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New Archbishop of Canterbury Is Installed to Lead Anglicans Setting Themes of Humility, a New Archbishop of Canterbury Is Installed
(about 9 hours later)
LONDON — Justin Welby, the former bishop of Durham, was formally installed as the 105th archbishop of Canterbury at a ceremony in a nine-century-old cathedral on Thursday, becoming the spiritual head of the world’s 77 million Anglicans at a time when their church is splintered by disputes over issues of gender and same-sex marriage. LONDON — At his installation as archbishop of Canterbury on Thursday, Justin Welby, a former oil executive who made an unusually rapid rise to the leadership of the Anglican Church, used the ceremony in Canterbury’s nine-century-old cathedral to set themes of simplicity, modesty and innovation that echoed the tone Pope Francis has set for his week-old papacy.
Archbishop Welby, 57, a former oil company executive, was enthroned at Canterbury Cathedral just two days after Pope Francis, 76, was formally installed at the Vatican as the head of the much bigger Roman Catholic Church, which claims over one billion followers. Archbishop Welby, 57, began his day with a jog around the cathedral grounds in Canterbury. Once the treasurer of a medium-size oil company, before quitting to study for ordination into the priesthood at 37, he appeared for an eve-of-installation interview with the BBC wearing a suit he bought at a British charity shop for less than $15.
Following an ancient ritual, Archbishop Welby struck the west door of the cathedral three times with his staff to formally request admission. But later in his installation, in a much newer token of the spread of his faith far beyond its historical roots in England, African dancers pounding drums escorted him through the cathedral, a reminder of his earlier days working in conflict resolution for the church in Nigeria and the Middle East. At the ceremony, he seemed eager to mark his start with quiet but unmistakable gestures that affirmed the reforming approach he has embraced since being selected in November over more senior bishops for the post that makes him spiritual leader of some 80 million Anglicans worldwide.
Archbishop Welby succeeded Rowan Williams, who announced his retitrement as archbishop of Canterbury last March after 10 years in office. The ceremony was attended by 2,000 invited guests, including Prime Minister David Cameron, Prince Charles and religious leaders from Britain and around the world, mostly Anglican but also from other faiths, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism.
In a brief sermon on Thursday, Archbishop Welby made no direct reference to the most contentious issues facing the church. Archbishop Welby leads a community that is a small fraction of the world’s more than one billion Roman Catholics. But Anglicans and Catholics share common problems, starting with the broad drift in Western countries away from religious institutions. Religious experts say the two churches appear to have chosen as their heads men who combine strong leadership skills with a marked instinct for self-effacement, an affinity for the poor and vulnerable in society, and, believers in both denominations hope, a willingness to look anew at old problems.
But as he prepared for enthronement he spoke in sympathetic terms of some same-sex relationships, but reaffirmed his commitment to Anglican teaching, which is opposed to holding gay and lesbian weddings in Anglican churches. Archbishop Welby’s most signal departure from tradition came at the start of the ceremony, when, following centuries of protocol, he approached the cathedral’s great oak doors and banged three times with his crosier, or staff. There waiting for him, instead of a high-ranking church official who has filled the role in the past, was a 17-year-old girl, Evangeline Kanagasooriam, who read a scripted challenge asking who he was and why he had come.
His remarks were seen as signals of the way he planned to approach some of the main issues confronting his church, along with long-term challenges like dwindling congregations, a broad increase in secularism in Britain, and a drift toward more charismatic churches in some parts of the world. “I come knowing nothing except Jesus Christ, and him crucified, and in weakness and fear and much trembling,” the archbishop replied, expressing in words he wrote himself the anxiety and diffidence he has voiced in interviews in recent weeks about the daunting challenges facing him as the 105th occupant of the Canterbury see.
The Church of England broke from the papacy during the reign of Henry VIII in the 16th century to begin an abiding schism, reinforced over time by Anglican moves to permit female priests — though not bishops — and to condone same-sex civil partnerships, but not same-sex marriage. At the top of those challenges are the divisions over issues involving sexuality and gender that threatened at times to lead to a formal schism between liberal and conservative wings of the church during the 10-year tenure of his predecessor, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, who retired to become master of Magdalene College at Cambridge University. The liberals’ most powerful base is in the Episcopal Church in the United States, while the conservatives’ strongest support comes from Africa.
