The Archbishop of Canterbury is the “Primate of All England” (the “first bishop” of England), effectively serving as the head of the established Church of England and, symbolically, of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
Today the archbishop has four main roles:
- He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, which covers the east of the County of Kent and the extreme north-east of Surrey. Founded by Augustine of Canterbury in 597, it is the oldest bishopric in the English church. The main duties of this role are delegated to the suffragan Bishop of Dover (who in this capacity is called the “Bishop in Canterbury”).
- He is the metropolitan bishop of the Province of Canterbury, encompassing 30 dioceses in the southern two-thirds of England. The remaining 14 dioceses in the north of England fall within the Province of York, under the authority of the Archbishop of York. Four dioceses in Wales were under the Province of Canterbury until they were transferred to the dis-established Church in Wales in 1920.
- As “Primate of All England”, he is the chief “religious” figure in the Church of England, whilst the British sovereign is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
- As symbolic head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop is recognised as primus inter pares (“first among equals”) of all Anglican primates.
Justin Welby is the current and 105th Archbishop of Canterbury
List of Archbishops of Canterbury During The Anglo-Saxon period
| Archbishops of Canterbury | |
|---|---|
| Augustine (Austin) | 597–604 |
| Laurentius (Lawrence) | 604–619 |
| Mellitus | 619–624 |
| Justus | 624–627 |
| Honorius | 627–653 |
| Deusdedit | 655–664 |
| Theodore (Theodorus) | 668–690 |
| Berhtwald (Beorhtweald) | 693–731 |
| Tatwine | 731–734 |
| Nothelm | 735–739 |
| Cuthbert (Cuthbeorht) | 740–760 |
| Bregowine (Breguwine) | 761–764 |
| Jaenberht (Jaenbeorht) | 765–792 |
| Aethelheard | 793–805 |
| Wulfred | 805–832 |
| Feologild | 832 |
| Ceolnoth | 833–870 |
| Aethelred | 870–889 |
| Plegmund | 890–914 |
| Aethelhelm | 914–923 |
| Wulfhelm | 923–942 |
| Oda | 942–958 |
| Aelfsige | 959 |
| Beorhthelm | 959 |
| Dunstan | 960–988 |
| Aethelgar | 988–990 |
| Sigeric Serio | 990–994 |
| Aelfric | 995–1005 |
| Aelfheah | 1005–12 |
| Lyfing | 1013–20 |
| Aethelnoth | 1020–38 |
| Eadsige | 1038–50 |
| Robert of Jumièges | 1051–52 |
| Stigand | 1052–70 |
List of Archbishops of Canterbury The After the Norman conquest
| Lanfranc | 1070–89 |
| Anselm | 1093–1109 |
| Ralph d’Escures | 1114–22 |
| William of Corbeil | 1123–36 |
| Theobald | 1138–61 |
| Thomas Becket | 1162–70 |
| Richard of Dover | 1174–84 |
| Baldwin | 1184–90 |
| Hubert Walter | 1193–1205 |
| Stephen Langton | 1206–28 |
| Richard le Grant | 1229–31 |
| Edmund Rich | 1233–40 |
| Boniface of Savoy | 1241–70 |
| Robert Kilwardby | 1272–78 |
| John Pecham | 1279–92 |
| Robert Winchelsey | 1293–1313 |
| Walter Reynolds | 1313–27 |
| Simon Mepham | 1327–33 |
| John Stratford | 1333–48 |
| Thomas Bradwardine | 1348–49 |
| Simon Islip | 1349–66 |
| Simon Langham | 1366–68 |
| William Whittlesey | 1368–74 |
| Simon Sudbury | 1375–81 |
| William Courtenay | 1381–96 |
| Thomas Arundel | 1396–97 |
| Roger Walden | 1397–99 |
| Thomas Arundel (restored) | 1399–1414 |
| Henry Chichele | 1414–43 |
| John Stafford | 1443–52 |
| John Kempe | 1452–54 |
| Thomas Bourgchier | 1454–86 |
| John Morton | 1486–1500 |
| Henry Deane | 1501–03 |
| William Warham | 1504–32 |
| Thomas Cranmer | 1533–56 |
| Reginald Pole | 1556–58 |
| Matthew Parker | 1559–75 |
List of Archbishops of Canterbury After the Elizabethan settlement
| Edmund Grindal | 1575–83 |
| John Whitgift | 1583–1604 |
| Richard Bancroft | 1604–10 |
| George Abbot | 1611–33 |
| William Laud | 1633–45 |
| William Juxon | 1660–63 |
| Gilbert Sheldon | 1663–77 |
| William Sancroft | 1677–90 |
| John Tillotson | 1691–94 |
| Thomas Tenison | 1694–1715 |
| William Wake | 1715–37 |
| John Potter | 1737–47 |
| Thomas Herring | 1747–57 |
| Matthew Hutton | 1757–58 |
| Thomas Secker | 1758–68 |
| Frederick Cornwallis | 1768–83 |
| John Moore | 1783–1805 |
| Charles Manners Sutton | 1805–28 |
| William Howley | 1828–48 |
| John Bird Sumner | 1848–62 |
| Charles Thomas Longley | 1862–68 |
| Archibald Campbell Tait | 1868–82 |
| Edward White Benson | 1883–96 |
| Frederick Temple | 1896–1902 |
| Randall Thomas Davidson | 1903–28 |
| Cosmo Gordon Lang (from 1942, Baron Lang of Lambeth) | 1928–42 |
| William Temple | 1942–44 |
| Geoffrey Francis Fisher (from 1961, Baron Fisher of Lambeth) | 1945–61 |
| Arthur Michael Ramsey | 1961–74 |
| Frederick Donald Coggan | 1974–80 |
| Robert Alexander Kennedy Runcie | 1980–91 |
| George Carey | 1991–2002 |
| Rowan Williams | 2002–12 |
| Justin Welby | 2013– |
