LONDON (RNS) — The selection of a new Archbishop of Canterbury, a top secret affair, is in the homestretch.
The position, which has huge influence, if not hard power, within the Church of England and global Anglican Communion, has been empty since the Rt. Rev. Justin Welby resigned nearly a year ago. This week the selection committee, the Canterbury Crown Nominations Commission, announced it will imminently pass its top candidate to King Charles III for approval.
As the decision nears, the British public has been showing its interest in the country’s official spiritual leader via a favorite pastime: placing bets.
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“This has been a really popular story for us in the last few weeks, especially. It’s been getting thousands of people looking at it, which is more than a lot of stories on sports, for example,” said Jake Ashton, senior news editor for OLBG, or Online Betting Guide, an outfit that offers reviews and ratings for online bookies.
Betting closed Thursday (Oct. 2) ahead of Friday’s press conference at No. 10 Downing St., where the prime minister will announce Charles’ decision.
For much of the past year, the bookies’ favorite has been the Rt. Rev. Guli Francis-Dehqani, the bishop of Chelmsford, who until recently had 6/4 odds. If chosen, Francis-Dehqani would be the first woman selected for the role in its 1,400-year history. The 59-year-old bishop was born in Iran and came to the U.K. as a refugee fleeing the Iranian Revolution.
The Rt. Rev. Guli Francis-Dehqani, the bishop of Chelmsford. (Courtesy photo)
Bettors have placed wagers on other women, as well: the bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, and the bishop of Gloucester, Rachel Treweek.
But the Crown Nominations Commission has also very likely considered a long list of men, though who they are is completely confidential.
“It’s an odd system we have,” said Ben Phillips, a researcher at the University of York’s Centre for the Study of Christianity and Culture. “There isn’t really an openness, because (the Crown Nominations Commission) feels that there will be speculation, there will be talk, there will be gossip, especially about people who don’t get the role. So it is very closed, and they value secrecy.”
That leaves the bookmakers. Here are some of their front-runners:
Guli Francis-Dehqani, 59, has been bishop of Chelmsford since April 2021. Chelmsford, the second largest diocese in the Church of England, serves Essex and East London. Her father was serving as the Anglican bishop in Iran when the Iranian Revolution broke out, and in October 1979, her parents were attacked in an assassination attempt. Her 24-year-old brother, Bahram, was murdered a few months later. When she was 14, her family settled in Hampshire, England, where her father remained a bishop in exile. Francis-Dehqani supported blessings for same-sex couples.
Pete Wilcox, 63, has been the bishop of Sheffield since 2017. Considered an evangelical, he opposes same-sex marriages, believing that Scriptures teach that marriage is reserved for a man and a woman. He is also a huge soccer fan, rooting for Newcastle United. He was treated for colon cancer in 2017.
Sarah Mullally, 63, bishop of London since 2018, is the third most senior bishop in the Church of England, after the archbishops of Canterbury and York. A former nurse, she was ordained a priest in 2002. She is considered a liberal theologically who favors blessings for same-sex couples but supports the church’s teaching that marriage should be between one man and one woman.
Michael Beasley, 56, is the bishop of Bath and Wells. An epidemiologist who specializes in child infectious diseases in low-income countries, he was ordained a priest in 2000. Beasley voted in favor of blessings for same-sex couples in February 2023.
Rachel Treweek, 62, has served as bishop of Gloucester since 2015 and is considered the first female diocesan bishop in the Church of England. Treweek’s first career was as a speech and language therapist. She is considered a liberal who uses gender-neutral language to refer to God. She favors blessing same-sex marriages without calling for a change in the doctrine of marriage.
Martyn Snow, 57, has served as bishop of Leicester since 2016. He was born in Indonesia to parents who worked for the church there. His grandparents were missionaries to China. Snow has been outspoken on racial justice. He voted to approve blessings for same-sex couples while maintaining a “traditional understanding of marriage as a lifelong union of one man and one woman.”
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