|
|
Archbishops of Canterbury
The organisation of the church in Roman
Britannia is very poorly known, but there may have been an archbishop for
each of the four Late Roman provinces: Maxima Caesariensis at Londinium;
Flavis Caesariensis at Linnius (Anglian
Lindsey,
modern Lincoln); Britannia Secunda at Eboracum (British
Ebrauc,
modern York); and Britannia Prima at Corinum (Caer
Ceri, modern Cirencester). This organisation was swept away by the
collapse of
British government in the fifth and sixth centuries, with a rump church
surviving only in
Ireland.
This now Celtic church was reintroduced into Britain via pagan
Pictland, but in the south-east of Britain a rival was introduced by the
Christian
Frankish wife of King Ethelbert of
Kent. In
time this became the dominant church in the British Isles.
As metropolitan archbishops, Canterbury and York each have the right and the
obligation to confirm the election of new diocesan bishops, and to ordain
all new bishops within their province. By ancient and regular precedent the
archbishop of Canterbury also has the right to preside at the Eucharist
during which he anoints and crowns a new British monarch. |
596 - 597 |
In 596 Augustine is sent by
Pope Gregory
to England to establish the Catholic church and Christianise the
Anglo-Saxons. Landing at Ebbsfleet in 597, he is cautiously received in
Kent, thanks
to Ethelbert's Christian wife, and, using the already-existing church of St
Martin's as his first place of worship, he establishes the archbishopric at
Canterbury. Details of his life are scarce, but he had been prior of St
Andrew's in Rome before being selected to lead the first mission to England. |
597 - 604/609 |
Augustine |
First archbishop of Canterbury. Died 26 May 604 or 609. |
601 |
The
pallium, the symbol of office, is sent by
Pope Gregory
from Rome.
 |
|
The Roman city of Canterbury was, by the sixth century, in
ruins, with small Anglo-Saxon houses built in between. The
remains of the city wall can be seen in the distance
|
|
|
c.604 |
In around 604, Sæberht is the
first East Saxon king to be baptised (by Mellitus, first bishop of London,
consecrated by Augustine himself, and later archbishop in his own right), but upon his death the kingdom reverts to paganism.
Also in 604, the first church is built at Rochester, within the kingdom of
Kent. |
604 - 619 |
Laurentius / Laurence |
|
616 |
Sexred of the
East Seaxe shares power with his two brothers, and they take an equal
share in making decisions regarding the kingdom,
jointly agreeing to expel Mellitus and his Gregorian missionaries from the
kingdom and inadvertently ensuring that Canterbury remains the centre of
Christianity in England. Mellitus takes refuge in
Francia for a time before returning to take up the post of archbishop. He
is never able to return to London, which remains part of a pagan kingdom for
the remainder of his lifetime.
|
619 - 624 |
Mellitus |
Formerly the first bishop of London. Died 24 April 624. |
624 - 627 |
Justus
|
Formerly the first bishop of Rochester. |
|
627 |
Justus is responsible for consecrating Paulinus as the first bishop of York.
|
627 - 655 |
Honorius
|
Member of the first Gregorian mission in 597. |
655 - 664 |
St Deusdedit
|
First Saxon archbishop, a
West Saxon. |
664 |
Wighard / Wigheard
|
Jutish priest from
Kent. |
664 |
The
Synod of Whitby in
Northumbria sees Oswiu accept the Catholic church of
Rome in
preference to the Celtic church based at Iona, thereby sidelining the
latter. The seat of the church in Northumbria is moved from Lindisfarne to
York. |
664 - 668 |
Deusdedit is killed by plague. Wighard is selected to be archbishop by the
new king of
Kent, Egbert
I, perhaps with support from Oswiu of
Northumbria. He is sent to Rome to receive consecration from
Pope Vitalianus,
but is also killed by bubonic plague before the act can be carried out. The
post remains vacant for four years.
|
668 - 690 |
Theodore of Tarsus
|
Friend of
Pope Vitalianus
selected for the post. |
678 |
A reformer of the English church, Theodore proposes dividing the
Northumbrian diocese in two, which brings him into conflict with the
bishop of York, Wilfred. He has to depose and expel the bishop before he can
carry out his reform.
|
|
c.680 |
Theodore establishes a bishopric for the kingdom of the
Magonset at Hereford,
possibly as a result of a re-organisation agreed at the Synod of Hertford in
673. Merewalh is believed to erect a new cathedral at Hereford (although its
location is uncertain) for the new bishop Putta, the former bishop of
Rochester in Kent. |
690 - 693 |
The post is vacant for a little over two years following Theodore's death.
