(An extended version of the article that appeared in ‘Credo’ in The Times, 04 January 2025 and ‘Anglicanism’, February 2025).
There is nothing unique about the premature departure of an Archbishop of Canterbury. Archbishop Welby leaves office on January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany, marking the visit of the Magi to see the Christ-child. So, it is perhaps sobering to remember that, like the proverbial wise men, many of his predecessors left office to return home by some other route they had not initially bargained on.
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