Bishop Michael’s statement on the announcement of the next Archbishop of Canterbury

I am delighted at the appointment of Justin Welby as the next Archbishop of Canterbury and am pleased that the process of identifying the new Archbishop, in which I have had a part as a member of the Crown Nominations Commission, has produced the result it has.

Bishop Justin will bring to the ministry of archbishop a freshness from having spent some of his adult life working outside the church structures in a way that enables him to see things in a different way. But he has also shown himself to be an effective church leader in Liverpool, has been deeply appreciated among the people of Durham in the short time he has been their bishop and has already established himself on the national scene in the House of Lords. He is intelligent, intelligible, personable and a man of faith and spirituality.

The Crown Nominations Commission, the deliberations of which remain confidential, made its decision carefully and prayerfully. I recognised very little of what was written in the national media about the process. We believed that the Holy Spirit led us to discern what God wanted for the Church of England at the present time.

As a bishop within the Province of Canterbury I shall owe allegiance to Archbishop Justin as he will become from March. He will have my loyalty and support, as well as my high hopes that he will enable the Church to grasp confidently the challenges and opportunities that face us. I am particularly pleased, as we approach the vote in the General Synod on the ordination of women as bishops, that we have in Justin Welby someone who has been clear and unequivocal in his support of this move.

Beyond the life of the Church of England I am encouraged by the fact that Bishop Justin has good experience of the Anglican Communion and, like the Diocese of Gloucester, has good connections in both Africa and the United States.

It’s a good day for the Church of England. I have been honoured to be have been engaged in the making of the choice of Bishop Justin.

+Michael Gloucester