The Church of England has today announced the membership of the Canterbury CNC, apart from the three representatives from the diocese whose names are not yet available for the reasons given in my previous article. The text of the press release is copied below.
Membership of Canterbury CNC announced
13/05/2025
The Canterbury CNC is made up of a diverse group of members, including representatives from the Church of England, the Anglican Communion, and members appointed by the Crown.
The Central Members and Anglican Communion representatives of the Canterbury Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) have been announced.
The Crown Nominations Commission for the Archbishop of Canterbury is larger than that for other diocesan bishops, with 17 voting members in a wider Commission made up of 20 members.
In 2022, General Synod approved changes to the CNC’s Standing Orders that increased the number of representatives from the Anglican Communion from one to five for the CNC of the See of Canterbury. They are nominated by the Anglican Communion, one from each of the five regions and include primates, clergy and lay people.
Voting members
Non-voting members
Following a public consultation that saw thousands of people share their views on the qualities needed in the next Archbishop of Canterbury, the Commission will convene for its first meeting later this month, followed by at least two further meetings – one in July and another in September. Through these, the Commission will agree the ‘Role Profile’ and ‘Person Specification’ for the next Archbishop of Canterbury, discern the longlist, shortlist and interview candidates.
Under the Standing Orders of the General Synod, a nomination cannot be made to The Crown unless it has received the support of at least two-thirds of the total number of the voting members of the Commission in a secret ballot.
The Chair of the Canterbury CNC, Lord (Jonathan) Evans said: “Helping to choose the next Archbishop of Canterbury is both a great responsibility and a privilege. The Crown Nominations Commission understands the weight of this important decision and we pray for God’s hand on the process.
“I thank those who have taken part in the public consultation across the country and the Anglican Communion, helping us to establish the gifts, skills and qualities required in the next Archbishop. Do please keep the CNC process in your prayers as we seek to discern who God is calling to this important ministry.”
As someone from the Western Hemisphere, I’m interested in the person representing the Americas. According to the Church Times. “The only lay Communion representative is Joaquín Philpotts, an industrial engineer from Buenos Aires, representing the Americas. He currently represents the Anglican Church of South America on the Anglican Consultative Council, and is a lay minister.” I was curious about his province — the Anglican Church of South America. I knew there was something called the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone, but hadn’t realized that it had changed its name, perhaps in a misleadingly expansive way, On the South American… Read more »
25 hours of Conclave to choose a new pope. Months and months of waiting to select a new Archbishop of Canterbury!
Until Penrith became the new Carlisle there were 10 dioceses without a Diocesan bishop.
Quite right Father. Perhaps we should pack them all off to Rome, lock the door on them and not let them out until they come up with a name.
Father, which are those dioceses, please?
At least Durham appointed a new bishop after only a few months. Oh I forgot. They backed out.
Well, I suppose it’s saving a bit of money on bishops’ stipends for the Church Commissioners. Perhaps they could put the money they’ve saved towards parish priests’ stipends or clergy pensions. Fat chance!