wfn.org | Archbishop of Canterbury to retire this year

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Note #7008 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

09-January-2002
02016

Archbishop of Canterbury to retire this year

by Jan Nunley
Episcopal News Service

NEW YORK CITY - The Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, has officially
announced his retirement.

	A press release from Lambeth Palace states that "his intentions have been
conveyed to the Queen, who is Supreme Governor of the Church of England and
who formally appoints an Archbishop of Canterbury." The decision will take
effect on
Oct. 31, 2002.

	"By the end of October I shall have served eleven and half years in a
demanding yet wonderfully absorbing and rewarding post," Carey commented in
the statement. "I feel certain this will be the right and proper time to
stand down. I look forward to exciting opportunities and challenges in the
coming months, and then to fresh ones in the years that follow."

	Carey's announcement prompted statements of appreciation from Anglican
leaders around the world.

	"His passion for the Gospel and dedication to the faithfulness and unity of
the church, together with his insistence that the suffering world is the
proper sphere of our common engagement, have made George Carey an
inestimable gift to the Anglican Communion and beyond," said Presiding
Bishop Frank Griswold of the Episcopal Church (USA). "I am deeply grateful
for his ministry, together with that of his wife, Eileen, as are countless
Episcopalians who have come to know and love them through their frequent
visits to our shores."

	"Archbishop George Carey will be greatly missed worldwide and especially in
Africa where he has consistently supported our efforts to address the
problem of unpayable debt which is such a burden to developing countries,"
remarked Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane of Cape Town. "We are also mindful
of his support in our drive to facilitate a generation without AIDS. More
importantly we have, through his visits to this country, Namibia and
Mozambique, come to appreciate his commitment to unifying the global
communion of more than 70 million Anglicans and his efforts towards global
peace."

	Carey, who will be 67 in November 2002, was appointed the 103rd archbishop
of Canterbury in 1991. He will continue to carry out all the duties and
responsibilities of the office, both for the Church of England and the
Anglican Communion, until autumn.

	The Crown Appointments Commission will meet this spring to consider
nominations for Carey's successor. Two names will be forwarded to Britain's
prime minister, Tony Blair, who will propose one for appointment by the
Queen.
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