Prime Minister Tony Blair announced July 23 that Queen Elizabeth II has officially appointed Archbishop Rowan Williams of Wales as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury. 
     Williams will succeed Archbishop George L. Carey, who will retire at the end of October. The enthronement ceremony in the historic cathedral in Canterbury will take place in the spring of 2003. 
Williams is the first Welshman in at least a thousand years to assume the post--and the first in over 300 years to come from outside the Church of England. 
     "I am very pleased with the appointment of Rowan Williams to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury. He is well known and highly respected across the Anglican Communion, in ecumenical circles, and here in the United States," said Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold of the announcement. "The combination of a keen mind and a contemplative heart, together with an ability to relate classical Christian tradition to the needs and struggles of our world, make him eminently qualified to take up this important and challenging ministry of service." 
     Not everyone expressed such enthusiasm. Reaction to the possibility of the appointment was swift and, in many ways, predictable. Leading evangelicals and conservatives warned of a split in the church and some African bishops made a similar warning about strong reaction against the choice and a split in the worldwide Anglican Communion. 
     The strongest objection seemed to stem from support by Williams for the ordination of homosexuals.  Yet supporters point out that Williams is an unusual combination of humility and intellect, one who listens carefully to the opinion of others but is also able to put forward strong and often convincing opinions of his own. He is also held in high regard as a theologian. "He's the best theologian in Britain and thoroughly orthodox," said Dr. Nicholas Lash, a retired professor of theology at Cambridge in comments reported in the Independent. "But society has been dechristianized so rapidly very few people recognize what an orthodox Christian is and believe what a few noisy evangelicals tell them." 
     Writing in the Independent, Paul Vallely said that Williams has "a rare combination of an unpious personal holiness with an impressive theological intelligence which does not lose touch with the reality of everyday life. More than that, he has a personal warmth which enables him to deal easily with people of all backgrounds." 
     When it was apparent that he was a candidate, Williams said that "the archbishopric of Canterbury is an intimidating, enormous job and it would be a very foolish man who thought he was adequate to its demands." 
     "He never thinks in clichés," said Bishop Barry Morgan of Llandaff, a colleague in Wales. "He looks at the issues of the day and then comes at them from a different angle, with clarity and integrity. He always has something pertinent to say, which is measured, well thought out and original. What he says is accessible and stems from his deep spirituality and a deep reflection on gospel values." 
     Williams was born June 14, 1950 as the only child of a Welsh-speaking family in Swansea, Wales. Originally Presbyterians, the family joined the Church in Wales when Rowan was in his early teens. He attended Christ College at Cambridge University, receiving his degree in theology. He did research in Russian Christianity, speaks seven languages and lectures in five. He was ordained deacon in 1977 and priest in 1978. 
     After nine years at Cambridge as tutor, dean and chaplain, he moved to Oxford where, at the age of 36, he was the youngest professor. He was chosen bishop of Monmouth in 1992 and archbishop and primate of the Church in Wales in 2000. 
     He and his wife Jane Paul, who lectures in theology at an evangelical college in Bristol, have two children--Rhiannon, who is 14, and Pip, who is six. He admits that he enjoys watching "The Simpsons" and describes the program as "one of the most subtle pieces of propaganda around in the cause of sense, humility and virtue." 

“If there is one thing I long for above all else, it is that the years to come may see Christianity able again to capture the imagination of our culture, to draw the strongest energies of our thinking and feeling.” 

–Archbishop Rowan Williams