The reason is the political disturbance of
Kent, where
rival factions are pursuing claims to the throne, although Wilfred's wish to
take the post based on a promise from Theodore may also be a contributing
factor.
|
693 - 731 |
St Berhtwald
|
|
731 - 734 |
Tatwine
|
A
Mercian. |
735 - 740 |
Nothelm
|
|
735 |
In a further step in Theodore's reforms, the English church is divided into the two provinces of Canterbury and York
(the Roman capital of the north). Canterbury still has seniority
(although this is not laid down officially until 1353). At this time,
Canterbury is still the capital of the Anglian/Jutish kingdom of
Kent, while
York is part of the Anglian kingdom of
Northumbria, where the Venerable Bede has just finished his Historia
ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum.
|
740 - 761 |
Cuthbert of Canterbury
|
|
761 - 765 |
Bregowine
|
|
765 - 793 |
Jaenbert / Jænberht
|
Former abbot of St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury. |
787 - 799 |
Britain briefly pays host to a third archdiocese when Offa of
Mercia
raises the bishopric of Lichfield. Following the reassertion of his control
over Kent in 785 a dispute arises between Offa and Jaenbert. Offa creates a
new archbishopric under Higbert, bishop of Lichfield within Mercia, which
answers to him but which also receives the blessing of the
Pope. It lasts
until 799 and is officially terminated in 803, with full authority being
returned to Canterbury.
|
793 - 805 |
Ethelhard / Æthelhard
|
Formerly bishop of Winchester. |
796 - 803 |
Ethelhard is deposed by Eadbert II (Praen) when he seizes the kingdom of
Kent from
Mercian
overlordship. Ethelhard flees to the court of his Mercian supporters and
refuses to venture back to Canterbury, even though it seems safe. In 803, he
returns to England from
Rome and
convenes the Council of Clovesho, which re-establishes the prime importance
of Canterbury and, with papal authority, asserts the freedom of the church
from secular authority.
|
805 - 832 |
Wulfred / Wilfred
|
Formerly archdeacon of Christ Church Canterbury. |
811 |
During the reign of Baldred of Kent, Coenwulf of
Mercia clearly retains
the overlordship of Kent, as it is in this year that he sells the manor of
Graveney to Wulfred for the use of
Christ Church, Canterbury. |
832 |
Feologeld
|
Enthroned Jun-Aug but possibly not elected due to a
dispute. |
833 - 870 |
Ceolnoth
|
|
c.850 |
The city of Canterbury is sacked during a Viking raid. There are further
raids on
Kent in 855
and 865.
|
870 - 888 |
Ethelred / Æthelred
|
|
890 - 914 |
St Plegmund
|
|
914 - 923 |
Athelm
|
Formerly the first bishop of Wells. |
923 - 941 |
Wulfhelm
|
|
942 - 959 |
St Oda the Severe / the Good
|
Of Danish parentage, possibly from
East Anglia. |
959 |
Aelfsige
|
Appointed by Edwy of
England but died before taking up the post. |
959 |
Brithelm / Byrhthelm / Beorhthelm
|
Formerly the bishop of Wells. |
959 |
Despite being nominated by King Edwy, Brithelm is deemed
unsuitable for the post due to his lack of skill in governance and is sent
back to his home diocese of Bath by the new king of all
England, Edgar the Peaceful. Dunstan, one of the most important clerical
figures of the early Middle Ages, is selected as his replacement. He reforms
the English church and restores monastic life. Until Becket (1162-1170), he
is the most popular saint in the country. |
960 - 988 |
St Dunstan
|
Formerly the bishop of London. Canonised 1029. |
988 - 990 |
Ethelgar / Æthelgar
|
Formerly the bishop of Selsey. Died 13 Feb. |
990 - 994 |
Sigeric the Serious
|
|
991 |
Sigeric advises
Anglo-Saxon king
Ethelred II to pay tribute to the invading Danish
under Sweyn Forkbeard. |
995 - 1005 |
Aelfric / Ælfric of Abingdon
|
|
1005 - 1013 |
Alphege / Ælfheah of Canterbury
|
Killed by Danes. |
1013 - 1014 |
Danish raiders kill
Alphege before being bought off with a huge bribe, but peace in
England from Danish incursions is hard to come by, at least partially
due to a
massacre of Danes not of the Danelaw in 1002.
A Danish
occupation of the country takes place under King Sweyn Forkbeard while Ethelred seeks
temporary refuge in
Normandy.
|
1013 - 1020 |
Lyfing
|
Held captive for a time by Danes
in 1014. |
1020 - 1038 |
Ethelnoth / Æthelnoth
|
|
1038 - 1050 |
Eadsige
|
Former royal priest for Canute in
England. |
1051 - 1052 |
Robert of Jumieges / Robert Chambert
|
First
Norman archbishop of Canterbury. |
1052 - 1070 |
Stigand
|
Died in captivity. |
1070 |
Stigand is deposed by William of
Normandy
and
England and is held at Winchester, where he dies in 1072. His lands and
wealth are confiscated by the king.
 |
|
Canterbury Cathedral was built between 1070-1077, with the
original Augustinian building lying beneath the floor of the new
nave
|
|
|
1070 - 1093 |
Lanfranc
|
|
c.1084 |
One of Lanfranc's acts is to establish St Nicholas' Hospital in the hamlet
of Harbledown to the north-west of Canterbury, which also contains a church and
chantry, for the relief of lepers. He also founds many churches, one of
which is St Dunstan's to the north-west of Canterbury's Westgate.
|
1093 - 1114 |
Anselm of Canterbury
|
|
1114 - 1122 |
Ralph d'Escures
|
|
1123 - 1139 |
William de Corbeil
|
First canon to become archbishop. |
1126 |
William de Corbeil is granted Rochester Castle by the king. He builds (or
rebuilds) the keep so that it is a massive stone structure which survives in
good order to the present day.
|
1133 - 1135 |
In 1133,
William de Corbeil consecrates Nigel,
Lord High Treasurer, as
bishop of Ely. Two years later he is one of the men who is instrumental in
securing King Stephen's claim to the
English throne in the face of Matilda's superior claim.
|
1139 - 1161 |
Theobald of Bec / Tedbald
|
|
1162 - 1170 |
St Thomas Becket
|
|
1170 - 1173 |
Becket is murdered by four of the king's knights in
Canterbury Cathedral on 29 December following a long-running dispute between
him and Henry II
Plantagenet over the jurisdiction of the church. The king is generally
blamed for the atrocity and, accepting that he is at fault, pays public
penance at Becket's tomb, stopping at St Michael's Church in Harbledown and
walking to St Dunstan's Church, where he undresses before his walk into the
cathedral.
