Justin Welby has resigned as the Archbishop of Canterbury after coming under sustained pressure over his handling of a Church of England-linked abuse case.
The independent Makin Review concluded that barrister and Christian camp leader John Smyth might have been brought to justice had the archbishop formally alerted authorities in 2013.
Yet the process for electing his successor is far from simple. While several senior Church figures have been touted, it is unlikely that they were be named until the late spring, as multiple consultations, shortlisting and interviews are set to take place.
Here we look at the process for choosing the new archbishop:
Who appoints the archbishop?
The King – the defender of the faith and supreme governor of the Church of England – formally appoints archbishops, bishops and deans.
Mr Welby sought permission from the King before he announced his intention to resign.
Once a candidate has been decided, their name is passed on to Downing Street, who subsequently passes it on to Buckingham Palace for approval.
Who recommends the appointment?
The Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) is responsible for appointing the next archbishop, but a period of consultation is first needed to set up this body.
The CNC examines the candidates, holds interviews, and puts forward a name to the Prime Minister, who then passes it to the King.
There will be 17 voting members of the CNC: an Anglican in public life chosen by the Prime Minister, a bishop, the Archbishop of York, three representatives elected from the Diocese of Canterbury, six from the General Synod – three ordained and three lay – and five Anglican communion representatives.
In addition, the secretary general of the Anglican Communion, the prime minister’s appointments secretary and the archbishops’ secretary for appointments are non-voting members of the Commission.
Once the King has approved the chosen candidate and they have indicated a willingness to serve, 10 Downing St will announce the name of the archbishop-designate.
The college of canons of Canterbury Cathedral then formally elects the new archbishop.
What will happen to Mr Welby?
Statement from the Archbishop of Canterbury.https://t.co/aNnuLBMapo pic.twitter.com/pIIR1911QU
— Archbishop of Canterbury (@JustinWelby) November 12, 2024
The Archbishop said he would honour his existing “constitutional and church responsibilities”, so exact timings for his departure will be decided “once a review of necessary obligations has been completed”.
Previous archbishops have received a life peerage to sit in the House of Lords.
Archbishops must retire at the age of 70, with Mr Welby previously telling The Times in 2022 that he intended to retire in January 2026 on his 70th birthday.
Who are the frontrunners to replace him?
The 54-year-old Bishop of Leicester has been in his current posting since 2016. He was born in Indonesia and also worked as a vicar and youth chaplain in West Africa.
He has been the Church’s lead bishop in its Living in Love and Faith program, which grapples with questions of sexuality and doctrine.
Graham Usher
The Bishop of Norwich is outspoken on issues relating to climate change, and most recently called on the government to hit major polluters with higher taxes in the run-up to this week’s COP29 summit in Azerbaijan.
Guli Francis-Dehqani
The Bishop of Chelmsford was born in Iran, where her father was an Anglican bishop, but fled the Middle Eastern country with her family as a result of the Islamic revolution, in which her brother was killed, in 1980.
She is outspoken on justice issues, and recently called on western governments to address Palestinian dispossession in occupied territories.
