LORD EVANS of Weardale, a former director-general of MI5 and a cross-bencher within the House of Lords, is to chair the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) that can select the subsequent Archbishop of Canterbury, it was announced on Monday.
He is an “energetic and communicant member of his local parish church”, Downing Street says.
The vacancy-in-see committee for Canterbury met for the primary time last week. It will consider what variety of person is required for the position, and elect three diocesan representatives to the CNC.
In parallel, a public consultation, overseen by Church House and Downing Street, will gauge general opinion in regards to the offce of Archbishop and the qualities required. This is predicted to start in the brand new 12 months.
Besides the chair and three representatives from the diocese of Canterbury, the CNC includes six of the central members — three lay people and three clergy — who were elected by the General Synod in 2022.
For the primary time, there might be five representatives for the Anglican Communion, reasonably than one, as for previous nominations to Canterbury. One person might be chosen from each region of the Communion (News, 24 November 2023). The names are yet to be announced.
The Archbishop of York and a bishop (either energetic or retired) of the Province of Canterbury, elected by the House of Bishops, complete the voting members.
If the Archbishop of York selected not to sit down on the CNC, an additional bishop can be elected by the House of Bishops. Nobody on the CNC could be considered for nomination.
The timings of the method are usually not fixed, however the Church Times understands that those managing the method hope that the announcement of the brand new Archbishop might be made within the autumn of next 12 months.
