The Archdeacon of Canterbury is a senior office-holder in the Diocese of Canterbury (a division of the Church of England Province of Canterbury). Like other archdeacons, he or she is an administrator in the diocese at large (having oversight of parishes in roughly one-third of the diocese) and is a Canon Residentiary of the cathedral.
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On 22 January 2017, Jo Kelly-Moore, previously Dean of Auckland, New Zealand, was collated Archdeacon of Canterbury and installed a canon residentiary (vice-dean) of the Canterbury Cathedral.
History
The Archdeacon of Canterbury has an additional role beyond that of the usual responsibilities of other archdeacons, traditionally serving as the Archbishop of Canterbury's representative at enthronement ceremonies for new diocesan bishops in his province. At these services, he or she reads the Archbishop's mandate and, taking the new bishop by the hand, conducts him on to his throne.
The archdeaconry and archdeacon of Canterbury have been in constant existence since the 11th century. There was one short-lived abortive attempt to split the role in the 12th century. In modern times, the archdeaconry has been split twice: creating Maidstone archdeaconry in 1841 and Ashford archdeaconry in 2011.
Composition
The archdeaconry covers approximately the north-east corner of the diocese. As of 2012, the archdeaconry of Canterbury consists the following deaneries in the Diocese of Canterbury: