LORD EVANS of Weardale, a former director-general of MI5 and a cross-bencher in the House of Lords, is to chair the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) that will choose the next Archbishop of Canterbury, it was announced on Monday.

He is an “active and communicant member of his local parish church”, Downing Street says.

The vacancy-in-see committee for Canterbury met for the first time last week. It will consider what type of person is needed for the position, and elect three diocesan representatives to the CNC.

In parallel, a public consultation, overseen by Church House and Downing Street, will gauge general opinion about the office of Archbishop and the qualities required. This is expected to begin in the new year.

Besides the chair and three representatives from the diocese of Canterbury, the CNC includes six of the central members — three lay people and three clergy — who were elected by the General Synod in 2022.

For the first time, there will be five representatives for the Anglican Communion, rather than one, as for previous nominations to Canterbury. One person will be chosen from each region of the Communion (News, 24 November 2023). The names are yet to be announced.

The Archbishop of York and a bishop (either active or retired) of the Province of Canterbury, elected by the House of Bishops, complete the voting members.

If the Archbishop of York chose not to sit on the CNC, a further bishop would be elected by the House of Bishops. Nobody on the CNC can be considered for nomination.

The timings of the process are not fixed, but the Church Times understands that those managing the process hope that the announcement of the new Archbishop will be made in the autumn of next year.