Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior clergyman of the established Church of England and symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The present incumbent is Rowan Williams.

History

The first Archbishop of Canterbury was Saint Augustine who arrived in Kent in 597. He was appointed by King Ethelbert, on his conversion to Christianity, about the year 598. Since then the Archbishops of Canterbury have been referred to as occupying the Chair of St Augustine.

Related Topics:
Augustine - Kent - 597 - Ethelbert - 598

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Before the break with Papal authority in the 16th Century the Church of England could also be understood as being part of the Roman Catholic Church. As an established national church it still considers itself part of the broader Western Catholic tradition and also the 'Mother Church' of the international Anglican Communion.

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Before the invasion of England by the Saxons, the Christian Britons had three Archbishops, seated in London, York, and Caerleon, an ancient city of South Wales. The Archbishop of London became extinct when the Britons were driven out of eastern and southern Great Britain. When Pope Gregory the Great sent Augustine to convert the Saxons, the archbishopric was located at Canterbury, which was the capital of the Kingdom of Kent. King Ethelbert was baptised at Canterbury, and embraced the doctrines of Christianity before the rest of the Heptarchy. The Archbishopic of Caerleon was relocated to St David's in Pembrokeshire, and was later absorbed into the See of Canterbury.

Related Topics:
Saxons - London - York - Caerleon - Great Britain - Gregory the Great - Kingdom of Kent - Heptarchy - St David's - Pembrokeshire

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