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Rowan Williams

 
Rowan Williams

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Rowan Williams



 
 
Rowan Douglas Williams (born 14 June 1950 in Swansea
Swansea

Swansea is a City status in the United Kingdom and subdivisions of Wales in Wales. Swansea is in the Historic counties of Wales of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower peninsula and the Lliw uplands....
, Wales
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
) is an Anglican
Anglican Communion

The Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches. There is no single "Anglican Church" with universal juridical authority as each national or regional church has full autonomy....
 bishop and theologian. He is the current (104th) Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the Diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, the Episcopal see that churches must be in communion with in order to be a part of the Anglican Communion....
, Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury and Primate
Primate (religion)

Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christianity churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....
 of All England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
, offices he has held since early 2003.

Williams was previously Bishop of Monmouth
Bishop of Monmouth

The Bishop of Monmouth is the diocescan bishop of the Church in Wales Diocese of Monmouth.Despite the name, the Episcopal see is not in Monmouth but the city of Newport, site of the Newport Cathedral which was elevated to cathedral status in 1921....
 and Archbishop of Wales
Archbishop of Wales

The Country of Wales in the Anglican Communion was created in 1920, as the Church in Wales, independent from the Church of England . Unlike the Archbishop of Archbishop of Canterbury and Archbishop of York -- who are appointed by Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom upon the advice of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom -- the Archbishop o...
 (making him the first Archbishop of Canterbury in modern times not to be appointed from within the Church of England, and the first bishop to serve as primate of two provinces of the Anglican Communion), and had spent much of his earlier career as an academic at the Universities of Cambridge
University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge , located in Cambridge, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation university in the Anglosphere....
 and Oxford
University of Oxford

The University of Oxford , located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation in the English-speaking world....
 successively.






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Rowan Douglas Williams (born 14 June 1950 in Swansea
Swansea

Swansea is a City status in the United Kingdom and subdivisions of Wales in Wales. Swansea is in the Historic counties of Wales of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower peninsula and the Lliw uplands....
, Wales
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
) is an Anglican
Anglican Communion

The Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches. There is no single "Anglican Church" with universal juridical authority as each national or regional church has full autonomy....
 bishop and theologian. He is the current (104th) Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the Diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, the Episcopal see that churches must be in communion with in order to be a part of the Anglican Communion....
, Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury and Primate
Primate (religion)

Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christianity churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....
 of All England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
, offices he has held since early 2003.

Williams was previously Bishop of Monmouth
Bishop of Monmouth

The Bishop of Monmouth is the diocescan bishop of the Church in Wales Diocese of Monmouth.Despite the name, the Episcopal see is not in Monmouth but the city of Newport, site of the Newport Cathedral which was elevated to cathedral status in 1921....
 and Archbishop of Wales
Archbishop of Wales

The Country of Wales in the Anglican Communion was created in 1920, as the Church in Wales, independent from the Church of England . Unlike the Archbishop of Archbishop of Canterbury and Archbishop of York -- who are appointed by Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom upon the advice of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom -- the Archbishop o...
 (making him the first Archbishop of Canterbury in modern times not to be appointed from within the Church of England, and the first bishop to serve as primate of two provinces of the Anglican Communion), and had spent much of his earlier career as an academic at the Universities of Cambridge
University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge , located in Cambridge, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation university in the Anglosphere....
 and Oxford
University of Oxford

The University of Oxford , located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation in the English-speaking world....
 successively. His primacy has been marked by much speculation that the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion

The Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches. There is no single "Anglican Church" with universal juridical authority as each national or regional church has full autonomy....
 (of which the Archbishop of Canterbury is symbolic head) is on the verge of fragmentation, and by Williams's attempts to keep all sides talking to one another.

Biography

Williams was born in Swansea
Swansea

Swansea is a City status in the United Kingdom and subdivisions of Wales in Wales. Swansea is in the Historic counties of Wales of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower peninsula and the Lliw uplands....
, Wales
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
, into a Welsh
Welsh language

Welsh ]], is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh Marches and in the Welsh settlement in Argentina in the Chubut Valley in Argentina Patagonia....
-speaking family. He was educated at Dynevor School
Dynevor School, Swansea

Dynevor School was a secondary school in Swansea, Wales. It was closed in 2002. The school's premises have been re-developed and are now used by the Swansea Metropolitan University ....
, Swansea
Swansea

Swansea is a City status in the United Kingdom and subdivisions of Wales in Wales. Swansea is in the Historic counties of Wales of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower peninsula and the Lliw uplands....
; Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College, Cambridge

Christ?s College is one of the Colleges of the University of Cambridge of the University of Cambridge. With a reputation for its high academic standards it has consistently finished in the top ten colleges in the Tompkins Table....
, where he studied theology
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
; and Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College, Oxford

Wadham College is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, located at the southern end of Parks Road in central Oxford....
, where he took his DPhil in 1975.

