacancy in the Archiepiscopate occurs, however, there is more urgency. The Archbishop actually holds office in his diocese, but the actual power of the office is exercised by a suffragan bishop, who is, in the case of Canterbury, the Bishop of Dover. So there is no need to wait around for the Archbishop to pack up and leave.
The Crown Nominations Commission will meet in May to get to know one another and set up the timetable for the two meetings that will consider the candidates for the post. The members of the Commission are:
The Archbishop of Canterbury (Williams is not allowed to attend the meetings to choose his successor.)
A layperson, communicant member of the C of E, appointed by the Prime Minister to chair the Commission
The Archbishop of York (but see below)
A bishop elected by the House of Bishops of the Church of England
Three elected members of the House of Clergy of General Synod:
Three elected members of the House of Laity of General Synod
Six members of the Vacancy-in-See Committee of the diocese whose bishopric is to become, or has become, vacant
A member of the Primates Meeting of the Anglican Communion elected by the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion.
Ex officio non-voting members:
If the Archbishop of York wishes to be considered for Canterbury, he will so signify by declining to be a member of the Commission on this occasion—if this happens, a second Bishop will be elected from the House of Bishops.
The task of the Commission is to submit a preferred candidate's name to the Prime Minister, as well as a second candidate who is "appointable". The Prime Minister, while free to appoint the second name, must have a good reason to do so. He can conceivably send both names back and ask for further nominations, but this has not happened ince the last appointment to the See of Liverpool and I would be very surprised if it happened this time.
Before the Commission first meets there will be an extensive consultation process to determine the needs of the diocese, the Church of England and the Anglican Communion. This has several phases:
The expectation is that the Commission will have an initial meeting around the end of May to agree its process, which is likely to continue over the summer. The number of meetings will be for the Commission to determine. The process will among other things include:
Since 2007 the agreed convention in relation to episcopal appointments has been that the Prime Minister commends the name preferred by the Commission to the Queen. The second name is identified in case, for whatever reason, there is a change of circumstances which means that the appointment of the CNC’s recommended candidate cannot proceed.
Once the Queen has approved the chosen candidate and he has indicated a willingness to serve, 10 Downing St will announce the name of the Archbishop-designate.
The College of Canons of Canterbury Cathedral formally elect the new Archbishop of Canterbury.
The election is confirmed by a commission of diocesan bishops in a legal ceremony (the Confirmation of Election), which confers the office of Archbishop on him.
The new Archbishop does homage to Her Majesty.
The new Archbishop is formally enthroned in Canterbury Cathedral.
(Some of the above material is cribbed from the Anglican Communion News Service press release on the appointment of the Archbishop. Some other material is taken from various sources of public information, especially in regard to the members of the Crown Nominations Commission. Apologies to Grandmère Mimi for the incorrect information I gave her yesterday on timing.)
So the race begins. What are the qualifications that can be immediately identified before the consultation process begins.
First, churchmanship. For many years, at least since Archbishop William Temple's time (mid 1940's), the convention is Buggins's Turn, with the Archbishop's office alternating between Anglo-Catholic "liberals" and Evangelical "conservative" prelates. Archbishop Fisher was conservative, Michael Ramsey was an Anglo-Catholic "liberal", Archbishop Coggan was an Evangelical "conservative", Archbishop Runcie an Anglo-Catholic "liberal", Archbishop Carey an Evangelical "conservative", and Archbishop Williams is an Anglo-Catholic "liberal". So the next Archbishop is likely to be an Evangelical "conservative". On this count the Bishop of London is out, as he is Anglo-Catholic, although conservative. He also does not ordain women.
Second, age. Only Archbishop Coggan has served less than 10 years in the last 70 years, and in the last century only Coggan and Temple have served such a short archiepiscopate. The retirement age for clergy of the Church of England is 70, and no cleric can hold a benefice after that age. So no candidate for the office is likely to be above 60 years of age, and mid-50's is even more likely. The Bishop of London and the Archbishop of York are out under this qualification, although the Archbishop of York, who will be 63 in July, is likely to be considered if he allows himself to be considered, age aside.
Third, the schedule of the decennial Lambeth Conference. The reign of every Archbishop of Canterbury is, in a way, defined by the Lambeth Conference that he convenes and presides over.
So, for example, Archbishop Carey's term in office was distinguished by two events: the ordination of women to the presbyterate, and the Lambeth Conference of 1998 which disastrously passed Resolution 1.10, putting the bishops of the Anglican Communion on record as pronouncing homosexuality as being incompatible with Scripture.
This resolution, in a way, began the worldwide schism between Anglicans who feel that Scripture is incompatible with homosexuality, and those who feel that Scripture is either neutral or positive on the subject. Archbishop Williams, who was Archbishop of Wales in 1998, fought against Resolution 1.10 but managed only 70 votes against it, out of many hundreds for it.
When Archbishop Williams was appointed to Canterbury, there was a goodly amount of hope that his actions in the 1998 Lambeth Conference would be reflected in the way he conducted his own Canterbury archiepiscopate. Instead, he decided that since the 1998 conference was so contentious, nothing remotely smacking of controversy would be allowed to happen in 2008. He was to be rudely rebuffed.
In mid-2003 the Rev'd Canon V. Gene Robinson was elected by the clergy and laity of the Diocese of New Hampshire, in the Episcopal Church, to the office of Bishop of New Hampshire. His election was confirmed by General Convention in July of 2003, and he was consecrated in November.
I was there, just as I was present at the consecration of the Rt Rev'd Barbara Harris as suffragan Bishop of Massachusetts, the first woman bishop in the Anglican Communion. She was one of Gene's co-consecrators.
Suddenly this presented a problem to the Archbishop. What to do about a bishop who was openly-gay, had a life partner, and was entitled by custom to an invitation to Lambeth 2008. The Archbishop pointedly did not invite Bishop Robinson to Lambeth, although the Lambeth Conference Office wrote a letter to the Diocese of New Hampshire asking for a donation towards the cost. (No money came from New Hampshire.)
Gene Robinson came to England anyway, and blogged from Canterbury (where the Conference is held). The publicity he got in many ways overshadowed the work of the Conference itself, which was very low-key, concentrating on developing relationships among the bishops themselves, using the indaba process of dividing the bishops into small heterogeneous groups to study Scripture.
The Archbishop was, by this time, cornered by the more conservative corners of the Anglican Communion and could not express his real theological feelings about the place of lesbian and gay people in the life of the Church. The Conference merely confirmed this, and made his efforts at conciliation all the more fruitless, as many more conservative Bishops boycotted the meeting, even though Bishop Robinson was not formally present. Williams withheld his invitation to appease the conservatives, but in vain.
So, the next Archbishop's showpiece will be the 2018 Lambeth Conference (along with the hoped-for consecration of the first woman bishops in the Church of England). Any bishop older than 64 this year will not have enough time in office to conduct an effective Lambeth Conference, especially if he wishes to retire somewhat early, as the custom now seems to be. Only a very few bishops labour on until age 70. So if a bishop's name is mentioned in regard to Canterbury and he is 64 or older this year, it is very unlikely indeed that he will be appointed. If someone 65 or older is appointed, they will be involved in the planning for the Conference but will have to retire before it is held, thus locking the next Archbishop into a Conference that he (or by then, she) will not have had much input into planning.
I will post later on my opinion on Archbishop Rowan's legacy to the Church of England and the Anglican Communion.
As soon as the echoes from Lambeth had died down, the speculation began. There is no organisation more political than the Church of England; there is also no organisation that takes such pains to conceal its politicisation. The process of replacing Williams will take months, and will be carried out partly in secret until the white smoke emerges from Lambeth Palace's chimney. Only a bard could have made something like this up and immortalise it in poetry.
When the vacancy is in a diocese other than Canterbury or York, the general rule is that the diocesan bishop actually hands in his license and appoints what is referred to as a "bishop commissariat" to exercise the authority of the diocesan bishop during the appointments process. Only after they have "closed the tomb and withdrawn" will the normal process start.
When a vacancy in the Archiepiscopate occurs, however, there is more urgency. The Archbishop actually holds office in his diocese, but the actual power of the office is exercised by a suffragan bishop, who is, in the case of Canterbury, the Bishop of Dover. So there is no need to wait around for the Archbishop to pack up and leave.
