List of Archbishops of Canterbury
2008/9 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Religious movements, traditions and organizations
This is a list of the Archbishops of Canterbury. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the head of the established Church of England and, symbolically, of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
From the time of St. Augustine until the the 16th century, the Archbishops of Canterbury were in full communion with the Bishop of Rome. During the English Reformation the church broke away from the authority of the Pope, at first temporarily and later more permanently. Since then they have been outside of the succession of the Roman Catholic Church's hierarchy and have led the independent national church.
In the middle ages there was considerable variation in the nomination of the Archbishop and other bishops — at various times the choice was made by the canons of Canterbury Cathedral, the King of England, or the Pope. Since the reformation, the church is explicitly a state church and the choice is legally that of the British crown; today it is made in the name of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom by the Prime Minister, from a shortlist of two selected by an ad hoc committee called the Crown Nominations Commission.
Today, the Archbishop fills four main roles:
- He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, which covers the east of the County of Kent and the extreme north-east of Surrey. Founded by Augustine in 597, it is the oldest bishopric in the English church.
- He is the metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury, encompassing 30 dioceses in the southern two-thirds of England. The remaining 14 dioceses in the north of England fall within the Province of York, under the aegis of the Archbishop of York. Four dioceses in Wales were under the Province of Canterbury until they were transferred to the disestablished Church in Wales in 1920.
- As "Primate of All England", he is the chief religious figure in the Church of England (the British sovereign is the " Supreme governor" of the church).
- As symbolic head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop is recognized as primus inter pares ("first among equals") of all Anglican primates.
List of Archbishops
To the Norman conquest
All beginning dates are consecration dates, unless otherwise specified. All ending dates are death dates, unless otherwise noted.
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 597 to 26 May 604* or 605 | Augustine | *Traditional date; prior of St Andrews; died in office; canonized: St Augustine |
| c604 to 2 February 619 | Laurentius (Laurence; Lawrence) |
Died in office; canonized: St Laurence of Canterbury |
| 619 to 24 April 624 | Mellitus (Miletus) |
Translated from London; canonized: St Mellitus |
| 624 to 10 November between 627 and 631 | Justus | Translated from Rochester; died in office; canonized: St Justus |
| 627 to 30 September 653 | Honorius | died in office; canonized: St Honorius |
| March 655 to 14 July 664 | Deusdedit (Deus-dedit; Adeodatus) |
First English archbishop of Canterbury; known as Frithona prior to consecration; died in office; canonized: St Deusdedit |
| 664 to 666 | vacant | |
| c.666 to 668 | Wighard (Wigard) |
Appointed by Pope Vitalian; died of plague before consecration |
| March 26, 668 to 19 September 690 | Theodore | canonized: St Theodore of Tarsus |
| June 29, 693 to January 13, 731 | Bertwald (Brihtwald) |
Abbot of Reculver; canonized: St Bertwald |
| June 10, 731 to July 30, 734 | Tatwin, (Tatwine) |
canonized: St Tatwine |
| 735 to 17 October 739 | Nothelm (Nothelmus) |
canonized: St Nothelm |
| c740 to October 26, 760 | Cuthbert | Translated from Hereford; canonized: St Cuthbert |
| September 27, 761 to 764 | Bregwin | Canonized: St Bregwin |
| February 2, 765 to 11/ 12 August 792 | Jænbert (Lambert; Genegberht; Jambert; Janbriht; Janibert; Lanbriht) |
Abbot of St Augustia's; canonized: St Jaenbert |
