Increasingly, the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury, as one of our "instruments of unity", is becoming more visible and important to our world family. His pastoral visits around the Communion point to how our Anglican family is the living icon of what a universal Communion of Churches can be. The 103rd Archbishop, the Most Revd and Rt Hon George L. Carey, is in apostolic succession to the first Archbishop of Canterbury, St. Augustine, who established the Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church in England in 597 AD. One of the most wellknown successors of St. Augustine is St. Thomas Becket who was martyred in Canterbury Cathedral on December 29, 1170, by four knights of King Henry II. His death made Canterbury a sacred site for pilgrims from that day forward. Other notable archbishops have included Thomas Cramner, William Laud, William Temple and Michael Ramsey.
Archbishop Carey's responsibility includes the bishopric of the Diocese of Canterbury in England and Archbishop of the Province of Canterbury which includes the Dioceses of Central and Southern England and the Diocese of Europe. He is Primate of All England and a member of England's House of Lords. He has authority over other dioceses around the world which are not in established provinces.
In addition to calling the Lambeth Conference, he calls a Primates Meeting of the archbishops, or presiding bishops, of every province in the Anglican Communion as well as the Moderators of the Anglican inclusive United Churches of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. He presides at the Anglican Consultative Council of lay and clerical representatives from every Province and over the joint Standing Committees of the Primates and the Anglican Consultative Council.
Within the Anglican Communion lies an ecumenical role for the Archbishop in relationship to other major world churches because the Anglican Communion is a part of the One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Therefore, the Anglican Communion is in dialogue with other denominations such as the Lutheran, Methodist, Oriental Orthodox, Orthodox, Roman Catholic and World Alliance of Reformed Churches. Anglican Communion provinces individually join the World Council of Churches.
Archbishop Carey is married to Eileen and they have four grown children. His personal interests are wide and varied, from walking to supporting a favourite football club. A people person, Archbishop finds meeting people around the Communion to be most invigorating.
This web site is maintained privately. Though not an official organ of the Anglican Church of Canada, the Church of England, the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A., or any church body, it does offer links to official news releases and other documents such as Constitutions and Canons, links to official parish/diocesan pages, and other such documents.