| Titleoverride: | Archbishop of |
| Archbishopric: | York |
| Border: | anglican |
| Coat: | File:Arms SeeOfYork.svg |
| Coat Size: | 200 |
| Coat Caption: | Arms of the Diocese of York: Gules, two keys in saltire the wards upwards argent in chief a regal crown proper[1] |
| Incumbent: | Stephen Cottrell |
| Incumbent Note: | since 9 July 2020 |
| Style: | The Most Reverend and Right Honourable (otherwise His Grace) |
| Province: | York |
| Residence: | Bishopthorpe Palace |
| Established: | Bishopric in 626 Archbishopric in 735 |
| Cathedral: | York Minster |
| First Incumbent: | Paulinus of York |
| Diocese: | York |
The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the northern regions of England (north of the Trent) as well as the Isle of Man.
The archbishop's throne (cathedra) is in York Minster in central York and the official residence is Bishopthorpe Palace in the village of Bishopthorpe outside York. The current archbishop is Stephen Cottrell, since the confirmation of his election on 9 July 2020.
There was a bishop in Eboracum (Roman York) from very early times; during the Middle Ages, it was thought to have been one of the dioceses established by the legendary King Lucius. Bishops of York are known to have been present at the councils of Arles (Eborius) and Nicaea (unnamed). However, this early Christian community was later destroyed by the pagan Anglo-Saxons and there is no direct succession from these bishops to the post-Augustinian ones.
The Catholic diocese was refounded by Paulinus (a member of Augustine's mission) in the 7th century. Notable among these early bishops is Wilfrid. These early bishops of York acted as diocesan rather than archdiocesan prelates until the time of Ecgbert of York, who received the pallium from Pope Gregory III in 735 and established metropolitan rights in the north. Until the Danish invasion the archbishops of Canterbury occasionally exercised authority, and it was not until the Norman Conquest that the archbishops of York asserted their complete independence.
At the time of the Norman invasion York had jurisdiction over Worcester, Lichfield, and Lincoln, as well as claiming the dioceses in the Northern Isles and Scotland which were in fact independent. [2] But the first three sees just mentioned were taken from York in 1072. In 1154 the suffragan sees of the Isle of Man and Orkney were transferred to the Norwegian archbishop of Nidaros (today's Trondheim), and in 1188 York finally accepted it had no authority over all of the Scottish dioceses except Whithorn, so that only the dioceses of Whithorn, Durham, and Carlisle remained to the archbishops as suffragan sees. Of these, Durham was practically independent, for the palatine bishops of that see were little short of sovereigns in their own jurisdiction. Sodor and Man were returned to York during the 14th century, to compensate for the loss of Whithorn to the Scottish Church.
Several of the archbishops of York held the ministerial office of Lord Chancellor of England and played some parts in affairs of state. As Peter Heylyn (1600–1662) wrote: "This see has yielded to the Church eight saints, to the Church of Rome three cardinals, to the realm of England twelve Lord Chancellors and two Lord Treasurers, and to the north of England two Lord Presidents." The bishopric's role was also complicated by continued conflict over primacy with the see of Canterbury.
At the time of the English Reformation, York possessed three suffragan sees, Durham, Carlisle, and Sodor and Man, to which during the brief space of Queen Mary I's reign (1553–1558) may be added the Diocese of Chester, founded by Henry VIII, but subsequently recognised by the Pope.
Until the mid 1530s (and from 1553 to 1558) the bishops and archbishops were Catholics in communion with the pope in Rome. This is no longer the case, as the archbishop of York, together with the rest of the Church of England, is a member of the Anglican Communion.
Walter de Grey purchased York Place as his London residence, which after the fall of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, was renamed the Palace of Whitehall.
The archbishop of York is an ex officio member of the House of Lords and is styled Primate of England (whereas the archbishop of Canterbury is the Primate of All England); he is referred to as "The Most Reverend", retired archbishops are styled as "The Right Reverend". As archbishops are, by convention, appointed to the Privy Council they may, therefore, also use the style of "The Right Honourable" for life (unless they are later removed from the council). In debates in the House of Lords, the archbishop is referred to as "The Most Reverend Primate, the archbishop of York". "The Right Honourable" is not used in this instance. He may also be formally addressed as "Your Grace"—or, more often these days, simply as "archbishop", or "Father".