| July 21, 793 to 12 May 805 | Æthelhard (Ethelhard) |
Translated from Winchester; canonized: St Aethelhard |
| c October 805 to March 21, 832 | Wulfred | Monk at Canterbury |
| June 8, 832 to August 30, 832 | Feologild (Theolgild) |
Abbot of Canterbury |
| c July 27, 833 to February 4, 870 | Ceolnoth | Dean of Canterbury |
| 870 to June 30, 888 | Æthelred | Translated from Winchester |
| 890 to August 2, 923 | Plegmund | Preceptor to King Alfred |
| Between 923 and 925 to January 8, 926 | Athelm (Adelmus) |
Translated from Wells |
| c926 to February 12, 941 | Wulfhelm (Wolfhelmus) |
Translated from Wells |
| 941 to June 2, 958 | Odo (Odo Severus; Oda the Severe) |
Translated from Wilton; canonized: St Oda |
| 958 to 959 | Alfsige (Alfsin) |
|
| 959 to 959 | Birthelm | Translated from Wells, deposed & returned to Wells |
| 959 to May 19, 988 | Dunstan | Translated from London; canonized: St Dunstan |
| 988 to February 990 | Athelgar (Ethelgarus) |
Translated from Selsey |
| 990 to October 28, 994 | Sigeric (Sigeric the Serious) |
Translated from Wilton |
| elected April 21, 995 to November 16, 1005 | Ælfric (Elfric; Aluricius) |
Translated from Wilton |
| 1006 to 19 April 1012 | Alphege (Ælfheah; Elphege) |
Translated from Winchester; Martyred by the Danes, canonized: St Alphege/St Elphege |
| 1013 to 12 June 1020 | Lyfing (Leovingus; Livingus; Elstan) |
Born Ælfstan; translated from Wells |
| November 13, 1020 to c 29 October 1038 | Æthelnoth (Æthelnotus; Ethelnoth; Egelnodus; Ednodus) |
Dean of Canterbury |
| 1038 to October 29, 1050 | Edsige (Eadsige; Eadsimus; Eadsin) |
Canonized St Edsige. Crowned Edward the Confessor |
| March 1051 to September 1052 | Robert of Jumièges (Robert Gemeticensis) |
Fled England and was deposed |
| 1052 to April 11, 1070 | Stigand | Bishop of Winchester; deprived of both sees for simony |
To the Reformation
All beginning dates are consecration dates, unless otherwise specified. All ending dates are death dates, unless otherwise noted.
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| August 29, 1070 to May 28, 1089 | Lanfranc | Abbot of Caen; died in office |
| December 4, 1093 to 21 April 1109 | Anselm | Abbot of Bec; died in office: canonized: St Anselm |
| 1109 to 1114 | vacant | |
| elected 26 April 1114 to October 2, 1122 | Ralph (Ralph d'Escures; Rodolphus; Ralph de Turbine) |
Translated from Rochester; died in office |
| February 18, 1123 to November 21, 1136 | William de Corbeil (William Corbois; William Corbyl) |
Prior of St Osyth; died in office |
| 1136 to 1139 | vacant | |
| January 8, 1139 to 18 April 1161 | Theobald of Bec | Abbot of Bec; died in office |
| 1161 to 1162 | vacant | |
| June 3, 1162 to 29 December 1170 | Thomas Becket (Thomas à Becket) |
Archdeacon of Canterbury, Provost of Beverley, Lord Chancellor; murdered; canonized: St Thomas of Canterbury |
| April 7, 1174 to February 16, 1184 | Richard (Richard of Dover) |
Prior of Dover; died in office |
| translated December 1184 to November 1190 | Baldwin (Baldwin of Exeter) |
Translated from Worcester; died in office at the Siege of Acre in the Crusades |
| elected November 27, 1191 to December 26, 1191 | Reginald fitz Jocelin | Translated from Wells; died in office |
| 1191 to 1193 | vacant | |
| translated May 29, 1193 to 13 July 1205 | Hubert Walter | Translated from Salisbury; Lord Chancellor; died in office |
| elected between July and October 1205 to quashed between October and December 1206 | Reginald | Sub-prior, chosen by the monks but set aside by the king at their own request |
| postulated December 11, 1205 to quashed about March 30, 1206 | John de Gray (John Grey, John de Grey) |
Bishop of Norwich; chosen by the monks but set aside by the pope |
| June 17, 1207 to 9 July 1228 | Cardinal Stephen Langton | Died in office |
| elected 3 August 1228 to quashed January 1229 | Walter d'Eynsham (Walter de Hempsham) |
Chosen but set aside by the king and the pope |