It takes Henry another two years before he
decides to fill the vacant position of archbishop, and he eventually selects
Richard of Dover, the monk who had taken charge of Becket's body and
arranged for its immediate burial in Canterbury Cathedral. |
1173 |
Roger de Bailleul
|
Elected but declined the post. |
1174 - 1184 |
Richard (of Dover)
|
|
1184 - 1190 |
Baldwin of Exeter
|
Died on the Third Crusade to
Jerusalem. |
1191 |
Reginald Fitz Jocelin / Reginald Italus
|
Elected but died before he could be consecrated. |
1193 - 1205 |
Hubert Walter
|
|
c.1206 |
Reginald
|
Elected secretly against the king's wishes, denied by the
Pope. |
1206 |
John de Gray
|
Elected as the king's choice, but denied by the
Pope. |
1206 - 1207 |
A dispute between King John
Plantagenet, the monks of Canterbury, and the
Pope sees both
the secretly-elected choice of the monks and the king's nomination both
denied by the Pope. Instead, the monks are asked to vote on a new candidate
with the Pope's full approval, although not the king's. |
1207 - 1228 |
Stephen Langton
|
|
1207 - 1215 |
Playing a central role in the disagreement between the
Pope and John
Plantagenet, Stephen Langton is finally able to enter England as
archbishop in 1213. He becomes a leader in the struggle against the king,
joining forces with the barons to force John to sign Magna Carta in 1215. |
1228 - 1229 |
Walter d'Eynsham
|
Elected, but denied by Henry III and the
Pope. |
1229 - 1231 |
Richard le Grant
|
Henry III's choice in preference to d'Eynsham. |
1231 - 1232 |
Ralph Neville
|
Elected, but denied by the
Pope for not
being learned. |
1232 |
John of Sittingbourne
|
Elected, but resigned at the
Papal office. |
1233 |
John Blund / Johannes Blund
|
Elected, but failed to win
Papal
approval. |
1234 - 1245 |
Edmund Rich of Abingdon
|
|
1245 - 1270 |
Boniface of Savoy
|
Son of Count Thomas of
Savoy. |
1270 |
Robert Burnell
|
The king's choice. Superseded by the monks' choice,
Chiilenden. |
1270 - 1272 |
William Chillenden / Adam of Chillenden
|
Elected, but denied by Edward I and the
Pope. |
1273 - 1278 |
Robert Kilwardby
|
Appointed to the vacant post by the
Pope. |
1278 - 1279 |
Robert Burnell
|
The king's choice for a second time, but refused
by the
Pope. |
1279 - 1294 |
John Peckham / Pecham
|
|
1294 - 1313 |
Robert Winchelsey
|
Fiftieth official archbishop. |
1313 |
Thomas Cobham
|
Elected, but denied by Edward II and the
Pope. |
1314 - 1327 |
Walter Reynolds
|
Former
First Lord High
Treasurer (1307-1310). |
1324 - 1327 |
Reynolds defies Edward II
Plantagenet and sides with Queen Isabella in her rebellion against him.
After having to flee to Kent, in 1327 he declares for Edward III and is
appointed a member of the regency council. |
1328 - 1333 |
Simon Meopham / Mepeham
|
Excommunicated by the
Pope. |
1333 - 1348 |
John de Stratford
|
Former
First Lord High
Treasurer (1326-1327). |
1349 |
John de Ufford
|
Elected, but killed by the Black Plague before being
consecrated. |
1349 |
Thomas Bradwardine
|
Killed by the Black Plague. |
1349 - 1366 |
Simon Islip
|
|
1353 |
Canterbury is acknowledged as the senior of the two provinces (the other
being York) with the title
of 'Primate of All
England'.
|
1366 |
William Edington |
Former
First Lord High
Treasurer (1344-1356). |
1366 |
Edington is elected archbishop by Edward III
Plantagenet, but he declines due to ill health.
|
1366 - 1368 |
Simon Langham
|
Former
First Lord High
Treasurer (1360-1363). |
1368 - 1374 |
William Whittlesey
|
|
1375 - 1381 |
Simon Sudbury
|
Beheaded on Tower Hill. |
1381 |
Responsible for the much-hated poll tax,
First Lord High
Treasurer, Sir Robert Hales, is beheaded on 14 June on
Tower Hill during the Peasants Revolt, along with Archbishop Simon Sudbury. |
1381 - 1396 |
William Courtenay
|
|
1396 - 1398 |
Thomas Arundel
|
Banished from the realm. |
1398 - 1399 |
Roger
Walden, First Lord High Treasurer of
Parliament, becomes
archbishop when Arundel is banished. However, his period in that office is
short as the new king, Henry IV of
Lancaster almost immediately removes and imprisons him, restoring
Arundel. Once released from prison, Walden retires from public life.