He lectured at the College of the Resurrection
College of the Resurrection

The College of the Resurrection, popularly known as Mirfield, is an Anglo-Catholic theological college of the Church of England at Mirfield, West Yorkshire, founded in 1903....
 in Mirfield, West Yorkshire for two years. In 1977 he returned to Cambridge to teach theology, first at Westcott House
Westcott House, Cambridge

Westcott House is a Church of England theological college based in the university city of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.Its main activity is training men and women for Holy Orders in Anglican churches....
, having been ordained
Holy Orders

Historically, the word "order" designated an established civil body or corporation with a hierarchy, and :wikt:ordinatio meant legal incorporation into an ordo....
 deacon
Deacon

Deacon is a role in the Christianity that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions....
 in Ely cathedral that year and was ordained priest
Priest

A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities....
 in 1978. Unusually, he undertook no formal curacy until 1980 when he served at St George's Chesterton until 1983, having been appointed as a lecturer in divinity
Divinity (academic discipline)

Divinity is the study of Christianity and other theology and religious ministry at a school, divinity school, university, or seminary. The term is sometimes a synonym for theology as an academic, speculative pursuit, and sometimes is used for the study of applied theology and ministry to make a distinction between that and academic theology....
 at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge , located in Cambridge, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation university in the Anglosphere....
. In 1984 he became dean and chaplain of Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College, Cambridge

Clare College is a college of the University of Cambridge, the second oldest surviving college after Peterhouse, Cambridge.Clare is famous for its chapel choir and for its gardens, which form part of what is known as the Backs, the back of the colleges that overlook the River Cam....
 and, in 1986, at the very young age of 36, he was appointed to the Lady Margaret Professor
Lady Margaret Professor

The Lady Margaret Professorship of Divinity is a senior professorship in the University of Oxford.It was founded from the benefaction of Lady Margaret Beaufort , mother of henry VII of England....
ship of Divinity at the University of Oxford and thus also a residentiary canon
Canon (priest)

A canon is a priest who is a member of certain bodies of the Christianity clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule .Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergyhouse or, later, in one of the houses within the precinct or close of a cathedral and ordering his life according to the orders or rules of the church....
 of Christ Church
Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church , is one of the largest Colleges of the University of Oxford of the University of Oxford in England. As well as being a college, Christ Church is also the cathedral church of the diocese of Oxford, namely Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford....
. He was awarded the degree of Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity

Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in Divinity . Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christianity theology or related religion subjects....
 in 1989.

In 1991 Dr Williams was appointed and consecrated Bishop of Monmouth
Bishop of Monmouth

The Bishop of Monmouth is the diocescan bishop of the Church in Wales Diocese of Monmouth.Despite the name, the Episcopal see is not in Monmouth but the city of Newport, site of the Newport Cathedral which was elevated to cathedral status in 1921....
 in the Church in Wales
Church in Wales

The Church in Wales is a member Church of the Anglican Communion, consisting of six dioceses in Wales. Like many Anglican churches, it recognizes the primacy of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who does not however have any formal authority in Wales ....
. In 1997 he was proposed as a potential Bishop of Southwark
Bishop of Southwark (Anglican)

The Bishop of Southwark is the Ordinary of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Southwark in the Province of Canterbury.Until 1877, Southwark had been part of the Diocese of Winchester when it was transferred to the Diocese of Rochester....
. George Carey
George Carey

George Leonard Carey, Baron Carey of Clifton Privy Council of the United Kingdom Fellowship of King's College London was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002....
, the then Archbishop of Canterbury, asked Dr Williams to distance himself from his writings sympathetic to the cause of gay rights, but he declined and was not nominated to the post. He continued in his post as Bishop of Monmouth and in 1999 he was elected Archbishop of Wales
Archbishop of Wales

The Country of Wales in the Anglican Communion was created in 1920, as the Church in Wales, independent from the Church of England . Unlike the Archbishop of Archbishop of Canterbury and Archbishop of York -- who are appointed by Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom upon the advice of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom -- the Archbishop o...
. In 2002 he was announced as the successor to George Carey as Archbishop of Canterbury - the senior archbishop of the Church of England - and primus inter pares
Primus inter pares

Primus inter pares , the first among equals, or first among peers is a phrase which indicates that a person is the most senior of a group of people sharing the same rank or office....
 of the Anglican Communion. As a bishop of the disestablished Church in Wales, Williams was the first Archbishop of Canterbury since the English Reformation
English Reformation

The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th century England by which the Church of England first broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
 to be appointed from a position outside the state Church of England. He was enthroned
Enthronement

An enthronement is a ceremony of inauguration, sitting for the first time on a throne. The throne is seen as a symbol of authority, both secular and religious....
 on 27 February 2003 as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury.

Since he became a bishop several institutions have granted him honorary degrees and fellowships, such as Kent
University of Kent

The University of Kent is a plate glass university Campus university university in Kent, England....
, Cambridge
University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge , located in Cambridge, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation university in the Anglosphere....
, Oxford
University of Oxford

The University of Oxford , located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation in the English-speaking world....
 and Roehampton
Roehampton University

Roehampton University is a campus university situated on three major sites at Roehampton in south-west London, in the United Kingdom. The listed buildings stand in grounds close to Richmond Park and Putney, with central London a few miles away....
 universities.

In 2005 he was inaugurated as the first Chancellor
Chancellor (education)

A Chancellor is the head of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as President or Rector.In most Commonwealth of Nations nations, the Chancellor is usually a Titular ruler non-resident head, often with a Pro-Chancellor as practical Chairman of the governing body ; the actual chief executive of a university is the V...
 of Canterbury Christ Church University
Canterbury Christ Church University

Canterbury Christ Church University is a New Universities in Canterbury, Kent, England....
. This was in addition to his ex officio role as Visitor
Visitor

A Visitor, in United Kingdom law and history, is an overseer of an autonomous Church body or charitable organization institution , who can intervene in the internal affairs of that institution....
 at King's College London
King's College London

King's College London is a United Kingdom higher education institution and co-founding constituent college of the University of London. Founded by George IV of the United Kingdom and the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington in 1829, its royal charter is predated, in England, only by those of the Universities of University of Oxford and Un...
 and at the University of Kent
University of Kent

The University of Kent is a plate glass university Campus university university in Kent, England....
. The University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge , located in Cambridge, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation university in the Anglosphere....
 awarded him an honorary
Honorary degree

An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements . The degree itself is typically a doctorate or, less commonly, a master's degree, and may be awarded to someone who has no prior connection with the institution in question....
 Doctorate in Divinity
Doctor of Divinity

Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in Divinity . Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christianity theology or related religion subjects....
 in 2006. In April 2007, Trinity College
University of Trinity College

The University of Trinity College, referred to locally as Trinity College or colloquially as Trin, is one of the federated school making up the modern University of Toronto....
 and Wycliffe College
Wycliffe College

Wycliffe College is an Anglican Church of Canada seminary at the University of Toronto. It is evangelicalism and Low church in orientation. On the other hand, the University of Toronto's other Anglican college, the University of Trinity College is Anglo-Catholicism in outlook....
, both associated with the University of Toronto
University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public university research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated a mile north of the city's Financial District, Toronto on grounds that surround Queen's Park ....
, awarded him a joint Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity

Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in Divinity . Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christianity theology or related religion subjects....
 degree during his first visit to Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 since being enthroned.

