Justin Welby

Who is Justin Welby?

Justin Portal Welby is the 105th and current Archbishop of Canterbury and senior bishop in the Church of England. As such, he is Primate of All England and the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. He was formerly the Bishop of Durham, serving for just over a year.

Welby's early career was in the oil industry. In 1989, he studied for ordination at St John's College, Durham. After several parochial appointments he became the Dean of Liverpool in 2007 and the Bishop of Durham in 2011.

Welby's theology is reported as representing the evangelical tradition within Anglicanism. Some of his publications explore the relationship between finance and religion and, as a member of the House of Lords, he sits on the panel of the 2012 Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards.

On 9 November 2012, the Prime Minister's office announced Welby's appointment as the next Archbishop of Canterbury and he was formally elected as on 10 January 2013 at a ceremony in Canterbury Cathedral. He legally took office on 4 February 2013 at a ceremony in St Paul's Cathedral, although his public ministry as archbishop formally began with his enthronement service in Canterbury Cathedral which took place on 21 March 2013.