[London Bishop Richard] Chartres, a friend of the Prince of Wales, had been seen as a leading candidate. But it is understood that representatives from the Canterbury diocese objected to his refusal to ordain women, demanding that Williams’s successor be supportive of female clergy.
“I’ve been told that the Bishop of Dover is exercising a lot of influence over the whole process and that the Canterbury six [representatives from the diocese] are making life very difficult,” a senior cleric said. “They have too much say, with six out of the 16 votes, and can block anyone.”
With Chartres out of contention, the commission is thought to have reduced the shortlist to Graham James, the Bishop of Norwich, Justin Welby, the Bishop of Durham, and Sentamu.
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