|
1398 - 1399 |
Roger Walden
|
Former
First Lord High
Treasurer (1395-1398). |
1399 - 1414 |
Thomas Arundel |
Restored. |
1400 |
Henry
IV of
Lancaster and Archbishop Arundel conspire to kill Richard II. Henry's
reign witnesses a heavy level of censorship, and people who cross Arundel
could find themselves burnt as a heretic. Geoffrey Chaucer, author of the
Canterbury Tales, is outspoken in his mockery of powerful prelates who
coveted worldly possessions (including Arundel), and might well be a victim
of this oppressive new order.
|
1414 - 1443 |
Henry Chichele |
|
1443 - 1452 |
John Stafford |
|
1452 - 1454 |
John Kempe |
|
1454 - 1486 |
Thomas Bourchier |
|
1455 - 1485 |
The Wars of the Roses
begin with Richard, Duke of York's victory at the Battle of St Albans.
Lancastrians
are pitched against
Yorkists in England for the next thirty years.
Archbishop Bourchier does not immediately take sides, and tries to negotiate
a reconciliation between the warring houses. Following the return to
hostilities in 1459, he appears to take the Yorkist side. |
1486 - 1501 |
John Morton |
|
1501 |
Thomas Langton |
Elected, but died before he could take office. |
1501 - 1503 |
Henry Deane |
The last monastic cleric to be elected to office. |
1503 - 1532 |
William Warham |
|
1533 - 1555 |
Thomas Cranmer |
A leader in the English Reformation. |
1534 |
Cranmer supports the principle of Royal Supremacy in which Henry VIII
Tudor is considered sovereign over the church within his realm. |
1536 - 1541 |
This period witnesses the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the legal process
by which Henry VIII
Tudor disbands the monasteries, nunneries and friaries throughout
England, disposing of all their assets (including massive tracts of land),
mostly by selling them off and making a vast profit, and appropriating their
income. Many monasteries, some of them already many centuries old, are
destroyed, most notably at Glastonbury and Canterbury, as well as at many other major
Christian locations. On the plus side, dispossessed former members are
provided for as long as they acknowledge Henry's position as Supreme Head of
the Church in England. The First Suppression Act is passed in 1536, with the
Second Suppression Act following in 1539. |
1556 |
Archbishop Cranmer has already been tried for treason for his part in
placing Jane Grey on the throne. In an act of revenge for his declaring the
marriage of Henry VIII to her mother to be invalid, Mary
Tudor has Archbishop Cranmer tried for heresy as well. When he recants,
an act that should be met with mercy, Mary announces that he shall be burned
anyway. The act on a wet 21 March is a propaganda disaster for her, as
public sympathy is clearly with the Protestant archbishop.
 |
|
The burning of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, a woodcut by John Foxe
from the Book of Martyrs, published in 1563
|
|
|
1556 - 1559 |
Reginald Pole |
Great-grandnephew of Edward IV of
York. |
1554 - 1559 |
When he arrives in London, English Papal legate Reginald Pole is seen to be standing
in the ferry boat holding a large cross before him. Sent to rid the country
of Protestant heretics under the reign of Mary
Tudor he finds his job harder than he thinks, despite addressing
Parliament to that end. He
dies of influenza on the same day as his cousin Mary, his legatine powers
withdrawn and a charge of heresy levelled against him by the
Pope. |
1559 - 1575 |
Matthew Parker |
|
1563 |
Archbishop Parker is one of the the primary architects of the Thirty-Nine
Articles, the defining principles of the Anglican Church, as
England seeks to establish the path of its own form of Protestantism. |
1576 - 1583 |
Edmund Grindal |
|
1583 - 1604 |
John Whitgift |
|
1604 - 1610 |
Richard Bancroft |
Oversaw production of the King James Bible. |
1611 - 1633 |
George Abbot |
Also First Lord Commissioner of the
Treasury
(1612-1613). |
1633 - 1645 |
William Laud |
Excecuted. |
1641 - 1645 |
William Laud is imprisoned in the Tower of London after being accused of
treason by
Parliament.
