King Charles III will have to approve the new Archbishop of Canterbury after the incumbent, Justin Welby, resigned.
The Most Reverend Justin Welby had faced sharp criticism over his handling of a child abuse scandal within the Church of England and announced that he would step aside from his role after seeking the ”gracious permission of His Majesty The King.”
Charles III is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England but while he’ll give the final nod to the new Archbishop, what role will he have in selecting the new most senior cleric in the church?
The answer is, technically, any role he chooses although in reality, it will be limited.
The new Archbishop will be chosen, in effect, by the Crown Appointments Commission. This group of 17 people, mostly clerics, will consider candidates and draw up a shortlist of up to two names. That is then sent to the Prime Minister. However, it is now accepted that just one name is actually offered to Number 10, with a second held on a kind of reserves list.
Once the Prime Minister has officially accepted their selection, or asked for the substitute to be sent on, the chosen name will go to The King for approval.
Charles III will then give his consent to the appointment of the new Archbishop. However, he can say no – he is at the very top of the Church of England, after all. The likelihood of that is pretty much non existent.
That’s the role on paper. However, given that the position of Archbishop of Canterbury involves leadership of a worldwide communion, with large churches in many Commonwealth countries, The King’s advice may well be of use to those making such a big decision, given his long involvement with many of the nations who will turn to the Archbishop for spiritual guidance. Charles III’s deep spirituality is also well known. He could, perhaps, offer good advice on who to turn to as the Church of England chooses its most senior cleric in the midst of a crisis.
There’s no timescale for how this will unfold just yet. The Most Reverend Justin Welby stood aside hours after a senior bishop said his position was no longer tenable and in his resignation statement said he would continue in his role while the necessary processes to appoint a replacement continue.
Pressure on the Archbishop of Canterbury had intensified after the Makin report into the abuse of a Church of England lay reader, John Smyth, who violently assaulted over 100 boys in England, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The review concluded that had Justin Welby reported what he knew to police earlier, John Smyth could have been brought to justice. John Smyth died in 2018.
