Archbishop of Canterbury

The senior bishop of the Church of England and the symbolic spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The office is based at Canterbury Cathedral.

Church of England: The established Christian church in England, governed by bishops and rooted in the English Reformation. The archbishop is its senior bishop and leading figure.
Primate (bishop): A senior bishop who holds precedence over other bishops in a national or regional church. The archbishop is the primate of All England.
Augustine of Canterbury: A Christian missionary sent by Pope Gregory I who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury around 597. His mission established the line of archbishops associated with Canterbury.
Thomas Becket: Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170 after conflict with King Henry II. His clash with royal power made the office a symbol of ecclesiastical independence.
Church of England establishment: The constitutional relationship in which the Church of England is England’s established church and the monarch is its supreme governor. It places the archbishop within public institutions as well as church leadership.
Anglican Communion: A worldwide association of autonomous churches with shared Anglican traditions and historical ties to the Church of England. The archbishop serves as its symbolic spiritual leader, without governing its member churches.
Archbishop of York: The senior bishop of the Province of York and the second-ranking archbishop in the Church of England. Together with Canterbury, York divides provincial oversight in England.
Gregorian mission: The mission sent by Pope Gregory I to convert the Anglo-Saxons, led by Augustine in 597. It founded Canterbury’s enduring place in English Christianity.
William Laud: Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645, executed after conflict with Parliament and Puritan opponents. His tenure shows how the office became entangled in the upheavals before the English Civil War.
Lords Spiritual: The senior bishops of the Church of England who sit in the United Kingdom’s House of Lords. The Archbishop of Canterbury is one of the Lords Spiritual.

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