Dr Williams is a noted poet and translator of poetry. His collection The Poems of Rowan Williams, published by Perpetua Press, was longlisted for the Wales Book of the Year award in 2004. Beside his own poems, which have a strong spiritual and landscape flavour, the collection contains several fluent translations from Welsh poets. He got into trouble with the press for allegedly supporting a 'pagan organisation', the Welsh Gorsedd of Bards, which promotes Welsh language and literature and uses druidic ceremonial but is actually not religious in nature. His wife, Jane Williams
Jane Williams (theologian)

Jane Williams is a Christian theologian and writer.She was born in India, one of five sisters. She read Theology at Cambridge University. She then worked in theological publishing and education, publishing, among other things, Bread, Wine and Women , Perfect Freedom, Lectionary Reflections, Approaching Christmas and, more r...
, is a writer and lecturer in theology. They married in 1981 and have two children, Rhiannon Mary (born 1988) and Paul Huw Phillip (known as Pip) (born 1996).

Dr Williams' summer residence is in the Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East England region, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire....
 town of Charlbury
Charlbury

Charlbury is a small northwest Oxfordshire town bordering the Cotswolds, England on a hillside overlooking the River Evenlode river and the Wychwood forest....
 and when resident on Sundays he worships at the local church.

Traditionally, as Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Williams acts as a governor of Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School

Charterhouse, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in London Charterhouse, then Sutton's Hospital in Charterhouse before Charterhouse School or more simply Charterhouse is a boys' independent school school between Hurtmore and Godalming in Surrey, England....


Dr Williams is also patron of the Peace Mala Youth Project For World Peace
Peace Mala

Peace Mala , is a Swansea-based organisation dedicated to fostering inter-cultural and inter-faith tolerance through the manufacture, distribution and wearing of a symbolic Japa mala whose beads represent various faiths....
 since 2002, and led the ceremony that launched the charity as one of his last engagements as Archbishop of Wales
Archbishop of Wales

The Country of Wales in the Anglican Communion was created in 1920, as the Church in Wales, independent from the Church of England . Unlike the Archbishop of Archbishop of Canterbury and Archbishop of York -- who are appointed by Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom upon the advice of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom -- the Archbishop o...
.

He speaks or reads eight languages: English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
, Welsh
Welsh language

Welsh ]], is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh Marches and in the Welsh settlement in Argentina in the Chubut Valley in Argentina Patagonia....
, Spanish
Spanish language

Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
, French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
, German
German language

German is a West Germanic languages, thus related to and classified alongside English language and Dutch language. It is one of the world's world language and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union....
, Russian
Russian language

Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe....
, Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 and Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
. He learnt Russian in order to be able to read the works of Dostoevsky in the original.

Appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury

Williams' appointment to Canterbury was widely predicted. A churchman who had demonstrated a huge range of interests in social and political matters, he was widely regarded, by academics and others, as a figure who could make Christianity credible to the intelligent unbeliever. As a patron of Affirming Catholicism
Affirming Catholicism

Affirming Catholicism is a movement operating in several provinces of the Anglican Communion, most notably in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States and Canada....
 his appointment was a considerable departure from that of his predecessor, and his views (not least those expressed in a widely published lecture on homosexuality (see below)) were seized on by a number of Evangelical
Evangelicalism

Evangelicalism is a Protestantism Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s.Most adherents consider its key characteristics to be: a belief in the need for personal conversion ; some expression of the gospel in effort; a high regard for Biblical authority; and an emphasis on the death and resurrection of Jesus....
 and conservative Anglicans. The issue had begun to divide the communion, however, and the Archbishop, in his position as nominal 'head' of the Anglican Communion, would be bound to have an important role.

The secular press did not know what to make of him: some attempted to ridicule him on trivial grounds (such as having a beard); others took him to task for not providing soundbite
Soundbite

Before the actual term "sound bite" had been coined, Mark Twain described the concept as "a minimum of sound to a maximum of sense." It is characterized by a short phrase or sentence that deftly captures the essence of what the speaker is trying to say....
s and for his occasional obscurities. The Church Times columnist Andrew Brown drew a comparison with his predecessor: "The trouble with Rowan Williams is that he can never remember that he is Archbishop; the trouble with George Carey was that he could never forget."

Theological views

He is a scholar of the Church Fathers, as well as a historian of Christian spirituality.

In 1983, he wrote that orthodoxy should be seen "as a tool rather than an end in itself..." It is not something which stands still. Thus "old styles come under increasing strain, new speech needs to be generated". He sees orthodoxy as a number of "dialogues": a constant dialogue with Christ, crucified and risen; but also that of the community of faith with the world - "a risky enterprise", as he writes. "We ought to be puzzled", he says, "when the world is not challenged by the gospel." It may mean that Christians have not understood the kinds of bondage to which the gospel is addressed. He has also written that "orthodoxy is inseparable from sacramental practice... The eucharist is the paradigm of that dialogue which is 'orthodoxy'". This stance may help to explain both his social radicalism and his view of the importance of the Church, and thus of the holding together of the Anglican communion over matters such as homosexuality: his belief in the idea of the Church is profound.

