The Church of England has issued the following Press Release on the expected timings for the process of nominating the next Archbishop of Canterbury, extracts of which are reproduced below. Key dates in the process are:
- In a statement issued by Lambeth Palace at 2 pm on Tuesday 12 November, Archbishop Welby said: “I believe that stepping aside is in the best interests of the Church of England”. The exact timing of his resignation will be decided once a review of necessary constitutional and Church obligations has been completed, including those in England and in the Anglican Communion.
- Canterbury Vacancy in See process commenced December 2024.
- Chair of Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) appointed late December 2024.
- 6 January 2025 was Justin Welby’s last day in post as Archbishop of Canterbury. From that date, his primatial functions will be delegated, mainly to the Archbishop of York, his metropolitan functions to the Bishop of London and his diocesan functions to the Bishop of Dover.
- The full membership of CNC expected to be known by mid-March 2025.
- The Commission will meet in May, July and September. Shortlisted candidates are generally interviewed at the final meeting, and a decision made.
Press Release
Nominating the next Archbishop of Canterbury
20/01/2025
Stephen Knott, The Archbishops’ Secretary for Appointments has written to members of General Synod to confirm expected timings for the process of nominating the next Archbishop of Canterbury.
Dear members of the General Synod,
As you will expect, the process for the appointment of the next Archbishop of Canterbury is underway and I wanted to write to share the outline framework of the emerging plans surrounding this. It is a significant responsibility, and all those involved are committed to ensuring this important process is carried out with the utmost integrity and care.
By way of an update, the Canterbury Diocese ‘Vacancy in See’ process commenced in December and, late last year, it was announced from Downing Street that the Prime Minister had appointed Lord (Jonathan) Evans of Weardale to chair the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC). My colleagues and I are supporting Lord Evans as he takes on this important responsibility and are working in partnership with him on the detailed planning.
In February and March, Jonathan Hellewell (the Prime Minister’s Appointments Secretary) and I will undertake an extensive consultation exercise and, as part of this consultation, it will be possible for you to contribute and share your views. The themes that emerge through this consultation will sit alongside the ‘Statement of Needs’ produced by the Diocese of Canterbury, as well as other information provided by the National Church and Anglican Communion, in informing the CNC of the needs of the mission of the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion.
It is expected that the full membership of the Commission will be known by mid-March, by which time the names of the three individuals elected from the Diocese of Canterbury’s Vacancy in See Committee, the outcome of the election of the episcopal member(s), the Central Members and the Anglican Communion representatives will be announced. The election process for the episcopal membership will be overseen by the Central Secretariat and further information on this will be circulated in the next weeks.
Once the Diocese of Canterbury’s Vacancy in See process has concluded, the extensive consultation exercise has been completed, and the full membership of the CNC is known, the Commission will convene for its first meeting in May, followed by two further meetings – one in July and one in September. Through these meetings, the Commission will agree the ‘Role Profile’ and ‘Person Specification’ for the next Archbishop, as well as longlist, shortlist and interview potential candidates.
While the discernment of the Crown Nominations Commission is necessarily confidential, we are committed to sharing relevant updates and information whenever available. To provide clarity on the timeline and sequence of events concerning the appointment and CNC process, there is a dedicated page on the Church of England website for your reference.
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Should any of you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or my team by emailing abc106@churchofengland.org.
I am writing in similar terms to the members of the College of Bishops.
More information on appointing the next Archbishop of Canterbury can be found here.
Updated: 12 May 2025 at 13:52.