Scottish Catholic Observer

Archbishop Williams  said in a statement on his website that he has accepted the position of Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge with effect from January 2013. He will therefore be stepping down from the office of Archbishop of Canterbury at the end of December 2012.

Archbishop Nichols, President of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said he would miss working with Dr Williams in matters between the Catholic and Anglican Church.

“In the last three years I have grown to appreciate more and more the fine qualities of Archbishop Rowan: his kindness, his sharp intellect, his dedication to striving for harmony between peoples, especially within the Christian family, his courage and his friendship,” Archbishop Nichols said. “These will be much missed when he steps down from his demanding office in December. I will miss him. I thank him for all the service he has given, recalling particularly his warm welcome to Pope Benedict at Lambeth Palace, a visit reciprocated with similar joy just last week. I now look forward to nine months of continuing work together.”

Dr Williams, who was appointed the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury in 2002, said it had been ‘an immense privilege to serve as Archbishop of Canterbury over the past decade, and moving on has not been an easy decision’

“During the time remaining there is much to do, and I ask your prayers and support in this period and beyond,” he said. “I am abidingly grateful to all those friends and colleagues who have so generously supported Jane and myself in these years, and all the many diverse parishes and communities in the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion that have brought vision, hope and excitement to my own ministry. I look forward, with that same support and inspiration, to continuing to serve the Church’s mission and witness as best I can in the years ahead.”

Dr Williams’ intentions have been conveyed to Her Majesty the Queen, who is Supreme Governor of the Church of England and who formally appoints the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Pope Benedict XVI this week invited Dr Rowan Williams to address the World Synod of Bishops on new evangelisation in October. The Catholic and Anglican Church have been working closely together, particularly after the Decree of Erection of the Ordinariate of  Our Lady of Walsingham which offers groups of Anglicans a way to come into full Communion with the Catholic Church.

The synod invitation came after the two leaders met and prayed together at the Church of St Gregory on the Caelian Hill in Rome.

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