Justin Welby enters last day as Archbishop of Canterbury
By the end of Monday, Justin Welby will symbolically step down from the liturgy and relinquish his duties as Archbishop of Canterbury.
Welby, who has rarely been seen in public since resigning, is expected to spend his final days leading the Church of England privately at his base at Lambeth Palace in London.
His responsibilities will then pass largely to the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, until a permanent successor is appointed, a process expected to take several months.
Meanwhile, the church is discussing a number of important changes, including around safeguarding – an issue linked to Mr Welby’s resignation and which raised questions about Mr Cottrell.
Monday is the Feast of the Epiphany on the Christian calendar and Mr Welby will attend two services at Lambeth Palace, with the Eucharist at lunchtime and Vespers later in the day.
Although his office has not yet revealed who will join him in the ceremonies, he is expected to lay down his crozier during the evening event before officially ending his tenure as archbishop at midnight.
mr welby Resigned over church’s handling of sadistsA recent report by John Smyth said he brutally sexually, physically and emotionally abused more than 120 boys and young people since the late 1970s.
The report said Mr Welby bore “personal and moral responsibility” for the case and that he “could and should have done more”.
He resigned on November 12 after initially resisting calls to step down, saying he did so “out of sadness for all victims and survivors of abuse.”
But in early December, Welby delivered a brief farewell speech in the House of Lords, in which he joked that abuse victims said they were “disgusted”. Mr Welby apologized the next day.
Mr Welby did not deliver his Christmas sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, as he usually does via the BBC, nor did he broadcast a New Year’s Day message.
Lambeth Palace said he would not give any interviews before leaving office, which would have been his 69th birthday on Monday. He left office a full year earlier than expected.
From midnight on Monday, part of his responsibilities in London will be carried out by the Bishop of London, Sarah Mulally, and part of the responsibilities in the Diocese of Canterbury by the Bishop of Dover, Rose Hudson-Wilkin. fulfill.
Much of his responsibilities will be taken on by Mr Cottrell, who himself has faced calls to resign over his handling of abuse cases.
Last month, a BBC investigation revealed that in 2010, just days after Cottrell became Bishop of Chelmsford, Mr Cottrell was informed of historical allegations against him by the priest David Tudor (David Tudor) on multiple sexual abuse charges.
He was also told that Tudor was forbidden by the church and local council to be alone with his children.
“David Tudor’s situation is unbearable and unmanageable,” Cottrell said in a statement.
“I want victims and survivors to know that we have taken every step to understand, assess and manage the risks,” the statement continued.
But under Mr Cottrell, Tudor’s contract as senior regional dean was twice renewed and in 2015 he was appointed an honorary canon of Chelmsford Cathedral.
Tudor was suspended in 2019 after police launched a new investigation. Archbishop Cottrell said he took immediate action as permitted by law.
Although Cottrell will take over Mr Welby’s responsibilities, he will continue to be based at Bishop’s Thorpe House in North Yorkshire. He is expected to become the de facto leader of the Church of England until at least this summer.
The 17-member panel that will choose the next Archbishop of Canterbury has yet to be formalized. It will include for the first time five members of the Anglican Church from abroad.
This tumultuous period in church leadership comes as the church at home and abroad faces the threat of possible schism.
At home, the issue of blessing same-sex marriages has led to quarrels between different factions within the church.
Although the National Assembly voted to approve the option of having such blessings performed by clergy, many still strongly oppose the move, arguing that it violates fundamental teachings of the church.
But instead, some are upset that the Church of England has not taken steps to achieve full marriage equality, giving gay couples the same rights as heterosexual couples in the church.
As decisions are being made about what form blessings for same-sex marriages in the church might take, some progressives worry that upheaval at the top of the institution could derail the plan.
Similar concerns were expressed about the racial justice and climate action work being promoted by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York.
