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Thank you very much and God bless you.
Posted on 05/20/2025 9:51:56 PM PDT by Morgana
A female bishop may become the first woman to hold the position of archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England, according to odds posted by British betting firms.
Guli Francis-Dehqani, bishop of Chelmsford, has emerged as the leading candidate to become the next archbishop of Canterbury. British betting firms have placed her as the early favorite to succeed the Rev. Justin Welby, who stepped down in January.
Francis-Dehqani's odds were placed at evens and 2 to 1 by the firms Ladbrokes and Star Sports, according to The Telegraph. If selected, she would become the 106th archbishop of Canterbury and the first woman to hold the office.
Her rise comes at a time of growing visibility for female bishops, a change enabled only in 2014 when the Church of England altered its laws to allow their appointment.
According to numbers released last year by the Church of England General Synod, women comprise around 30% of bishops in the denomination.
The nomination process is handled by the Canterbury Crown Nominations Commission, which will be chaired by Lord Evans of Weardale, the former director general of MI5.
The commission's first meeting will occur later this month, with at least two more in July and September.
A nomination requires support from two-thirds of voting members in a secret ballot, with a formal nomination for Welby's successor expected by autumn.
Last November, Welby announced his decision to step down in the wake of criticism over the Church's handling of an abuse scandal involving barrister and Christian camp leader John Smyth.
Francis-Dehqani, 58, was born in Iran and fled the country with her family following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Her brother, Bahram, was shot dead in 1980. Her father, then the Anglican bishop in Iran, survived an attempt on his life, as had her mother, who was the daughter of another bishop.
The family settled in the United Kingdom, where her father served as a bishop in exile, according to The Times. She later studied at Nottingham and Bristol universities, was ordained in 1999, and became bishop of Loughborough in 2017 before moving to Chelmsford in 2021.
Michael Beasley, bishop of Bath and Wells, and Thabo Makgoba, archbishop of Cape Town, are also considered strong candidates. Star Sports has listed Makgoba, the most senior Anglican bishop in South Africa, at 25 to 1.
Francis-Dehqani has drawn attention for her criticism of immigration policy in the U.K.
Last week, she responded to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's comment that Britain was becoming an "island of strangers," saying that immigrants "are not 'strangers' but friends who fully participate and contribute as we worship, serve, and live life together."
"Political leaders must acknowledge that words matter because they influence how people perceive and treat vulnerable people. It can never be acceptable to dehumanize migrants as if they are not deserving of dignity, compassion, and rights," she added.
Betting firms caution that early favorites have not always secured the role.
When former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey retired in 2002, Michael Nazir-Ali was thought to be the likely successor. But the role ultimately went to Rowan Williams. Likewise, in 2012, John Sentamu and Christopher Cocksworth were seen as front-runners before Justin Welby was appointed, despite not being on most early lists.
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Thank you very much and God bless you.
Guess they didn't consult with THE Book.
They can thank Henry VIII for all this madness.
And when they do, many will leave the Church of England for a church with more traditional leadership. This is a great recruitment tool for the Catholics.
Sure, why not hammer home the final nail in the coffin of the sad carnival act formerly known as the Church of England?
“A shadowy medley of half-remembered traditions and mutilated beliefs” - Tolkien on the C of E. And, btw, the C of E is 10x more insane now than when Tolkien said that. With apologies to my Episcoalian friends, I don’t know how any sincere, faithful Christian can stick with that thoroughly discredited excuse for church. Just shut the whole thing down and give any church built before 1534 back to the Catholics... and bulldoze the newer ones.
LOL
Totally agree.
In 2023, she was one of 44 Church of England bishops who signed an open letter supporting the use of the Prayers of Love and Faith (i.e. blessings for same-sex couples) and called for "Guidance being issued without delay that includes the removal of all restrictions on clergy entering same-sex civil marriages, and on bishops ordaining and licensing such clergy".-Wikipedia
Regards,
Thanks for the Tolkien quote. Have never heard of it before, but it’s completely accurate. I recently finished a biography of Thomas Cromwell, who was Henry’s little helper in getting him everything he wanted, while destroying so many lives in the process. Another useful idiot who got his comeuppance in the end.
One Word: GAY
Is it serving the Lord, or the gays of the Earth? Cannot have 2 masters i thought.
Might as well. They stopped being Christian years ago, so what difference does it make to them now. Their daughter church in the US, TEC, long since had a female presiding bishop, Jefferts-Schori, an expert on squid but not so much on God.
“...This is a great recruitment tool for the Catholics...”
Nah, considering the way Europe is going these days, I would wager most will submit to Islam instead.
People want to be on the winning team.
I heard that England was running out of men.
What struck me was how similar in appearance and posture she is to the male Anglican archbishops. As a Catholic , however, I am thrilled we have a Pope that has experienced the pleasure of eating a brat at a summer cookout, taking in an afternoon baseball game, watching fireworks on the Fourth, and what it means to be an American man in general.
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
The CofE serves mammon and Deep State.
It’s not running out.
Have you seen the imports...?
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