MORE than 11,000 people have contributed to the public consultation on the appointment of the next Archbishop of Canterbury, which ran from February to March (News, 7 February).

Members of the public were invited to propose candidates and comment on what the Church needs from the next Primate of All England.

The online consultation form on the Church of England website received more than 9600 responses. More than 160 letters or emails were also received by the Archbishops’ Secretary for Appointments, Stephen Knott, who works out of Lambeth Palace. More than 1200 children and young people participated in consultations conducted by Mr Knott and the National Society for Education.

Mr Knott is overseeing the process, alongside the Prime Minister’s Appointments Secretary, Jonathan Hellewell. They have met more than 350 people during the consultation period, “including representatives of other Christian traditions and non-Christian traditions, parliamentarians, leaders from public life, and those who minister, work and worship across the Church of England and the Anglican Communion”, a statement, on Wednesday, from Church House, Westminster, said.

Both Mr Knott and Mr Hellewell will sit as non-voting members of the Canterbury Crown Nominations Commission (CNC). The CNC will be chaired by a former director-general of MI5, Lord Evans of Weardale (News, 17 December).

The Church House statement said: “The themes that emerge through this consultation will sit alongside the ‘Statement of Needs’ produced by the diocese of Canterbury, as well as other information provided by the National Church and Anglican Communion. This information will inform the Canterbury Crown Nominations Commission of the needs of the mission of the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion.”

The Archbishop of York sits on the CNC, together with a bishop from the Province of Canterbury. The bishop can be a diocesan or a suffragan, or a retired bishop who resides in the Southern Province. The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, was elected by the House of Bishops to be the Canterbury Province’s episcopal member, in March (News, 21 March).

Besides the chair, Archbishop Cottrell, and Bishop Usher, three representatives from the diocese of Canterbury will vote on the CNC, along with six of the central members — three lay people and three clergy — who were elected by the General Synod in 2022.

There will also be five representatives of the Anglican Communion rather than one as there was for previous nominations to the see of Canterbury. One person will be chosen from each region of the Communion (News, 24 November 2023).

The full list of CNC members, expected in March, has yet to be published.