In 1645, the Royalists of Charles
Stuart are routed at the
Battle of Philiphaugh during the English Civil War, defeating the king's cause in
Scotland.
In the same year, Laud is beheaded at Tower Hill for his High Church stance
against the radical Puritanism which is starting to take hold in the
country. The office remains vacant for the duration of the
Commonwealth. |
1660 - 1663 |
William Juxon |
Appointed by the restored
Stuart monarchy. |
1663 - 1677 |
Gilbert Sheldon |
|
1677 - 1690 |
William Sancroft |
|
1690 |
Sancroft is suspended from and deprived of office thanks to his refusal to
take the oath with the new king and queen, William of
Orange
and Mary
Stuart. |
1691 - 1694 |
John Tillotson |
|
1695 - 1715 |
Thomas Tenison |
|
1716 - 1737 |
William Wake |
|
1737 - 1747 |
John Potter |
Formerly chaplain to Archbishop Tenison. |
1747 - 1757 |
Thomas Herring |
|
1757 - 1758 |
Matthew Hutton |
Formerly archbishop of York ((1747-1757). Died suddenly. |
1758 - 1768 |
Thomas Secker |
|
1768 - 1783 |
Frederick
Cornwallis |
Uncle to later governor-general of India, Charles
Cornwallis. |
1783 - 1805 |
John Moore |
|
1805 - 1828 |
Charles
Manners-Sutton |
|
1828 - 1848 |
William Howley |
|
1837 |
Archbishop Howley is one of the two men who proceed to Kensington Palace at
5:00am on 20 June to inform Princess Victoria that she is now queen of
Great Britain and
Ireland. In 1851, the Church
of St Gregory the Great is built in Canterbury as a memorial to him.
|
1844 |
As a response to the High Church Anglo-Catholism of Henry Phillpotts, bishop
of Exeter, the Low Church Free Church of England is formed, initially with
support from Edward Adolphus St Maur, the eleventh duke of Somerset, who
builds the first church in Bridgetown in Devon.
|
1848 - 1862 |
John Bird Sumner |
|
1862 - 1868 |
Charles Thomas
Longley |
|
1863 |
The Free Church of England (otherwise called the Reformed Episcopal Church)
is enrolled as a definite legal entity in the High Court of Chancery.
|
1867 |
The first Pan-Anglican conference of
British, colonial and foreign bishops takes place at Lambeth Palace
under Archbishop Longley.
|
1868 - 1882 |
Archibald
Campbell Tait |
|
1883 - 1896 |
Edward White
Benson |
|
1896 - 1902 |
Frederick Temple |
|
1903 - 1928 |
Randall Thomas
Davidson |
First archbishop to retire from office instead of dying
there. |
1912 |
By this time, William Booth's Salvation Army is at work in a total of
fifty-eight countries around the world.
|
1920 |
The Province of Canterbury, and by definition the Church of
England, no longer includes the bishops and dioceses in Wales.
|
1928 - 1942 |
William Cosmo
Gordon Lang |
Resigned. |
1932 |
Union is effected between three branches of Methodism.
|
1942 - 1944 |
William Temple |
Son of Archbishop Frederick Temple (1896-1902). |
1945 - 1961 |
Geoffrey Francis
Fisher |
Retired. |
1960 |
Archbishop Fisher is the first incumbent of his office to visit the
Pope since the
Reformation.
|
1961 - 1974 |
Arthur Michael
Ramsey |
One hundredth official archbishop. Retired. |
1972 |
The Congregational Church merges with the Presbyterians to form the United
Reformed Church.
|
1974 - 1980 |
Donald Coggan |
Formerly archbishop of York (1965-1974). Retired. |
1980 - 1991 |
Robert Alexander
Kennedy Runcie |
Retired. |
1991 - 2002 |
George Leonard
Carey |
Retired. |
2003 - Present |
Rowan Douglas
Williams |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|