The surname of the archbishop of York is not always used in formal documents; often only the first name and see are mentioned. The archbishop is legally entitled to sign his name as "Ebor" (from the Latin for York). The right to use a title as a legal signature is only permitted to bishops, peers of the Realm and peers by courtesy. The current archbishop of York usually signs as "+Stephen Ebor".
In the English and Welsh order of precedence, the archbishop of York is ranked above all individuals in the realm, with the exception of the sovereign and members of the royal family, the archbishop of Canterbury and the Lord Chancellor.[3] Immediately below him is the Prime Minister and then the Lord President of the Council.
The archbishop of York is the metropolitan bishop of the province of York and is the junior of the two archbishops of the Church of England after the archbishop of Canterbury.[4] The See is currently occupied by Stephen Cottrell since 9 July 2020.
The Province of York includes 10 Anglican dioceses in Northern England: Blackburn, Carlisle, Chester, Durham, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Leeds, and York, as well as 2 other dioceses: Southwell and Nottingham in the Midlands and Sodor and Man covering the Isle of Man.
| Bishops of York | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes | |
| 625 | 633 | Paulinus | Formerly a monk at St. Andrew's Monastery in Rome; translated to Rochester; canonised.[5] | |
| 633 | 664 | See vacant | ||
| 664 | 669 | Chad | Resigned the see of York; later became bishop of Mercia and Lindsey; canonised. | |
| 664 | 678 | Wilfrid (I) | Ejected from York; later became bishop of Selseycanonised. | |
| 678 | 706 | Bosa | Canonised. | |
| 706 | 714 | John of Beverley | Translated from Hexham; resigned the see; canonised in 1037. | |
| 714 | 732 | Wilfrid (II) | Resigned the see; canonised. | |
| 735 | Ecgbert | York elevated to archbishopric in 735. | ||
| Pre-Conquest archbishops of York | ||||
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes | |
| 735 | 766 | Ecgbert | York elevated to archbishopric in 735. | |
| Æthelbert | Also known as Æthelbeorht, Adalberht, Ælberht, Aelberht, Aldbert or Æthelbert. | |||
| 796 | Eanbald (I) | |||
| 796 | Eanbald (II) | |||
| Wulfsige | ||||
| 837 | 854 | Wigmund | ||
| 854 | Wulfhere | Fled the Danes in 872, returned in 873. | ||
| 900 | Æthelbald | Sometimes known as Æthelbeald, Athelbald, or Ethelbald. | ||
| 931 | Hrotheweard | Sometimes known as Lodeward. | ||
| 931 | 956 | Wulfstan (I) | ||
| 971 | Oscytel | Also known as Oscytel. Translated from Dorchester. | ||
| 971 | Edwald | Also known as Edwaldus or Ethelwold. | ||
| 971 | 992 | Oswald | Held both the sees of York and Worcester; canonised. | |
| 995 | 1002 | Ealdwulf | Held both the sees of York and Worcester. | |
| 1002 | 1023 | Wulfstan (II) | Also known as Lupus. Also held the see of Worcester (1002–1016). | |
| 1023 | 1051 | Ælfric Puttoc | Also held the see of Worcester (1040–1041). | |
| 1051 | 1060 | Cynesige | Also known as Kynsige. | |
| 1061 | 1069 | Ealdred | Also known as Aldred. Held the see of Worcester 1046–1061, of Hereford 1056–1060, and of York 1061–1069. | |
| Footnote(s): and Source(s):[6] [7] | ||||
| Archbishops of York (Conquest to Reformation) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes | |
| 1070 | 1100 | Thomas of Bayeux | Also known as Thomas (I). | |
| 1100 | 1108 | Gerard | Translated from Hereford. | |
| 1109 | 1114 | Thomas (II) | ||
| 1119 | 1140 | Thurstan | He was elected in 1114, but was not consecrated until 1119. | |
| 1140 | Waltheof of Melrose | Nominated archbishop, but was quashed by King Stephen; later became Abbot of Melrose. | ||
| 1140 | Henry de Sully | Abbot of Fécamp Abbey. Nominated archbishop, but was quashed by Pope Innocent II. | ||
| 1143 | 1147 | William (FitzHerbert) | Deposed by Pope Eugene III; canonised in 1226. | |