The divisions became more nuanced during the papacy of Benedict XVI, who made it easier for disaffected Anglican priests to embrace Catholicism. The symbolism of the teenage girl at the cathedral doors was pressed home by the presence of more female priests than at any previous installation ceremony at Canterbury, signs that the archbishop’s aides said reflected his intention to push for a broadening of the role of women in the church, in particularly their right to be appointed as bishops.
In an interview with the BBC, Archbishop Welby said he adhered to the traditional Anglican doctrine that marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman. But he went on, “You see gay relationships that are just stunning in the quality of the relationship.” That practice, long established in the United States, was narrowly rejected for the church in England and Wales at a synod on the eve of Archbishop Welby’s appointment. At the time, he called the vote a “grim day” for Anglicanism. Since his appointment, he has signaled his support for an early effort to reform synod voting procedures that allowed a minority to block the move.
He said he had “particular friends where I recognize that and am deeply challenged by it.” Although the vast majority of the clergy members attending Thursday’s ceremony were men, female priests had some of the most visible roles.
In a separate interview with Channel 5 News, the archbishop said he believed that despite a vote by the Anglican Church in November rejecting female bishops, there would one day be a female archbishop. He said he had “no idea” when that would be — “when the right person turns up. But yes, I think there certainly will.” The Venerable Sheila Watson, the Archdeacon of Canterbury, formally installed the archbishop on the diocesan throne in the cathedral. Other female priests read from the Scriptures and were prominently close to the archbishop in the opening and closing processions. In an interview with Britain’s Channel 5 News before the ceremony, the archbishop said he “certainly” thought a woman would one day be archbishop, though he had “no idea” when that would be — just “when the right person turns up.”
Some of the pressing issues facing the global Anglican Communion relate to the wildly divergent attitudes in different parts of the world to same-sex partnerships and the advancement of women. Earlier this year, the Church of England resolved to permit openly gay priests in civil partnerships to become bishops provided they embraced celibacy. In his brief sermon at the ceremony, the archbishop dwelt on the importance of the Scriptures in Christians’ lives, and in the church’s struggle, in the face of dwindling congregations in Britain and other Western countries, to remain relevant in an increasingly secular society.
But while the British government supports same-sex marriage, the Church of England opposes it, and new legislation exempts priests from carrying out such weddings. “There is every possible reason for optimism about the future of Christian faith in our world and in this country,” he said, and added, “There can be no final justice, or security, or love, or hope in our society if it is not finally based on rootedness in Christ.”
Archbishop Welby was confirmed in his post earlier this year. His title embraces various functions as the diocesan bishop of Canterbury, the head of the southern province of the Church of England and senior bishop of all England, and the spiritual leader of the broader Anglican Communion. The sermon made no direct reference to the dispute over female bishops, nor to the other divisive issue likely to press in on him, the rights of gays and lesbians in the church, and in particular, same-sex marriages, which passed an important legislative hurdle last month with an overwhelming vote of approval in the House of Commons.
In the BBC interview, the archbishop reaffirmed his commitment to Anglican teaching opposing gay and lesbian weddings in church, which led the government of Mr. Cameron to include a clause in its same-sex marriage bill explicitly protecting churches that oppose the change against future legal challenges. But on this issue, too, Archbishop Welby seemed to lean toward seeking an accommodation.
Recently, with Archbishop Welby’s backing, the Church of England resolved to permit openly gay priests in civil partnerships to become bishops provided they embraced celibacy. In the interview, he appeared to signal a willingness, at some point, to readdress the issue of gay marriage. The possibility of such marriages has met with much stronger resistance among Anglicans in England than has the ordination of women.
He told the BBC that he adhered to the traditional Anglican doctrine that marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman. But he said, “You see gay relationships that are just stunning in the quality of the relationship,” and added that he had “particular friends where I recognize that, and am deeply challenged by it.”

John F. Burns reported from London, and Alan Cowell from Paris.

John F. Burns reported from London, and Alan Cowell from Paris.