Why a woman may be the next Archbishop of York, but not of Canterbury
by Archbishop Cranmer:
His Grace The Most Rev’d and Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu, Lord Archbishop of York, has announced that he will retire from his post on 7th June 2020, three days before his 71st birthday. He said: “I have decided to announce my retirement now in order to provide the Church of England with the widest possible time frame to pray, discern with wisdom and insight and put in place a timetable for my successor and to consider fully the work they will be called to do in service to the national church, the Northern Province and the Diocese of York.”
Having been granted special dispensation to serve beyond the mandatory episcopal retirement age, he added: “I am deeply grateful to Her Majesty The Queen for graciously allowing me to continue as Archbishop of York until June 2020 in order to enable me to complete the work to which I have been called.”
Her Majesty will most probably be rather relieved to have extended Dr Sentamu’s duties beyond the age of 70, for the simple reason that it permits her to complete the work to which she has been called. And this is no small matter in the race to succeed Dr Sentamu, for Her Majesty will be very mindful indeed that, should the time be ripe for a woman to assume an archiepiscopal role in the Church of England, it can only be to the Province of York, not Canterbury – for two principal reasons.
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