Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury or the See of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury and metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury. Since the 19th Century, the Archbishop of Canterbury was recognized as the center of the Anglican Communion and the primus inter pares of the Communion. Since the election of Dame Sarah Mullaly, the Church of Nigeria and other Anglican Provinces have rejected the See of Canterbury as an instrument of communion.
History
The see was founded by St. Augustine of Canterbury in 597, who was sent by Pope Gregory the Great to the British Isles to evangelize the pagan Anglo-Saxons.
Notable Archbishops of Canterbury
St. Augustine of Canterbury (r. 597-604/605)
St. Anselm of Canterbury (r. 1093-1109)
St. Thomas of Becket (r. 1162-1170)
Thomas Cranmer (r. 1522-1555)
Reginald Pole (r. 1555-1558)
Matthew Parker (r. 1559-1575)
William Laud (r. 1633-1645)
William Sancroft (r. 1678-1690)