The full membership of the Crown Nominations Commission for Canterbury is still not known, but it has been announced that the Bishop of Norwich, Graham Usher, has been elected by the House of Bishops to be a member.
The Bishop of Norwich, Graham Usher, has been elected as a member of the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) for the See of Canterbury, following an election by the House of Bishops.
As a Bishop from the Province of Canterbury, Bishop Graham will join the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, as the second Church of England episcopal member of the Canterbury CNC.
The remaining membership will be announced in early April. Once the full membership of the CNC is known, the Commission will convene for its first meeting in May, followed by at least two further meetings – one in July and another in September.
Through these, the Commission will agree the ‘Role Profile’ and ‘Person Specification’ for the next Archbishop of Canterbury, and discern the longlist, to shortlist and to interview candidates.
It is not possible to apply for the role of Archbishop of Canterbury. Instead, individuals will be invited into a careful and prayerful process of discernment.
Elections to the Canterbury diocesan Vacancy-in-See committee are continuing, and once complete, the committee will elect three of its members to the CNC. Additionally the CNC has five representatives from the worldwide Anglican Communion, and these names have also still to be announced.
Presumably + Bishop Graham thereby rules himself out as a candidate. He was considered papabile
Yes, although he can resile if at any point the needle swings towards him. There’s precedent; I think John Habgood did so.
Bishop Usher was a York ordinand. A return home may be on the cards…
From what I hear of him, it sounds like this is a very good thing from the perspective of having good people on the appointing CNC. It’s also a very wise move on his part, I think, to rule himself out in a very constructive way.
Agree. One more sensible (and influential) member of the commission who will discern and not vote on tribal lines. He was the best male candidate by far nominated during my recent time on the CNC (2017-2021). I thought we had nominated a future archbishop.
Another pro LLF affirming Bishop. One of the 44 . The future looks bleak for the next ABC being nothing more than switching the lights off as the institution fades away.
Trump is running a massive social experiment in the USA. He is betting that the majority don’t want things like equality and equal marriage. Hopefully he is wrong – we will see.
But either way, those forces which have been unleashed are much more puissant in the UK (which is probably more socially linked with USA than the EU) than any choice of ABC. For some of us that’s very frightening – but you may get your wish and any movement towards equal marriage will die.
Kate, I would certainly not align myself to the Trump/ Vance faux religious piety. It would also not be my wish for the church that I have worshipped within, with my ordained wife, for over 45 years to dissipate and die due to weak leadership and errant understanding of scripture. Society has civil partnership, society has same sex marriage, my wife and I have never discriminated, when in leadership, with same sex partners being a valued part of the church’s we lead. The problem has arisen in the C of E due to the push to overturn sound biblical teaching… Read more »
I have a lot of sympathy for this. If a same sex couple can have a secular wedding, be legally married, and be accepted as equals in the church, be blessed as individuals or as a couple by a priest, what additional thing do they want by having a church marriage? For example, I married my wife in a RC church. She already had children. The only question the RC priest asked was ‘have you been married before in a RC church’. The answer was that neither of us had been married before, so everything was fine. If either of… Read more »
Well I guess someone has to reply to this bit – what constitutes ‘;sound Biblical teaching’ on this issue as on much else is contested. Holding together those who have different views on what that is will be the key thing and the biggest challenge. Your quote of course is not actually from the Bible…
Well, this is the basis of the hideous situation the C of E has projected itself into. My faith has led me into all truthfulness and, I guess, your faith has led you to consider the historical teaching of the church has been flawed and judgmental. I guess we shouldn’t try and convince the other that they are wrong. I also guess the C of E has run its course and will split and probably, after selling assets, go bankrupt ( morally and financially). I certainly don’t want to embrace the wayward theology of Croft Snow and Cottrell and will… Read more »
I may be jumping the gun, but am I the only person who thinks we will need to appoint the next ABY fairly soon after the ABC? So you may be right about the quality of his candidacy…
I think not. Stephen Cottrell seems to think he is part of the solution, not part of the problem, and will hang on as long as he can, perhaps even using the year extension until he is 71. I hope I’m wrong.
I totally agree with you about Bishop Cottrell. He was my wife’s bishop when she was ordained in Chelmsford diocese. Seemed a decent bloke, said all the right things. When LLF broke he suddenly said he had longed for changes to doctrine for many years and he was very pleased with the direction of travel. We then get the safeguarding scandals that both he and the current bishop of Chelmsford ( who is one of the favourites for ABC) have been shown to be very poor leaders. A good clear out of current bishops is urgently required but I doubt… Read more »
Who gets to choose the five Communion representatives. I’m worried that those provinces that have been boycotting ACC and Lambeth won’t get a say.
I’m worried that _any_ province outside England will get a say.
It is hugely ironic that a Church that was founded on the principle that the Bishop of Rome has no jurisdiction in England is now trying to grab legitimacy for its own assertions of inter-provincial jurisdiction.
The Church of England (and both its Primates) should look to its own house.
I agree with Jeremy. No province outside England should be involved in the election of the Archbishop : the idea is nonsense. My Church of Australia and the other Churches of our fellowship are autonomous Churches – within the informal Anglican family, our Church completely independent now for more than 60 years. Constitutionally it is in communion with Canterbury – and I am sure will remain so, but it is for the Church of England prayerfully and wisely to appoint the Archbishop of Canterbury – though reading of the enormous obsession of some on both sides now in the General… Read more »
As you know, John, Geoffrey Fisher visited Sydney in 1950. He preached at the opening service of the National Synod at St Andrew’s Cathedral and opened an extension to Moore Theological College. I am fairly sure that on the same trip he at least informally visited the oldest church in Sydney, viz. St James King St., where you were on the staff in the 70s. In 1950 Howard Mowl was Archbishop of Sydney. His wife Dorothy Mowll OBE was described by Fisher during the 1958 Lambeth Conference as ‘one of the most remarkable women in the Anglican Communion’. She and… Read more »
The rules are that all of the representatives must have recent experience of the ACC so those boycotting will not get a say. This is understandable because they have also said they do not want to be in a communion with the ABC as the instrument of unity. They have effectively opted out.
Ha! I loved the “I didn’t feel any inner call to be Archbishop of Canterbury” from Bishop Graham. Neither did St Augustine as you may recall. Perhaps the best candidates are those who will need to be dragged kicking and screaming….