LONDON, (Reuters) – A former oil executive was named leader of the world’s 80 million Anglicans yesterday, ending months of closed-door intrigue as the church struggles with bitter rifts over women bishops and gay marriage.
Justin Welby, 56, has been bishop of the northern English city of Durham for barely a year and will replace the liberal incumbent Rowan Williams as archbishop of Canterbury in December.
Welby is against gay marriage but favours the ordination of women as bishops.
Liberal clerics in the United States and Britain are at odds with conservatives in Africa and elsewhere over such issues, and Welby is likely to come under intense pressure to prevent the church tearing itself apart.
His appointment as the 105th archbishop caps a meteoric rise in the Church of England hierarchy since he quit the oil business and was ordained a priest in 1992.
