A Study of the Office of
The Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury holds a very important position in Christendom.  Many non-Anglicans tend to see the Archbishop's position as that of an Anglican pope, or at the very least as an alternative to the Pope.  On the contrary, he is much more important than just that.  At the very least, the Archbishop serves to show the world a different model for being the Catholic Church.  For, as the Pope is the Supreme Pontiff and Holy Father to whom all other bishops in the Roman Church look for their authority, the Archbishop is the First among Equals, Primus Interpares, a brother among brothers with Christ only as the head of the Church.
The Most Honorable & Rt Rev. Rowan D. Williams
The 104th Archbishop of Canterbury
The Roles of the Archbishop of Canterbury
So, if the Archbishop of Canterbury is more than just an Anglican pope, or even an alternative to the Pope, just what is the function of the office and why is he important?  To accurately define the office of the Archbishop, one must first understand the official roles carried out by the Archbishop.
I. Diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury
The Diocese of Canterbury is literally the first and oldest diocese in England.  It was established in 597 by St. Augustine of Canterbury who came to establish the Christian faith in a land that was previously believed to be devoid of any knowledge of the Gospel.  What Augustine found, however, was an ancient Church that had its roots in the camps and garrisons of the Roman Legions.  Though this Church suffered greatly after the Roman retreated from England, they survived and were there to greet Augustine when he came to England at the behest of the Pope.  Though he was originally supposed to establish a diocese at London, Augustine decided to focus on Canterbury where a small Christian community was already in place and where he found a small church already built.  This small church became the foundation for Canterbury Cathedral.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is, therefore, the successor of Augustine as the diocesan bishop of Canterbury.  In this role, the Archbishop is responsible for carrying out all of the duties for which any other bishop is responsible in his/her respective diocese.  In this respect, the Archbishop is equal to all of the other bishops of the Church. However, because the Archbishop has many other roles that other diocesan bishops do not possess, he is assisted in this role by two Archdeacons of Canterbury.  The Archdeacons
are bishops in their own right, one headquartered in Dover and one in Maidstone.  Together, the Archdeacons perform many of the roles and duties of the diocesan under the Archbishop's authority and in his name.
II. Metropolitan of Southern England
Traditionally, all of the dioceses within a larger geographical region are grouped together to form a province.  In England, the dioceses of the Church of England are grouped together into to two provinces, one in the south of England and headquartered at Canterbury and the other in the north of England and headquartered in York.  Within each province, the bishop of the oldest diocese serves as the Metropolitan.  Since Canterbury is the oldest diocese in the southern province of the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury serves as the Metropolitan of Canterbury.  The Metropolitan exercises supervisory authority within the Province of Canterbury.  It is as the Metropolitan that the bishop of Canterbury is given the rank of archbishop. (The Metropolitan of the York in the northern province of the Church of England is also an archbishop and is known as the Archbishop of York.)  As the Metropolitan, the Archbishop coordinates the directions of the ministries of all of the bishops within his province so that the entire Church within the Province of Canterbury functions as a single entity.  When a new bishop is to be installed (or enthroned as they say in England), it is the Archbishop who is the chief consecrator and gives him the apostolic authority to carry out his ministry in his new diocese.
III. Primate of All England
Because the Province of Canterbury and the Province of York constitute the Church of England, these two provinces must also work together to carry out the entire Church's ministry within the entire country.  Though the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York are equals in Metropolitan authority, the Church of England requires only one to represent the entire Church on a national level.  This is especially important because the Church of England is the established religion in England and is responsible for many duties required of it by the state. As such, and again because Canterbury is older than York, the Archbishop of Canterbury is considered to be the Primate (or senior bishop) of the entire country, and possesses the title "Primate of All England." (Remember that in the United Kingdom, though each is united to the other politically under one monarch, England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland - or the northern counties of Ireland that remain united to the others - are considered separate countries.) As the Primate of All England, the Archbishop represents the Church of England as the senior Christian voice of the country and its spiritual leader.  As Primate, he advises the government, including the monarch, in spiritual matters and speaks for the entire country in spiritual matters when required to do so. (Remember also that in the United Kingdom, the government and state do not refrain from speaking on spiritual matters as is the custom here in the United States.  The kingdom is officially Christian and as such is represented in the Christian world by the Church of England.)
IV. Leader of the Anglican Communion
Since the Church of England is the official Christian voice of the English nation, it played an important role in the colonial endeavors of that nation during its imperial years.  As the British Empire was established in various places across the globe, the Church of England was responsible for seeing to the spiritual needs of colonial officials.  A side effect of this was that many of the colonials themselves - the native peoples over whom the British ruled as colonial masters - converted to Christianity or otherwise adopted the Anglican expression of Christian faith as their own.  This was the embryonic origins of the Anglican Communion. As the British Empire receded and colonial provinces of the Empire were granted home rule, the Anglican faith remained in these new countries - adapting to local needs, customs, and practices. Thus, the Anglican Communion was born.  Today, the Communion consists of 38 provinces in 64 countries that were once ruled or otherwise influenced by England. Just as the Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate - or senior bishop - within England, each Anglican province also has a senior bishop or primate that represents the province within the Communion. On a global scale, all of the world's Anglicans find unity with one another through their unity with the Archbishop of Canterbury who serves as the Spiritual Leader of the Anglican Communion.
