When former Archbishop Rowan Williams announced in March 2012 that he was standing down as Archbishop of Canterbury, bookmakers started taking bets on his successor. Bishop John Sentamu, then Archbishop of York, was the clear favourite with the Bishops of London, Liverpool and Bradford among others in the running. One of the front-runners said to Read more
A meeting of leaders of the Anglican Communion say they will refuse Holy Communion from bishops with gay partners and from those who support same-sex marriage. Friday’s announcement at the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, England came from the Global South orthodox bishops as they pressed for re-affirmation of traditional teaching on marriage. The Global South Read more
Justin Welby has become the first Archbishop of Canterbury to interview a pope in a symbol of the warm relationship shared by the two Church leaders. In a significant moment for relations between the Anglican and Catholic Church, the interview was recorded on the Archbishop’s mobile phone during a recent meeting in Rome. The recording Read more
Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, led a spiritual retreat for South Sudan’s leaders at the Vatican this week. The “unprecedented” spiritual retreat, which finished yesterday, was described by Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti as a “propitious occasion for reflection and prayer”. He says it offered “an occasion for encounter and reconciliation, in Read more
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby says he has “learned to be ashamed again of the Church”. He made the statement while giving evidence on the second-last day of a clergy sex abuse inquiry. The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse is looking into the Diocese of Chichester, where dozens of clergy have been accused Read more
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has given Prince Harry and Meghan Markle permission to marry in church even though Markle is divorced. The Archbishop must grant a licence for marriages not held in parish churches. Since 2002, following a ruling by the General Synod, divorced people have been allowed to marry in the Church Read more
South Sudan will not be on Pope Francis’s visiting list this year. The Vatican confirmed that although it has been looking into the possibility of Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, visiting South Sudan, it has decided it’s too dangerous to visit the country at present. The Church of England has not yet Read more
A Syrian refugee family is being housed in an empty property in the grounds of Lambeth Palace, the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has confirmed. Welby and the British Home Office took the initiative in an attempt to encourage members of the public, community groups, faith groups, charities and businesses to sponsor refugee families resettling in Read more
US presidential hopeful Donald Trump has said who Jesus is for him, after being asked the same question put to Peter in Matthew’s Gospel. The question “Who do you say I am?”, in reference to Jesus, was put to Mr Trump by evangelical commentator Cal Thomas in the US. The exchange was published in transcript Read more
The Archbishop of Canterbury has said he would attend the gay wedding of one of his own children, despite his church opposing same-sex marriage. Archbishop Justin Welby said in an interview that if one of his five children asked for his blessing for a gay marriage, he would pray with them and attend the ceremony. Read more