John Shelby Spong
John Shelby Spong

John Shelby Spong is the retired Bishop of the Episcopal Church Episcopal Diocese of Newark . He is a liberal Christian Theology, biblical scholar, religion commentator and author....
 once accused Williams of being a 'neo-medievalist', preaching orthodoxy to the people in the pew but knowing in private that it just isn't true. In an interview with Third Way Magazine
Third Way Magazine

Third Way Magazine is a UK current-affairs magazine written from a Christian perspective. It is distinctively biblical, fairly highbrow and culturally aware....
 Williams responded: 'I am genuinely a lot more conservative than he would like me to be. Take the Resurrection
Resurrection

Miraculous resurrection of one sort or another has been a recurrent theme or central doctrine of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and other Abrahamic religions....
. I think he has said that of course I know what all the reputable scholars think on the subject and therefore when I talk about the risen body I must mean something other than the empty tomb. But I don't. I don't know how to persuade him, but I really don't.'

Although very much an Anglo-Catholic, his sympathies are broad. One of his first publications was in the largely evangelical Grove Books series with the title "Eucharistic Sacrifice: the Roots of a Metaphor".

Social and political views and involvements

His interest in and involvement with social issues is longstanding. Whilst chaplain of Clare College, Cambridge, Williams took part in anti-nuclear demonstrations at United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 bases. In 1985, he was arrest
Arrest

An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the investigation and prevention of crime. The term is Anglo-Norman language in origin and is related to the French word arr?t, meaning "stop"....
ed for singing psalms
Psalms

Psalms is a book of the Hebrew Bible , included in the collected works known as the "Writings" or Ketuvim....
 as part of a protest organized by the Committee for Nuclear Disarmament at Lakenheath
Lakenheath

Lakenheath is a village in Suffolk, England. It has around 8,200 residents, and is situated in the Forest Heath district of Suffolk, close to the county boundaries of both Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, and at the meeting point of the The Fens and the Breckland natural environments....
, an American air base in Suffolk; his fine was paid by his college. At this time he was a member of the left-wing Anglo-Catholic Jubilee Group headed by Father Kenneth Leech
Kenneth Leech

Kenneth Leech is an Anglican priest and Christian Socialism in the Anglo-Catholicism tradition.Leech graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1961 from the University of London and then went to Trinity College, Oxford....
 and he collaborated with Leech in a number of publications including the anthology of essays to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Assize Sermon
Oxford Movement

The Oxford Movement or Tractarianism was an affiliation of High Church Anglicans, most of whom were members of the University of Oxford, who sought to demonstrate that the Church of England was a direct descendant of the Church established by the Twelve apostles....
 entitled Essays Catholic and Radical in 1983.

He was in New York at the time of the 11 September, 2001 attacks, only yards from Ground Zero delivering a lecture; he subsequently wrote a short book, 'Writing in the Dust', offering reflections on the event. In reference to Al Qaeda, he claimed that terrorists "can have serious moral goals" and that "Bombast about evil individuals doesn't help in understanding anything." He has subsequently worked with Muslim
Muslim

:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits "....
 leaders in England, and on the third anniversary of 9/11 spoke, by invitation, at the Al-Azhar University
Al-Azhar University

Al-Azhar University in Egypt, founded in 975, is the chief centre of Arabic literature and Sunni Islamic studies in the world and the List of oldest universities in continuous operation....
 Institute in Cairo on the subject of the Trinity. He stated that the followers of the will of God should not be led into ways of violence. He contributed to the debate prior to the 2005 United Kingdom General Election criticising assertions that immigration was a cause of crime. Williams has argued that the partial adoption of Islam
Islam

Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
ic Sharia
Sharia

Sharia is the body of Islamic religious law. The term means "way" or "path to the water source"; it is the legal framework within which the public and private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Fiqh and for Muslims living outside the domain....
 law in the United Kingdom is "unavoidable" as a method of arbitration in such affairs as marriage, and should not be resisted. On the 15th November 2008, the Archbishop visited the The Balaji Temple in Tividale, West Midlands, on a goodwill mission to represent the friendship between the two faiths of Christianity and Hindusim.

Sharia
Sharia

Sharia is the body of Islamic religious law. The term means "way" or "path to the water source"; it is the legal framework within which the public and private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Fiqh and for Muslims living outside the domain....
 law
Williams was the subject of a media and press furore in February 2008, following a lecture he gave to the Temple foundation at the Royal Courts of Justice
Royal Courts of Justice

The Royal Courts of Justice, commonly called the Law Courts, is the building in London which houses Court of Appeal of England and Wales and High Court of Justice of England and Wales....
 on the subject of 'Islam and English Law'. He raised the question of conflicting loyalties which communities might have, cultural, religious and civic and argued that theology has a place in debates about the very nature of law 'however hard our culture may try to keep it out' and noted that there is in a 'dominant human rights philosophy' a reluctance to acknowledge the liberty of conscientious objection. He spoke of 'supplementary jurisdictions' to that of the civil law
Civil law (common law)

Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, refers to that branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals and/or organizations, in which damages may be awarded to the victim....
. Noting the anxieties which the word Sharia
Sharia

Sharia is the body of Islamic religious law. The term means "way" or "path to the water source"; it is the legal framework within which the public and private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Fiqh and for Muslims living outside the domain....
 provoked in the West he drew attention to the fact that there was a debate within Islam
Islam

Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
 between what he called "primitivists" for whom, for instance, apostasy
Apostasy

Apostasy is the formal religious disaffiliation or abandonment or renunciation of one's religion, especially if the motive is deemed unworthy. In a technical sense, as used sometimes by sociology without the pejorative connotations of the word, the term refers to renunciation and criticism of, or opposition to, one's former religion....
 should still be punishable and those Muslims who argued that Sharia was a developing system of Islamic jurisprudence
Fiqh

Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the Sharia Islamic law?based directly on the Quran and Sunnah?that complements Shariah with evolving Fatwa/interpretations of Ulema....
 that such a view was no longer acceptable. He made comparisons with "Orthodox Jewish practice" (Beth Din
Beth din

A beth din, beit din or beis din is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Land of Israel....
) and with the recognition of the exercise of conscience of Christians.

His words were critically interpreted as proposing a parallel jurisdiction to the civil law for Muslims (Sharia
Sharia

Sharia is the body of Islamic religious law. The term means "way" or "path to the water source"; it is the legal framework within which the public and private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Fiqh and for Muslims living outside the domain....
), and was the subject of demands from elements of the press and media for his resignation
Resignation

A resignation is the formal act of giving up or quitting one's office or position. It can also refer to the act of admitting defeat in a game like chess, indicated by the resigning player declaring "I resign", turning his king on its side, extending his hand, or stopping the chess clock....
. He also attracted criticism from elements of the Anglican Communion.

In response, Williams stated in a BBC interview "... certain provision[s] of Sharia are already recognised in our society and under our law; ... we already have in this country a number of situations in which the internal law of religious communities is recognised by the law of the land as justified conscientious objections in certain circumstances in providing certain kinds of social relations" and that "we have Orthodox Jewish courts operating in this country legally and in a regulated way because there are modes of dispute resolution and customary provisions which apply there in the light of Talmud
Talmud

The Talmud is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Halakha, Jewish ethics, customs, and history. It is a central text of mainstream Judaism....
." Williams also denied accusations of proposing a parallel Islamic legal system within Britain. Williams also acknowledged that Sharia, "In some of the ways it has been codified
Codification

In law, codification is the process of collecting and restating the law of a jurisdiction in certain areas, usually by subject, forming a legal code....
 and practised across the world, it has been appalling and applied to women in places like Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south....
, it is grim."

On 4 July 2008 Sharia again became a topic of media interest, following comments by Lord Phillips
Nicholas Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers

Nicholas Addison Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers Privy Council of the United Kingdom, is the Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. He was Master of the Rolls from 2000 to 2005 and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 2005 until 1 October 2008....
, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales

IntroductionThe Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales was, historically, the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor....
. He supported the idea that Sharia could be reasonably employed as a basis for "mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolution". He went further to defend Williams's position from earlier in the year, explaining "It was not very radical to advocate embracing sharia law in the context of family disputes, for example, and our system already goes a long way towards accommodating the archbishop's suggestion." and "It is possible in this country for those who are entering into a contractual agreement to agree that the agreement shall be governed by a law other than English law."

Homosexuality

Williams' contribution to Anglican views of homosexuality
Anglican views of homosexuality

Issues concerning homosexuality are controversial in the Anglican Communion. During the thirteenth Lambeth Conference in 1998, a resolution was passed stating that homosexual acts are "incompatible with Scripture" by a vote of 526-70; however, it also contained a statement declaring this policy would not be the final word and research would continu...
 was perceived as quite liberal before he was enthroned as Archbishop. These views are evident in a paper written by Williams called 'The Body’s Grace', which he originally delivered as the 10th Michael Harding Memorial Address in 1989 to the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement
Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement

The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement describes itself as "a UK-based international Charity who are praying for an inclusive church".The Gay Christian Movement was founded in 1976 with the Revd Richard Kirker as its first General Secretary....
, and which is now part of a series of essays collected in the book "Theology and Sexuality" (ed. Eugene Rogers, Blackwells 2002). In the conclusion of this address, he asserted:

The same year as he made the above comments, and as a practical consequence of the views he expressed, Williams founded the 'Institute for the Study of Christianity and Sexuality' (which in 1996 became the 'Centre for the Study of Christianity and Sexuality'). He was then Professor of Divinity at Oxford University, and this work characterised him amongst liberal Anglicans as a significant figure in the effort to make the Anglican Church's moral stance on homosexuality more accepting.

When he became Archbishop, questions of whether and how Williams would apply his views as Archbishop, specifically with regard to homosexual relationships among the clergy, were put squarely in the spotlight, through the issue of the proposed consecration of gay priest Jeffrey John
Jeffrey John

Jeffrey Philip Hywel John, Society of Catholic Priests, is a Church of England cleric and the current Dean of St Albans Cathedral. He made headlines in 2003 when he was the first person to have openly been in a gay relationship to be nominated as a Church of England bishop....
 as Bishop of Reading
Bishop of Reading

The Bishop of Reading is an Episcopal polity title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford, which is within the Province of Canterbury, England....
. Following protest from a number of bishops from various parts of the Anglican Communion, Williams asked John to withdraw his candidacy, but then arranged his appointment as Dean
Dean (religion)

A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church....
 of St Albans
St Albans Cathedral

St Albans Cathedral is an Church of England Cathedral church at St Albans, England. At 84 metres , its nave is the longest of any cathedral in England....
, one of the oldest Christian sites in England, in a move that was widely seen as a moderate compromise to maintain the latitudinarian unity of the Anglican Communion.

In a 2006 interview with the Dutch newspaper Nederlands Dagblad, Williams discussed the Episcopal Church in the United States of America's increasingly liberal policies regarding homosexuality, saying that "in terms of decision-making the American Church has pushed the boundaries." Williams argued that the Church had to be "welcoming", rather than "inclusive", a distinction he characterised by saying: "I don't believe inclusion is a value in itself. Welcome is. We don't say 'Come in and we ask no questions'. I do believe conversion means conversion of habits, behaviours, ideas, emotions. The boundaries are determined by what it means to be loyal to Jesus Christ." Moreover, the Archbishop appeared to distance himself from his more liberal 1989 essay, explaining, "That was when I was a professor, to stimulate debate… It did not generate much support and a lot of criticism–quite fairly on a number of points." However, in a later interview with Time magazine in June 2007, he stated that he had not changed his own mind, although he is now constrained from expressing personal views at variance with the corporate view of the Church. In answer to the question "You yourself once thought it possible that same-sex relationships might be legitimate in God's eyes" he responded: "Yes, I argued that in 1987. I still think that the points I made there and the questions I raised were worth making as part of the ongoing discussion. I'm not recanting. But those were ideas put forward as part of a theological discussion. I'm now in a position where I'm bound to say the teaching of the Church is this, the consensus is this. We have not changed our minds corporately. It's not for me to exploit my position to push a change."

In contrast to his diminished outspokenness on the acceptability of homosexual relationships as a matter of theology, however, he has continued to affirm the civil and human rights of homosexuals. For example, in his Advent Letter for 2007 he said: "…it is part of our Christian and Anglican discipleship to condemn homophobic prejudice and violence, to defend the human rights and civil liberties of homosexual people and to offer them the same pastoral care and loving service that we owe to all in Christ's name." In "The Challenge and Hope of Being an Anglican Today", an address to the Anglican Communion in June 2006, he said: "It is possible–indeed, it is imperative–to give the strongest support to the defence of homosexual people against violence, bigotry and legal disadvantage, to appreciate the role played in the life of the church by people of homosexual orientation, and still to believe that this doesn’t settle the question of whether the Christian Church has the freedom, on the basis of the Bible, and its historic teachings, to bless homosexual partnerships as a clear expression of God’s will."

In 2008, it was reported that Williams had stated in 2000 or 2001 that homosexual relationships could "reflect the love of God" in a manner comparable to heterosexual marriages, and that he believed that passages in the Bible which are often cited in support of the view that homosexuality is a sin, in fact are aimed at heterosexual people seeking variety in their sexual experience, rather than at gay people.

Abortion

He has indicated support for a pro-life
Pro-life

Pro-life is a term representing a variety of perspectives and activist movements in medical ethics. It is most commonly used, especially in the media and popular discourse, to refer to opposition to abortion....
 viewpoint; writing that, for himself, "it is impossible to view abortion as anything other than the deliberate termination of a human life." He is a lifetime member of the pro-life group SPUC
SPUC

Society for the Protection of Unborn Children is a pro-life organization in the United Kingdom and several other countries.In New Zealand, SPUC changed its name to "Voice for Life" in August 2004....
.

The free market

In 2002 he delivered the Richard Dimbleby
Richard Dimbleby

Richard Dimbleby Order of the British Empire was an England journalist and Presenter widely acknowledged as one of the greatest figures in British broadcasting history....
 lecture and chose to talk about the problematic nature of the nation-state but also of its successors. He cited the so-called 'market state' as offering an inadequate vision of the way a state should operate, partly because it was liable to short-term and narrowed concerns (thus rendering it incapable of dealing with, for instance, issues relating to the degradation of the natural environment) and partly because a public arena which had become value-free was liable to disappear amidst the multitude of competing private interests. (He noted the same moral vacuum in British society after this visit to China in 2006.) He is not uncritical of communitarianism, but his reservations about consumerism have been a constant theme. These views have often been expressed in quite strong terms; for example, he once commented that "Every transaction in the developed economies of the West can be interpreted as an act of aggression against the economic losers in the worldwide game."

Creationism

His response to a controversy about the teaching of creationism
Creationism

Creationism is the religious belief that humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe were Creation myth in their original form by a deity or deities....
 in privately sponsored academies was that it should not be taught in schools as an alternative to evolution
Evolution

In biology, evolution is change in the heritability trait of a population of organisms from one generation to the next. These changes are caused by a combination of three main processes: variation, reproduction, and selection....
. When asked if he was comfortable with teaching creationism, he said "I think creationism is, in a sense, a kind of category mistake
Category mistake

A category mistake, or category error, is a semantic or ontology error by which a property is ascribed to a thing that could not possibly have that property....
, as if the Bible were a theory like other theories… so if creationism is presented as a stark alternative theory alongside other theories, I think there's - there's just been a jar of categories, it's not what it's about." When the interviewer said "So it shouldn't be taught?" he responded "I don't think it should, actually. No, no. And that's different from saying–different from discussing, teaching about what creation means. For that matter, it's not even the same as saying that Darwinism is–is the only thing that ought to be taught. My worry is creationism can end up reducing the doctrine of creation rather than enhancing it."

In this, Williams has maintained traditional support amongst Anglicans and their leaders for the teaching of evolution as fully compatible with Christianity. This support has dated at least back to Frederick Temple
Frederick Temple

Frederick Temple was an English academic, teacher, churchman and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1896 until his death....
's tenure as Archbishop of Canterbury.

Iraq War and possible attack on Syria or Iran

He was to repeat his opposition to American action in October 2002 when he signed a petition against the Iraq War as being against UN ethics and Christian teaching, and 'lowering the threshold of war unacceptably'. Again on 30 June 2004, together with the Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York

File:Williamtemple1.jpgArchbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan bishop of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man....
, David Hope, and on behalf of all 114 Church of England bishops, he wrote to Tony Blair
Tony Blair

Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair is a British politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007....
 expressing deep concern about UK government policy and criticising the coalition troops' conduct in Iraq
Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. The letter cited the abuse of Iraqi detainees, which was described as having been "deeply damaging" - and stated that the government's apparent double standards "diminish the credibility of western governments". In December 2006 he expressed doubts in an interview on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 about whether he had done enough to oppose the war.

On October 5, 2007 Williams visited Iraqi refugees in Syria. In a BBC interview after his trip he described advocates of a US attack on Syria or Iran as "criminal, ignorant and potentially murderous." A few days earlier, the former US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton had called for bombing of Iran at a fringe meeting of the Conservative Party conference.

Interview with Emel magazine
In November 2007, the Archbishop received a great deal of criticism for an interview he did in Emel magazine, which bills itself as a "Muslim lifestyle magazine". The article was perceived by many as attacking the United States and certain Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
 groups, while being sympathetic to Islam
Islam

Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
. As reported by Times Online, he was greatly critical of the United States, the Iraq war
Iraq War

The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, and Operation Iraqi Freedom, is an ongoing conflicts military campaign which began on March 20, 2003 with the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a Multinational force in Iraq now led by and composed almost entirely of troops from the United States and United King...
, and "Christian Zionists
Christian Zionism

Christian Zionism, is a belief among some Christianity that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, and the establishment of the Israel in 1948, is in accordance with Bible prophecy....
" who support the return of Jews to Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
, yet made "only mild criticisms of the Islamic world." He claimed "the United States wields its power in a way that is worse than Britain during its imperial heyday." He compared Muslims in Britain to the Good Samaritans, praised Muslim salah ritual of 5 prayers a day, but said in Muslim nations, the "present political solutions aren't always very impressive."

Ecumenism

Williams did his doctoral work on Vladimir Lossky
Vladimir Lossky

Vladimir Nikolayevich Lossky was an influential Eastern Orthodox Church theologian in exile from Russia. He emphasized theosis as the main principle of Orthodox Christianity....
, the famous Russian Orthodox theologian of the early-mid 20th century, and is currently patron of the Fellowship of St Alban and St Sergius, an ecumenical forum for Orthodox and Western (primarily Anglican) Christians. He has expressed his continuing sympathies with Orthodoxy in lectures and writings since that time. He has written on the Spanish mystic St Teresa of Avila. On the death of Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II John Paul II is widely acclaimed as one of the most influential leaders of the twentieth century. He has been Pope_John_Paul_II#Role_in_the_fall_of_Communism in bringing down communism in Eastern Europe, as well as significantly improving the Roman Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and A...
 he accepted an invitation to attend his funeral, the first Archbishop of Canterbury to attend a funeral of a Pope
Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and head of state of Vatican City. The current pope is Pope Benedict XVI, who was elected April 19, 2005 in Papal conclave, 2005....
 since the break under King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lordship of Ireland and claimant to the Early Modern France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII of England....
. He also attended the installation of Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI is the List of popes and reigning Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the head of the Roman Catholic Church and, as such, monarch of the Vatican City....
.

Position on Freemasonry

In a leaked private letter Rowan Williams said that he "had real misgivings about the compatibility of Masonry and Christian profession" and that whilst Bishop of Monmouth he had prevented the appointment of Freemasons to senior positions within his diocese. The leaking of this letter in 2003 caused a controversy, which he sought to diffuse by apologising for the distress caused and stating that he did not question "the good faith and generosity of individual Freemasons", not least as his father was a member. However, he also reiterated his concern about Christian ministers adopting "a private system of profession and initiation, involving the taking of oaths of loyalty."

Anglican Communion

Rowan Williams became Archbishop of Canterbury at a particularly difficult time in the relations of the churches of the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion

The Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches. There is no single "Anglican Church" with universal juridical authority as each national or regional church has full autonomy....
. His predecessor, George Carey
George Carey

George Leonard Carey, Baron Carey of Clifton Privy Council of the United Kingdom Fellowship of King's College London was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002....
, had sought to keep the lid on explosive relationships between the theologically conservative primates of the Communion such as Peter Akinola
Peter Akinola

Peter Jasper Akinola is the current Anglican Primate of the Church of Nigeria. He is also Bishop of Abuja and Archbishop of Province III, which covers the northern and central parts of the country....
 of Nigeria and Drexel Gomez
Drexel Gomez

Drexel Gomez is an Anglican Archbishop. Gomez is one of the leading opponents of the ordination of practising homosexuals as Anglican clergy....
 of the West Indies and progressives such as Frank Griswold, the then Primate of the US Episcopal Church and others elsewhere.

In 2003, in an attempt to encourage dialogue, he appointed Archbishop Robin Eames
Robin Eames

Robin Henry Alexander Eames, Baron Eames, Order of Merit was the Anglican Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh from 1986 to 2006....
, the Primate of All Ireland, as Chairman of the Lambeth Commission on Communion, to examine the challenges to the unity of the Communion, stemming from the consecration of Gene Robinson
Gene Robinson

The Right Reverend V. Gene Robinson is the ninth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America....
 as the Bishop of New Hampshire, and the blessing of same-sex unions in the Diocese of New Westminster. (Robinson, formerly married with children, was in a long-term same-sex relationship.) The Windsor Report
Windsor Report

The Windsor Report was the document containing the finding of the Eames Commission. In 2003, Archbishop Robin Eames, was appointed as Chairman of the Lambeth Commission on Communion....
, as it was called, was published in October 2004. It recommended solidifying the connection between the churches of the Communion by having each church ratify an "Anglican Covenant" that would commit them to consulting the wider Communion when making major decisions. It also urged those who had contributed to disunity to express their regret.

In November 2005 following a meeting of Anglicans of the 'global south' in Cairo at which Williams had addressed them in conciliatory terms, 12 primates who had been present sent him a letter sharply criticising his leadership ("We are troubled by your reluctance to use your moral authority to challenge the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada
Anglican Church of Canada

The Anglican Church of Canada is the sole Canada representative of the Anglican Communion. The official French name is l'?glise Anglicane du Canada....
"). The letter acknowledged his eloquence but strongly criticised his reluctance to take sides in the communion's theological crisis and urged him to make explicit threats to those more progressive churches. (Questions were later asked about the authority and provenance of the letter as two additional signatories' names had been added although they had left the meeting before it was produced.) Subsequently the Church of Nigeria appointed an American cleric to deal with US/Nigerian church relations, outside the normal channels. Williams expressed his reservations about this to the General Synod
General Synod

The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations....
.

More recently he established a working party to examine what a 'covenant' between the provinces of the Communion would mean, (in line with the Windsor Report). The strains on the working of the Communion remain evident.

Works

  • Dostoevsky: Language, Faith and Fiction (Baylor University Press, 2008); ISBN 1847064256
  • Foreword to W. H. Auden in Great Poets of the 20th century series, The Guardian, 12 March, 2008.
  • Wrestling with Angels: Conversations in Modern Theology, ed. Mike Higton (2007 SCM Press) ISBN 0334040957
  • Tokens of Trust. An introduction to Christian belief. (2007 Canterbury Press)
  • Grace and Necessity: Reflections on Art and Love (2005)
  • Why Study the Past? The Quest for the Historical Church (2005 Eerdmans)
  • Anglican Identities (2004) ISBN 1-56101-254-8
  • Darkness Yielding, co-authored with Jim Cotter, Martyn Percy, Sylvia Sands and W. H. Vanstone (2004) ISBN 1-870652-36-3
  • The Dwelling of the Light—Praying with Icons of Christ (2003 Canterbury Press)
  • Writing in the Dust: Reflections on 11 September and Its Aftermath (Hodder and Stoughton, 2002)
  • Lost Icons: Essays on Cultural Bereavement (2003 T & T Clark)
  • Silence and Honey Cakes: The Wisdom of the Desert (2003) ISBN 0-7459-5170-8
  • Faith and Experience in Early Monasticism (2002)
  • Ponder These Things: Praying With Icons of the Virgin (Canterbury Press, 2002)
  • Writing in the Dust: Reflections on 11 September and Its Aftermath (Hodder and Stoughton, 2002)
  • The Poems of Rowan Williams (2002)
  • Arius: Heresy and Tradition (2nd ed. 2001) ISBN 0-334-02850-7
  • Christ on Trial (2000) ISBN 0-00-710791-9
  • On Christian Theology (2000)
  • Faith in the University (1989)
  • After Silent Centuries (1994)
  • Open to Judgement: Sermons and Addresses (Darton, Longman and Todd, 1994)
  • Teresa of Avila (1991) ISBN 0-225-66579-4
  • Christianity and the Ideal of Detachment (1989)
  • Politics and Theological Identity (with David Nicholls) (Jubilee 1984)
  • Open to Judgement: Sermons and Addresses (1984)
  • Peacemaking Theology (1984)
  • The Truce of God (London: Fount, 1983)
  • Essays Catholic and Radical (Bowerdean 1983) (ed. with K. Leech)
  • Eucharistic Sacrifice: The Roots of a Metaphor (1982 Grove Books)
  • Resurrection: Interpreting the Easter Gospel (1982 Darton, Longman and Todd)
  • The Wound of Knowledge (1979 Darton, Longman and Todd)


For a detailed bibliography for 1972-2005, see .

Honours and awards

  • Fellow of the British Academy
    British Academy

    The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established by Royal Charter in 1902, and is a fellowship of more than 800 scholars....
     (FBA), 1990.
  • Membership in the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
    Privy Council of the United Kingdom

    Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British monarchy. Its members are largely senior politicians, who were or are members of either the House of Commons of the United Kingdom or House of Lords....
     2002.
  • Honorary Doctorates: Univ of Kent, DD, 2003; Univ of Wales, DD, 2003; Evangelisch-Theologische Fakultät, University of Bonn, Dr. theol. honoris causa, 2004; Univ of Oxford DCL, 2005; Univ of Cambridge DD, 2006; Wycliffe College, University of Toronto, DD, 2007; Trinity College, University of Toronto, DD, 2007; Durham University, DD, 2007.
  • Honorary Student of Christ Church, Oxford.
  • Honorary Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford.
  • Honorary Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge.
  • Honorary Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge.


Styles and titles

  • Mr Rowan Williams (1950-1975)
  • Dr Rowan Williams (1975-1978)
  • The Revd Dr Rowan Williams (1978-1986)
  • The Revd Professor Rowan Williams or The Revd Canon Rowan Williams (1986-1991)
  • The Rt Revd Dr Rowan Williams or The Rt Revd the Lord Bishop of Monmouth (1991-1999)
  • The Most Revd Dr Rowan Williams or The Most Revd (or His Grace) the Lord Archbishop of Wales (1999-2002)
  • The Most Revd and Rt Hon Dr Rowan Williams or The Most Revd and Rt Hon (or His Grace) the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury (2002-)


External links

  • - critical op-ed in Haaretz
    Haaretz

    Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew language and English language in Berliner format....
  • , lecture for Gresham College
    Gresham College

    File:Gresham College, 1740.jpgGresham College is an unusual institution of higher learning off Holborn in central London. It enrolls no students and grants no academic degrees....
     in St Paul's Cathedral
    St Paul's Cathedral

    St Paul's Cathedral is the Anglicanism cathedral on Ludgate Hill, in the City of London, and the seat of the Bishop of London. The present building dates from the 17th century and is generally reckoned to be London's fifth St Paul's Cathedral, although the number is higher if every major medieval reconstruction is counted as a new cathedr...
     on 4 June 2008 (available in text, MP3 and MP4 formats).