V. Ecumenical Voice of the Anglican Communion
The Christian Church is a religious community with one Lord, Jesus Christ.  In spite of this, it is a community unhappily divided not only by geography but by numerous disagreements ranging serious matters such as who and what Jesus was (and is) and how to interpret Scripture to less important matters such as how worship should be conducted.  Though because of our own human faults and frailties, we sometimes find it difficult to live and work together and Christian brothers and sisters, nevertheless we are all uniquely aware that it was our Lord's desire to that we be a single, unified community of faith.  As such, every denomination of the Christian Church finds it a necessary and important endeavor to carry out discussions and negotiations that might succeed in bringing about the ultimate organic unity (ecumenicity) into which we are called, and we are furthermore called to prevent any further division within the Church.  In the Anglican Church, the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral is a document that serves as the basis or starting point from which we proceed in all ecumenical discussions with leaders of other Christian denominations.  This document states that from the Anglican perspective, the only things that divide the Church from which we cannot stray while talking to other Christians are 1) belief that the Holy Scriptures "contain all things necessary for salvation," 2) the historic creeds, specifically the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed are "sufficient statements of faith" for any Christian, 3) there are two dominical (or primary) sacraments of the Church ordained by Christ: Holy Baptism, and Holy Communion, and 4) the episcopate, locally adapted, is the legitimate succession of apostolic authority throughout history and is the primary tool of unity within the Church. 

Within the guidelines of the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral, the Archbishop of Canterbury is the primary representative of the Anglican Communion and of the Church of England in ecumenical dialogues with other Christian bodies.  This does not mean that the local 38 provinces of the Anglican Communion are prohibited from entering into dialogues on their own.  On the contrary, each is actively involved in discussions with other Christian bodies in their own spheres of authority.  For instance, the Episcopal Church USA, the Anglican province in the United States recently entered in dialogue and reached a consensus that resulted in full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  Likewise, the Church of England has been in fruitful discussion with the Methodist Church that may very well result in a similar consensus.  However, the Archbishop of Canterbury represents all Anglicans when such dialogue is required on a global scale, such as is the case in discussions with the Roman Catholic Church and with the Eastern Orthodox Communion.
VI. Inter-faith Voice of the Anglican Communion
Just as the Archbishop of Canterbury is the primary Anglican voice in dialogue with other Christian bodies, he also represents the Anglican Communion in dialogue with other religious bodies.  This is particularly important because many of the non-Christian bodies with which we must interact and learn to get along are not nearly as divided by schism as the Christian Church unfortunately is.  In addition, many of the issues involving interfaith ecumenical dialogue have universal implications and involve issues that are global in scale rather than regional or local.  Most of the non-Christian leaders with whom we speak understand that the Christian Church is fragmented and so are aware that there are Roman Catholic Christians and Protestant Christians.  However, they may not be as familiar with the organic structures under which the various Christian bodies operate.  By having one Anglican voice to whom to speak, leaders of the various non-Christian religious bodies know and are comfortable with the idea that by speaking to the Archbishop of Canterbury they are speaking to all Anglicans who look to him as their spiritual leader.
The Archbishop as the Primary Instrument of Anglican Unity
In the fulfillment of these six roles, the Archbishop of Canterbury is the primary instrument of unity among all Anglicans throughout the world.  A person's Anglican identity is defined as being in communion with a local bishop who is in turn in communion with Canterbury.  To lose communion with Canterbury is to lose identity as an Anglican.  Therefore, Anglicanism is not so much a faith defined by a unique theology or system of belief - indeed, our theology and doctrine is specifically catholic.  Rather, Anglicanism is an expression of the catholic faith that has been inherited throughout the world through the missionary endeavors of the English Church, organically organized as the Church of England under the spiritual and apostolic authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury.  This is why Anglicans are loathe to identify themselves as Protestants, since Protestants are those who have removed themselves from catholic ecclesiology as adopted systems of belief that were developed in contradiction to recognized catholic faith.  Under the leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Anglicans see themselves as catholic Christians practicing and living the catholic faith of the historic Church, reformed as needed in matters of ecclesiology and doctrine, but never removing themselves from the historic continuity of the Church with the Apostles of Christ.  This is the very essence of Anglicanism and it is impossible without the leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury.   Therefore, the Archbishop is much more than a mere "Supreme Pontiff" or "Holy Father."  He is our brother, the first among equals, a fellow minister in the church's work, and our link to the Christians from previous generations and to the Apostles themselves. An Anglican pope?  Who needs one?  We have the Archbishop of Canterbury!
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This page was created on 30 October 2006 in Birmingham, Alabama
Date of Last Revision: 30 October 2006