A medieval ceremony has begun the process of the Rt Revd Justin Welby becoming the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The College of Canons of Canterbury Cathedral has unanimously elected Bishop Justin Welby as the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury.
The 35-strong College of Canons, made up of senior clergy and lay people from the Diocese of Canterbury, met at Canterbury Cathedral’s 14th-century Chapter House to take part in the formality, which dates back more than 1000 years.
If I remember rightly – until the late 1960s, Cathedral Chapters who refused to elect the Sovereign’s choice of bishop, were liable to the penalties of praemunire. Those penalties included being placed outside the protection of the law, having one’s lands confiscated and being imprisoned at the Sovereign’s pleasure.
Ah, the good old days… ;o)