| June 10, 1229 to August 3, 1231 | Richard le Grant | |
| postulated September 22, 1231 to quashed December 20, 1231 | Ralph Neville | Bishop of Chichester, election quashed |
| elected March 16, 1232 to June 12, 1232 | John of Sittingbourne | election quashed |
| elected August 26, 1232 to quashed June 1, 1233 | John Blund | election quashed |
| April 2, 1234 to 16 November 1240 | Edmund Rich | Prebendary of Salisbury; died in office; canonized: St Edmund Rich (the last Archbishop of Canterbury to be canonized) |
| elected February 1, 1241 to 14 July 1270 | Boniface (Boniface of Savoy) |
Died in office |
| elected September 9, 1270 to quashed summer 1272 | William Chillenden (Adam of Chillenden) |
Chosen but set aside by the pope |
| February 26, 1273 to resigned June 5, 1278 | Robert Kilwardby | Made a cardinal; resigned |
| postulated June or July 1278 to quashed January 1279 | Robert Burnell | Bishop of Bath & Wells; chosen but set aside by the pope |
| February 19, 1279 to December 8, 1292 | John Peckham (John Pecham) |
Canon of Lyons; provincial of Friars Minors; died in office |
| September 12, 1294 to May 11, 1313 | Robert Winchelsey | Archdeacon of Essex; Chancellor of Oxford; died in office |
| elected May 28, 1313 to quashed October 1, 1313 | Thomas Cobham | Precentor of York; elected but not confirmed by the pope |
| translated 1 October 1313 to November 16, 1327 | Walter Reynolds | Translated from Worcester; Lord Chancellor and Lord Treasurer; died in office |
| June 5, 1328 to October 12, 1333 | Simon Mepeham (Simon Meopham) |
Prebendary of Chichester; excommunicated |
| postulated November 3, 1333 to August 23, 1348 | John de Stratford | Translated from Winchester; Lord Chancellor; died in office |
| provided September 24, 1348 to May 20, 1349 | John de Ufford | Dean of Lincoln, Lord Chancellor; died before consecration |
| July 19, 1349 to 26 August 1349 | Thomas Bradwardine | Chancellor of London; died in office |
| December 20, 1349 to April 26, 1366 | Simon Islip | Prebendary of St Paul's; secretary to the king and keeper of the Privy Seal; died in office |
| 1366 to 1366 | William Edington (William Edendon) |
Bishop of Winchester; elected but refused the see |
| translated July 24, 1366 to resigned November 28, 1368 | Simon Langham | Translated from Ely; made a cardinal and resigned the see |
| translated October 11, 1368 to June 1374 | William Whittlesey (William Wittlesey) |
Translated from Worcester; died in office |
| translated May 4, 1375 to 14 June 1381 | Simon Sudbury (Simon de Sudbury; Simon Tibold; Simon Theobold) |
Translated from London; Lord Chancellor; beheaded by the rebels under Wat Tyler |
| translated July 31, 1381 to 31 July 1396 | William Courtenay | Translated from London; died in office |
| translated September 25, 1396 to 1397 | Thomas Arundel (Thomas Fitz-Alan) |
Translated from York; Lord Chancellor; charged with high treason under Richard II, fled |
| provided about November 8, 1397 to deprived of office 19 October 1399 | Roger Walden | deprived |
| restored October 19, 1399 to February 19, 1414 | Thomas Arundel (Thomas Fitz-Alan) |
Restored by Henry IV; died in office |
| translated March 12, 1414 to 12 April 1443 | Henry Chichele (Henry Chicheley; Henry Checheley) |
Translated from St David's; died in office |
| translated May 13, 1443 to 25 May 1452 | John Stafford | Translated from Bath & Wells; cardinal; Lord Chancellor and Lord Treasurer; died in office |
| translated July 21, 1452 to March 22, 1454 | John Kemp | Translated from York; cardinal; Lord Chancellor; died in office |
| translated April 23, 1454 to 30 March 1486 | Thomas Bourchier | Translated from Ely; cardinal; Lord Chancellor; died in office |
| translated October 6, 1486 to 15 September 1500 | John Morton | Translated from Ely; cardinal; Lord Chancellor; died in office |
| January 1501 to 27 January 1501 | Thomas Langton | Bishop of Winchester; died 5 days after being chosen |
| translated April 26, 1501 to February 1503 | Henry Deane (Henry Dean; Henry Dene) |