| 1147 | Hilary of Chichester | Deposed by Pope Eugene III, elected bishop of Chichester. | ||
| 1147 | 1153 | Henry Murdac | Formerly Abbot of Fountains Abbey. | |
| 1153 | 1154 | William (FitzHerbert) (again) | Restored by Pope Anastasius IV; canonised in 1226. | |
| 1154 | 1181 | Roger de Pont L'Évêque | Formerly archdeacon of Canterbury. | |
| 1191 | 1212 | Geoffrey (Plantagenet) | Formerly bishop-elect of Lincoln; elected archbishop in 1189, but was only consecrated in 1191. | |
| 1215 | Simon Langton | Elected archbishop of York in June 1215, but was quashed on 20 August 1215 by Pope Innocent III on request from King John; later became archdeacon of Canterbury. | ||
| 1216 | 1255 | Walter de Gray | Translated from Worcester. | |
| 1256 | 1258 | Sewal de Bovil | Formerly Dean of York. | |
| 1258 | 1265 | Godfrey Ludham | Also known as Godfrey Kineton. Formerly Dean of York. | |
| 1265 | William Langton | Dean of York (1262–1279); elected archbishop in March 1265, but was quashed in November 1265.[8] | ||
| 1265 | 1266 | Bonaventure | Selected as archbishop in November 1265, but never consecrated and resigned the appointment in October 1266. | |
| 1266 | 1279 | Walter Giffard | Translated from Bath and Wells. | |
| 1279 | 1285 | William de Wickwane | ||
| 1286 | 1296 | John le Romeyn | Also known as John Romanus. | |
| 1298 | 1299 | Henry of Newark | Formerly Dean of York. | |
| 1300 | 1304 | Thomas of Corbridge | ||
| 1306 | 1315 | William Greenfield | Formerly Dean of Chichester | |
| 1317 | 1340 | William Melton | ||
| 1342 | 1352 | William Zouche | Also known as William de la Zouche. | |
| 1353 | 1373 | Cardinal John of Thoresby | Translated from Worcester; created a Cardinal in 1361.[9] | |
| 1374 | 1388 | Alexander Neville | Translated to St Andrews in 1388. | |
| 1388 | 1396 | Thomas Arundel | Translated from Ely; afterwards translated to Canterbury. | |
| 1397 | 1398 | Robert Waldby | Translated from Chichester. | |
| 1398 | Walter Skirlaw | Bishop of Durham, elected but put aside by King Richard II. | ||
| 1398 | 1405 | Richard le Scrope | Translated from Lichfield. | |
| 1405 | 1406 | Thomas Langley | Elected archbishop in August 1405, but was quashed in May 1406. | |
| 1406 | 1407 | Robert Hallam | Nominated archbishop in May 1406 by Pope Innocent VII, but was vetoed by King Henry IV. | |
| 1407 | 1423 | Henry Bowet | Translated from Bath and Wells. | |
| 1423 | 1424 | Philip Morgan | Elected archbishop in 1423, but was quashed in 1424. | |
| 1424 | 1425 | Richard Fleming | Conferred as archbishop by Pope Martin V, but was refused by King Henry V, and Fleming resigned the appointment in July 1425. | |
| 1426 | 1452 | Cardinal John Kemp | Translated from London; created a Cardinal in 1439;[10] translated to Canterbury. | |
| 1452 | 1464 | William Booth | Translated from Lichfield. | |
| 1465 | 1476 | George Neville | Translated from Exeter. | |
| 1476 | 1480 | Lawrence Booth | Translated from Durham. | |
| 1480 | 1500 | Thomas Rotherham | Translated from Lincoln. | |
| 1501 | 1507 | Thomas Savage | Translated from London. | |
| 1508 | 1514 | Cardinal Christopher Bainbridge | Translated from Durham; created a Cardinal in 1511.[11] | |
| 1514 | 1530 | Cardinal Thomas Wolsey | Translated from Lincoln in 1514; created a Cardinal in 1515;[12] held with Bath and Wells 1518–23, Durham 1523–29 and Winchester 1529–30. | |
| Source(s):[13] [14] [15] | ||||
| Post-Reformation archbishops of York | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes | |
| 1531 | 1544 | Edward Lee | Translated from St Davids. | |
| 1545 | 1554 | Robert Holgate | Translated from Llandaff. | |
| 1555 | 1559 | Nicholas Heath | Translated from Worcester. | |
| 1561 | 1568 | Thomas Young | Translated from St Davids. | |
| 1570 | 1576 | Edmund Grindal | Translated from London; afterwards translated to Canterbury. | |
| 1577 | 1588 | Edwin Sandys | Translated from London. | |
