by Tim Wyatt, The Critical Friend
Is the upcoming appointment of a new Archbishop of Canterbury the last chance saloon for the C of E to save itself?
There have been times over the last ten months when it felt like it would never end, but we are now entering the final straight of the search for a new Archbishop of Canterbury. The 17 members of the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) who are going to choose Justin Welby’s successor have met up twice over the summer to shortlist candidates and conduct interviews.
In just a few weeks (we don’t know the precise dates) the CNC will reconvene for a third time to begin selecting the winner. As we all know by now, they need to find a person whom two-thirds of the 17 members can back in order to pass that name on to the prime minister, who then passes it on the King, who technically makes the appointment. Assuming they can coalesce around a candidate (which, as we’ve discovered, is not guaranteed), we will therefore know who the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury by October.
Somewhat surprisingly for a process so cloaked in secrecy, five of the 17 have spoken to The Times about their CNC experience – albeit in very brief and general terms. We don’t really learn anything about which way they are leaning, but it’s some welcome transparency if nothing else in a procedure which has been so clouded by controversy and confusion. We discover there is lots of homework for the CNCers to do, but that they are all trying to focus on listening to the voice of God and discerning who the Holy Spirit wants to become archbishop. And that’s about it.
But in the interim, the awkward waiting, I thought it might be helpful to set the scene for whoever takes over. What state is the Church of England in? What should the priorities for the new archbishop be? What is in their in-tray, and what should be in there instead?