Archdeacon of Canterbury

The Archdeacon of Canterbury is a senior office-holder in the Diocese of Canterbury (a division of the Church of England Province of Canterbury). Like other archdeacons, he or she is an administrator in the diocese at large (having oversight of parishes in roughly one-third of the diocese) and is a Canon Residentiary of the cathedral. The present incumbent is the Ven Sheila Watson.

History

Beyond the usual responsibilities of other archdeacons, the Archdeacon of Canterbury has an additional role beyond that of other archdeacons, traditionally serving as the Archbishop of Canterbury's representative at enthronement ceremonies for new diocesan bishops in his province. At these services, he or she reads the Archbishop's mandate and, taking the new bishop by the hand, conducts him on to his throne.

The archdeaconry and archdeacon of Canterbury have been in constant existence since the 11th century. There was one short-lived abortive attempt to split the role in the 12th century. In modern times, the archdeaconry has been split twice: creating Maidstone archdeaconry in 1841 and Ashford archdeaconry in 2011.

Composition

The archdeaconry covers approximately the north-east corner of the diocese. As of 2012^[update], the archdeaconry of Canterbury consists the following deaneries in the Diocese of Canterbury:

• Deanery of Canterbury
• Deanery of East Bridge
• Deanery of Reculver
• Deanery of Thanet
• Deanery of West Bridge

List of archdeacons

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

References

Sources

• Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300 – Archdeacons of Canterbury accessed on 25 October 2007
• Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1300–1541 – Archdeacons of Canterbury accessed on 8 January 2010
• Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541–1857 – Archdeacons of Canterbury Date accessed: 10 January 2010