Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welbys last day as he quits over Church abuse

Justin Welby is spending his final day as Archbishop of Canterbury, as he prepares to step down over failures in handling a Church of England abuse scandal.

Almost two months after announcing his resignation, he will officially quit the role at midnight on Monday.

It follows an independent review which concluded barrister and Christian camp leader John Smyth – thought to have been the most prolific serial abuser to be associated with the Church – might have been brought to justice had Mr Welby formally reported him to police in 2013.

The Archbishop has made few public appearances since mid-November, and did not give the traditional Christmas Day sermon from Canterbury Cathedral.

While in his initial resignation statement on November 12 he said he was stepping down “in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse”, he had to issue an apology later that month following his final speech in the House of Lords.

On that occasion he was accused of making light of serious safeguarding failures in the Church, with an abuse survivor branding the speech – which referenced a 14th century beheading and prompted laughter from some peers – “tone deaf”.

In recent weeks a major charity, The Children’s Society, also rejected a Christmas donation from Mr Welby saying that accepting it “would not be consistent with the principles and values that underpin our work”.

Mr Welby will spend Monday privately at his London residence, Lambeth Palace, attending a lunchtime Eucharist and later a service of Evensong.

It is during the latter that he will lay down his bishop’s crozier – a ceremonial long staff – in a symbolic act which marks the official end of his ministry as Archbishop of Canterbury.

From Tuesday, most of the official functions normally held by the Archbishop of Canterbury will be delegated to the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell while some will go to the Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally, and the diocesan functions will be carried out by the Bishop of Dover Rose Hudson-Wilkin.

Mr Cottrell has also faced calls to resign over his handling of a separate abuse case but, appearing to reject those calls in recent weeks, he has pledged to “do what I can” to bring about independent scrutiny of safeguarding in the Church.

The process to replace Mr Welby is expected to take months, with an announcement about a new archbishop of Canterbury possible in autumn.

Published: 06/01/2025 by Radio NewsHub