Abstract

Lord Williams retired as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury at the end of 2012 after ten years of intensely public service leading the Church of England and the 77-million-strong worldwide Anglican Communion. The post of Archbishop of Canterbury dates back over 1,400 years to Augustine, the ‘apostle to the English’, who was appointed in the year 597.

Having originally studied theology at the University of Cambridge, Lord Williams has now returned to Cambridge to take up the post of Master of Magdalene College. He has also accepted the role of Chair of the board of trustees of Christian Aid, a British charity which campaigns for the relief of poverty around the world, and was made an Honorary of Anglia Ruskin in 2013.

Amid controversies raging publicly about the validity of same-sex marriage and the admission of both women and gay priests to the episcopacy, Lord Williams always managed to take a position which emphasised unity and humanity.