Following is a chronology of major events during Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby’s 11-year tenure as leader of the Church of England and spiritual head of the worldwide Anglican community. Welby, 69, resigned in November over an abuse scandal and was expected to wind up his duties by Monday.
2012
NOVEMBER – Welby, who was then the bishop of Durham, was named as the new Archbishop of Canterbury after Queen Elizabeth II, supreme governor of the Church, nominated him.
2013
MARCH – Welby’s enthronement at Canterbury Cathedral marked several firsts: one of the chaplains who led him to the cathedral was the first woman to hold the post, and he became the first archbishop to be enthroned by a female cleric.
JULY – Welby, a former oil executive, pledged to put now-defunct payday lender Wonga out of existence, throwing his support behind not-for-profit credit unions.
2014
FEBRUARY – Welby backed a Christian-led campaign against the then Conservative government’s welfare cuts.
JUNE – The Church warned its clergy against joining some political parties that it said promoted the “sin of racism,” the first such bar.
JULY – ‘YES’ FOR WOMEN BISHOPS
The Church voted for women to become bishops in a decision overturning centuries of tradition, following a prolonged debate between reformers and conservatives.
2015
FEBRUARY – Just months before a national election, the Church made a rare foray into politics, saying British democracy was failing and the immigration debate had an “ugly undercurrent of racism.”
APRIL – The Church Commissioners, the body that looks after its multi-billion pound portfolio, said it had divested 12 million pounds in investments in thermal coal and tar sands companies.
2016
APRIL – The Church released a prayer for the European Union referendum campaign, calling for “discernment” amongst voters.
JUNE – Welby said he would vote for Britain to stay in the EU.
2018
MAY – Welby officiated at the marriage of Prince Harry to the American actress Meghan Markle in Windsor Castle.
SEPTEMBER – The number of Britons describing themselves as belonging to the Church of England fell to a low of 14%, a survey by the British Social Attitudes found.
2019
MARCH – The Church appealed for unity in the face of uncertainty and division over how to implement Brexit. Later the same year it described the language used in the “vitriolic” debate as “divisive and abusive”.
2020
MARCH – The Church suspended public worship due to the coronavirus pandemic.
JUNE – The Church acknowledged that some within the institution had played a historic role in slavery, calling it a source of shame.
OCTOBER – Welby said it was disgraceful that the Church had failed to protect children from sexual predators after an inquiry found that from the 1940s to 2018, 390 clergy and people in positions of trust were convicted of offences against children.
2021
NOVEMBER – Welby apologised for saying that world leaders who fail to act on climate change could be making a bigger mistake than their predecessors who ignored warnings about the Nazis.
2022
APRIL – Welby condemned then Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing, saying the policy did not stand “the judgment of God” and raised “serious ethical questions”.
SEPTEMBER – Welby addressed the 2,000-strong congregation at Queen Elizabeth’s state funeral in Westminster Abbey.
2023
JANUARY – The Church committed 100 million pounds to address its historic links to slavery.
JANUARY – The Church set out plans to allow same-sex couples to receive blessings, but refused them church weddings and stuck to its teaching that marriage is between a man and a woman.
JANUARY – The Church apologised to LGBTQI+ people for the rejection and hostility they had faced in its 16,000 churches.
FEBRUARY – The Church launched a review into the use of gender-neutral terms to refer to God in prayers.
APRIL – A group of Anglican church leaders, mostly from African countries, declared that they no longer had confidence in Welby over his stance on same-sex unions.
MAY – Welby presided over the coronation of King Charles.
JUNE – The Church of England Pensions Board and the Church Commissioners decided to disinvest from fossil fuels.
NOVEMBER – The Church’s legislative body narrowly voted to back special services to bless same-sex couples on a trial basis, with Welby abstaining from the vote.
2024
JUNE – An alliance of conservative Church leaders in Britain threatened to split from the Church over its proposed standalone church services for gay couples.
NOV. 11 – Welby came under pressure to resign after a report found that he had taken insufficient action to stop one of the church’s most prolific child abusers.
NOV. 12 – Marking an unprecedented moment for the Church, Welby stepped down over the scandal.
(Reporting by Muvija M)