| 1589 | 1594 | John Piers | Translated from Salisbury. | |
| 1595 | 1606 | Matthew Hutton | Translated from Durham. | |
| 1606 | 1628 | Tobias Matthew | Translated from Durham. | |
| 1628 | George Montaigne | Translated from Durham. | ||
| 1629 | 1631 | Samuel Harsnett | Translated from Norwich. | |
| 1632 | 1640 | Richard Neile | Translated from Winchester. | |
| 1641 | 1646 | John Williams | Translated from Lincoln. Deprived when the English episcopacy was abolished by Parliament. Died 1650. | |
| 1646 | 1660 | The see was abolished during the Commonwealth and the Protectorate.[16] [17] | ||
| 1660 | 1664 | Accepted Frewen | Translated from Lichfield. | |
| 1664 | 1683 | Richard Sterne | Translated from Carlisle. | |
| 1683 | 1686 | John Dolben | Translated from Rochester. | |
| 1688 | 1691 | Thomas Lamplugh | Translated from Exeter. | |
| 1691 | 1714 | John Sharp | Formerly Dean of Canterbury. | |
| 1714 | 1724 | Sir William Dawes, Bt. | Translated from Chester. | |
| 1724 | 1743 | Lancelot Blackburne | Translated from Exeter. | |
| 1743 | 1747 | Thomas Herring | Translated from Bangor; afterwards translated to Canterbury. | |
| 1747 | 1757 | Matthew Hutton | Translated from Bangor; afterwards translated to Canterbury. | |
| 1757 | 1761 | John Gilbert | Translated from Salisbury. | |
| 1761 | 1776 | Robert Hay Drummond | Translated from Salisbury. | |
| 1776 | 1807 | William Markham | Translated from Chester. | |
| 1808 | 1847 | Edward Venables-Vernon | Translated from Carlisle. Surname changed from Venables-Vernon to Venables-Vernon-Harcourt in 1831. | |
| 1847 | 1860 | Thomas Musgrave | Translated from Hereford. | |
| 1860 | 1862 | Charles Longley | Translated from Durham; afterwards translated to Canterbury. | |
| 1862 | 1890 | William Thomson | Translated from Gloucester. | |
| 1891 | William Connor Magee | Translated from Peterborough. | ||
| 1891 | 1908 | William Maclagan | Translated from Lichfield. | |
| 1909 | 1928 | Cosmo Gordon Lang | Translated from Stepney; afterwards translated to Canterbury. | |
| 1929 | 1942 | William Temple | Translated from Manchester; afterwards translated to Canterbury. | |
| 1942 | 1955 | Cyril Garbett | Translated from Winchester. | |
| 1956 | 1961 | Michael Ramsey | Translated from Durham; afterwards translated to Canterbury. | |
| 1961 | 1974 | Donald Coggan | Translated from Bradford; afterwards translated to Canterbury. | |
| 1975 | 1983 | Stuart Blanch | Translated from Liverpool. | |
| 1983 | 1995 | John Habgood | Translated from Durham. | |
| 1995 | 2005 | David Hope | Translated from London. | |
| 2005 | 2020 | John Sentamu[18] | Translated from Birmingham; retired 7 June 2020.[19] | |
| 2020 | present | Stephen Cottrell[20] | Translated from Chelmsford; election confirmed 9 July 2020.[21] | |
| Source(s):[22] [23] | ||||
From 1660 to 1900, all the archbishops of York died in office or were translated to Canterbury and died in that office.
William Maclagan was the first to voluntarily resign his office in 1908, two years before his death. All of his successors who were not translated to Canterbury have also resigned their office before death, and (like all archbishops of Canterbury) have been offered a peerage upon resignation.
| Archbishop | Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmo Gordon Lang | Baron Lang of Lambeth in 1942 | Extinct in 1945 | as archbishop of Canterbury |
| Michael Ramsey | Baron Ramsey of Canterbury for life in 1974 | Extinct in 1988 | |
| Donald Coggan | Baron Coggan for life in 1980 | Extinct in 2000 | |
| Stuart Blanch | Baron Blanch for life in 1983 | Extinct in 1994 | |
| John Habgood | Baron Habgood for life in 1995 | Retired from the House in 2011;[24] extinct in 2019 | |
| David Hope | Baron Hope of Thornes for life in 2005 | Retired from the House in 2015;[25] extant | |
| John Sentamu | Baron Sentamu for life in 2021 | Extant | |
Among those who have served as assistant bishops of the diocese have been: