Justin Welby
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Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is a retired Anglican bishop who served as the 105th archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 2013 to 2025. After an 11-year career in the oil industry, Welby trained for ordination at St John's College, Durham. He served in a number of parish churches before becoming dean of Liverpool in 2007 and bishop of Durham in 2011, serving in the latter role for just over a year before succeeding Rowan Williams as archbishop of Canterbury in February 2013. As archbishop, Welby officiated at a number of notable events, including the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the state funeral of Elizabeth II, and the coronation of Charles III and Camilla. His tenure coincided with the ordination of the Church of England's first female bishop and the blessings for same-sex unions. Welby's theology is seen as representing the "open evangelical" tradition within Anglicanism. He has said that the Benedictine and Franciscan orders in the Anglican churches, along with Catholic social teaching, have influenced his spiritual formation. Welby resigned as archbishop in January 2025, following the publication of a report into the Church of England's handling of allegations of abuse committed by the barrister John Smyth that criticised Welby's failure to investigate the allegations.