The Crown Nominations Commission will meet in May to get to know one another and set up the timetable for the two meetings that will consider the candidates for the post. The members of the Commission are:
A layperson, communicant member of the C of E, appointed by the Prime Minister to chair the Commission
The Archbishop of York (but see below)
A bishop elected by the House of Bishops of the Church of England
Three elected members of the House of Clergy of General Synod:
The Very Revd Andrew Nunn (Dean of Southwark)
The Revd Canon Peter Spiers (Liverpool)
The Revd Canon Glyn Webster (York)
Three elected members of the House of Laity of General Synod
Mr Aiden Hargreaves-Smith (London)
Professor Glynn Harrison (Bristol)
Mrs Mary Johnston (London)
Six members of the Vacancy-in-See Committee of the diocese whose bishopric is to become, or has become, vacant
These have not been chosen yet
A member of the Primates Meeting of the Anglican Communion elected by the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion.
Ex officio non-voting members:
the Archbishops' Appointments Secretary: Ms Caroline Boddington
the Prime Minister's Appointments Secretary for senior ecclesiastical appointments: Sir Paul Britton
The Secretary-General of the Anglican Communion: The Revd Canon Kenneth Kearon
If the Archbishop of York wishes to be considered for Canterbury, he will so signify by declining to be a member of the Commission on this occasion—if this happens, a second Bishop will be elected from the House of Bishops.
The task of the Commission is to submit a preferred candidate's name to the Prime Minister, as well as a second candidate who is "appointable". The Prime Minister, while free to appoint the second name, must have a good reason to do so. He can conceivably send both names back and ask for further nominations, but this has not happened ince the last appointment to the See of Liverpool and I would be very surprised if it happened this time.
Before the Commission first meets there will be an extensive consultation process to determine the needs of the diocese, the Church of England and the Anglican Communion. This has several phases:
- The diocesan Vacancy in See Committee will prepare a brief description of the diocese and a statement setting out the desired profile of the new Archbishop.
- The Prime Minister’s and Archbishops’ Secretaries for Appointments will conduct a wider consultation exercise to inform the Commission’s consideration of the needs of the mission of the wider Church of England and the Anglican Communion.
The expectation is that the Commission will have an initial meeting around the end of May to agree its process, which is likely to continue over the summer. The number of meetings will be for the Commission to determine. The process will among other things include:
- Review of background material and results of the consultations, discussion of the challenges for the next Archbishop and, in the light of these, consideration of the personal qualities required
- Consideration of candidates
- Voting to identify the recommended candidate and a second appointable candidate, whose names will go forward to the Prime Minister.
Since 2007 the agreed convention in relation to episcopal appointments has been that the Prime Minister commends the name preferred by the Commission to the Queen. The second name is identified in case, for whatever reason, there is a change of circumstances which means that the appointment of the CNC’s recommended candidate cannot proceed.
Once the Queen has approved the chosen candidate and he has indicated a willingness to serve, 10 Downing St will announce the name of the Archbishop-designate.
The College of Canons of Canterbury Cathedral formally elect the new Archbishop of Canterbury.
The election is confirmed by a commission of diocesan bishops in a legal ceremony (the Confirmation of Election), which confers the office of Archbishop on him.
The new Archbishop does homage to Her Majesty.
The new Archbishop is formally enthroned in Canterbury Cathedral.
(Some of the above material is cribbed from the Anglican Communion News Service press release on the appointment of the Archbishop. Some other material is taken from various sources of public information, especially in regard to the members of the Crown Nominations Commission. Apologies to Grandmère Mimi for the incorrect information I gave her yesterday on timing.)
So the race begins. What are the qualifications that can be immediately identified before the consultation process begins.
First, churchmanship. For many years, at least since Archbishop William Temple's time (mid 1940's), the convention is Buggins's Turn, with the Archbishop's office alternating between Anglo-Catholic "liberals" and Evangelical "conservative" prelates. Archbishop Fisher was conservative, Michael Ramsey was an Anglo-Catholic "liberal", Archbishop Coggan was an Evangelical "conservative", Archbishop Runcie an Anglo-Catholic "liberal", Archbishop Carey an Evangelical "conservative", and Archbishop Williams is an Anglo-Catholic "liberal". So the next Archbishop is likely to be an Evangelical "conservative". On this count the Bishop of London is out, as he is Anglo-Catholic, although conservative. He also does not ordain women.
Second, age. Only Archbishop Coggan has served less than 10 years in the last 70 years, and in the last century only Coggan and Temple have served such a short archiepiscopate. The retirement age for clergy of the Church of England is 70, and no cleric can hold a benefice after that age. So no candidate for the office is likely to be above 60 years of age, and mid-50's is even more likely. The Bishop of London and the Archbishop of York are out under this qualification, although the Archbishop of York, who will be 63 in July, is likely to be considered if he allows himself to be considered, age aside.
Third, the schedule of the decennial Lambeth Conference. The reign of every Archbishop of Canterbury is, in a way, defined by the Lambeth Conference that he convenes and presides over.
So, for example, Archbishop Carey's term in office was distinguished by two events: the ordination of women to the presbyterate, and the Lambeth Conference of 1998 which disastrously passed Resolution 1.10, putting the bishops of the Anglican Communion on record as pronouncing homosexuality as being incompatible with Scripture.
This resolution, in a way, began the worldwide schism between Anglicans who feel that Scripture is incompatible with homosexuality, and those who feel that Scripture is either neutral or positive on the subject. Archbishop Williams, who was Archbishop of Wales in 1998, fought against Resolution 1.10 but managed only 70 votes against it, out of many hundreds for it.
When Archbishop Williams was appointed to Canterbury, there was a goodly amount of hope that his actions in the 1998 Lambeth Conference would be reflected in the way he conducted his own Canterbury archiepiscopate. Instead, he decided that since the 1998 conference was so contentious, nothing remotely smacking of controversy would be allowed to happen in 2008. He was to be rudely rebuffed.
In mid-2003 the Rev'd Canon V. Gene Robinson was elected by the clergy and laity of the Diocese of New Hampshire, in the Episcopal Church, to the office of Bishop of New Hampshire. His election was confirmed by General Convention in July of 2003, and he was consecrated in November.
I was there, just as I was present at the consecration of the Rt Rev'd Barbara Harris as suffragan Bishop of Massachusetts, the first woman bishop in the Anglican Communion. She was one of Gene's co-consecrators.
Suddenly this presented a problem to the Archbishop. What to do about a bishop who was openly-gay, had a life partner, and was entitled by custom to an invitation to Lambeth 2008. The Archbishop pointedly did not invite Bishop Robinson to Lambeth, although the Lambeth Conference Office wrote a letter to the Diocese of New Hampshire asking for a donation towards the cost. (No money came from New Hampshire.)
Gene Robinson came to England anyway, and blogged from Canterbury (where the Conference is held). The publicity he got in many ways overshadowed the work of the Conference itself, which was very low-key, concentrating on developing relationships among the bishops themselves, using the indaba process of dividing the bishops into small heterogeneous groups to study Scripture.
The Archbishop was, by this time, cornered by the more conservative corners of the Anglican Communion and could not express his real theological feelings about the place of lesbian and gay people in the life of the Church. The Conference merely confirmed this, and made his efforts at conciliation all the more fruitless, as many more conservative Bishops boycotted the meeting, even though Bishop Robinson was not formally present. Williams withheld his invitation to appease the conservatives, but in vain.
So, the next Archbishop's showpiece will be the 2018 Lambeth Conference (along with the hoped-for consecration of the first woman bishops in the Church of England). Any bishop older than 64 this year will not have enough time in office to conduct an effective Lambeth Conference, especially if he wishes to retire somewhat early, as the custom now seems to be. Only a very few bishops labour on until age 70. So if a bishop's name is mentioned in regard to Canterbury and he is 64 or older this year, it is very unlikely indeed that he will be appointed. If someone 65 or older is appointed, they will be involved in the planning for the Conference but will have to retire before it is held, thus locking the next Archbishop into a Conference that he (or by then, she) will not have had much input into planning.
I will post later on my opinion on Archbishop Rowan's legacy to the Church of England and the Anglican Communion.