Translated from Salisbury; died in office |
| translated November 29, 1503 to 22 August 1532 | William Warham | Translated from London; Lord Chancellor; accepted the schism with Rome 1531; died in office |
| 1533 to 13 November 1555 | Thomas Cranmer | Archdeacon of Taunton; excommunicated by Rome 1533 and deprived for heresy; put to death by burning, 21 March 1556 |
| 30 March 1556 to 13 November 1558 | Reginald Pole | Dean of Exeter; cardinal; last Roman Catholic archbishop; died in office |
Since the Reformation
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1559 to 17 May 1575 | Matthew Parker | Dean of Lincoln; died in office |
| 1575 to 6 July 1583 | Edmund Grindal | Translated from York; died in office |
| 1583 to 28 February 1604 | John Whitgift | Translated from Worcester; died in office |
| 9 October 1604 to 2 November 1610 | Richard Bancroft | Translated from London; died in office |
| 4 March 1611 to 5 August 1633 | George Abbot | Translated from London; died in office |
| 6 August 1633 to 10 January 1645 | William Laud | Translated from London; executed in office; commemorated in the Church of England and the Episcopal Church in the United States of America |
| 1645 to 1660 | vacant | |
| 3 September 1660 to 4 June 1663 | William Juxon | Translated from London; died in office |
| 14 July 1663 to 1677 | Gilbert Sheldon | Translated from London; died in office |
| 27 January 1678 to 1691 | William Sancroft | Dean of St Paul's; deprived for not taking oaths to William and Mary; died 1693 |
| 23 April 1691 to 22 November 1694 | John Tillotson | Dean of St Paul's; died in office |
| 1694 to 14 December 1715 | Thomas Tenison | Translated from Lincoln; died in office |
| 1716 to 24 January 1737 | William Wake | Translated from Lincoln; died in office |
| 1737 to 10 October 1747 | John Potter | Translated from Oxford; died in office |
| 1747 to 23 March 1757 | Thomas Herring | Translated from York; died in office |
| 1757 to 18 March 1758 | Matthew Hutton | Translated from York; died in office |
| 1758 to 1768 | Thomas Secker | Translated from Oxford; died in office |
| 1768 to 19 March 1783 | Frederick Cornwallis | Translated from Lichfield & Coventry; died in office |
| 1783 to 18 January 1805 | John Moore | Translated from Bangor; died in office |
| 2 February 1805 to 21 July 1828 | Charles Manners-Sutton | Translated from Norwich; died in office |
| 4 August 1828 to 11 February 1848 | William Howley | Translated from London; died in office |
| 22 February 1848 to 6 September 1862 | John Bird Sumner | Translated from Chester; died in office |
| 20 October 1862 to 27 October 1868 | Charles Thomas Longley | Translated from York; died in office |
| 26 November 1868 to 3 December 1882 | Archibald Campbell Tait | Translated from London; died in office |
| 18 January 1883 to 1896 | Edward White Benson | Translated from Truro; died in office |
| 1896 to 23 December 1902 | Frederick Temple | Translated from London; died in office |
| 1903 to 1928 | Randall Thomas Davidson | Translated from Winchester; retired; died 1930 |
| 1928 to 1942 | William Cosmo Gordon Lang | Translated from York; retired; died 1945 |
| 1942 to 26 October 1944 | William Temple | Translated from York; died in office |
| 1945 to 1961 | Geoffrey Francis Fisher | Translated from London; retired; died 1972 |
| 1961 to 1974 | Arthur Michael Ramsey | Translated from York; retired; died 1988 |
| 1974 to 1980 | Frederick Donald Coggan | Translated from York; retired; died 2000 |
| 1980 to 1991 | Robert Alexander Kennedy Runcie | Translated from St Albans; retired; died 2000 |
| 1991 to 2002 | George Leonard Carey | Translated from Bath & Wells; retired |
| 2002 to present | Rowan Douglas Williams, FBA | Translated from Wales |
- Note
- Where the full name of an incumbent is not generally used, the name that is most commonly used is shown in bold (so, for example, Rowan Douglas Williams is usually called simply Rowan Williams).