Justin Welby spent his 11 years as Archbishop of Canterbury trying to prevent the global Anglican communion from fracturing, often struggling to satisfy liberals or conservatives who clashed over gay rights and female members of the clergy.
But ultimately, it was an issue in the church's past rather than its future that brought it down: the failure to investigate a decades-old abuse scandal.
Welby, a former oil executive, was an outspoken executive who publicly tackled issues ranging from same-sex marriage to Britain's immigration policy to Israel's war in Gaza , slavery reparations, climate change and his own mental health issues.
“If I allowed myself to read my own Twitter feed, it wouldn't help me at all, it would actually hurt me a lot,” he said this year. “I believe it when people say that I am (…) the worst archbishop in history.”
Mr Welby was ultimately undermined by the publication of an independent report commissioned by the Church, which found a man who ran summer camps for young Christians, John Smyth, was the most prolific serial abuser associated with the Church of England.
Mr Welby said he had “no idea or suspicion” of the allegations until 2013, the year he became archbishop. But the independent Makin report, published on November 7, concluded it was unlikely he was unaware of concerns about John Smyth's behavior in the 1980s.
After resisting calls to resign, Mr Welby resigned on Tuesday, saying the past few days had “rekindled the deep sense of shame I have long felt at the historic failures of the Church of England to protect of human rights”.
“I hope this decision makes clear how much the Church of England understands the need for change and our deep commitment to creating a safer Church. As I step aside, I do so in the company of all victims and all survivors of abuse.
Church commentators said they saw no historical precedent for an archbishop to resign following a scandal.
Educated at Eton, Britain's most prestigious private school, Welby worked in the oil industry for more than a decade before being ordained in 1992. He was appointed senior prelate of the Church of England in 2013, becoming the spiritual leader of 85 million Anglicans in 165 countries.
He was praised for overseeing the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II – Britain's longest-serving monarch – at Westminster Abbey, in front of an assembly of world leaders and members of the royal family, as well as a large audience of viewers.
“It was such a solemn moment that I can't find words to describe it. It was such a solemn moment that I can't find words to express it. It was so profound that “It was a change in history,” he said.
He also presided over the first British coronation in almost 70 years, that of King Charles III, who, as monarch, also became the supreme governor of the Church of England. He also officiated at Prince Harry's wedding to American actress Meghan Markle.
AN ACTIVE ACTIVIST
Mr Welby has been acclaimed by his admirers for campaigning on societal issues such as tackling poverty. He was very open about his own past, discussing in particular his parents' struggle with alcoholism and his own temptation to self-harm.
In 2016, he learned that his biological father was in fact Anthony Montague Browne, Winston Churchill's former wartime private secretary, who had gotten his mother pregnant during a “drinking night out”.
He said he was “relatively indifferent” to this revelation because his identity was “in Jesus Christ, not DNA.”
His time as head of the Anglican communion was turbulent, as he was forced to navigate a schism that erupted when he allowed women to become bishops and churches to bless same-sex couples.
He said he had decided not to carry out such blessings himself, out of responsibility for the whole Church, adding: “This is where you must be most attentive: “It is there you have to be a politician.”
But the move angered the conservative wing of the world communion, including African churches where homosexuality is taboo, and a conservative group of Anglican church leaders said last year that it did not trust.
In 2021, he apologized for saying that political leaders who failed to act on climate change were making a bigger mistake than those who ignored warnings about the Nazis.
A year later, he apologized for the church's past role in the slave trade and pledged to invest 100 million pounds ($130 million) to address its links to slavery.
Asked on a podcast this year about his thought process before speaking out on such topics, he replied: “My first rule is don't do it unless you can't avoid it.
Mr Welby also said he wanted the Church to be “simpler, more humble, bolder – and Christ-centered”.
“It must be recognized that in every age the Church is not able to see its own faults as it should,” he said, “and therefore requires a constant willingness to learn.
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