Government & Parliament
Archbishops of Canterbury have been members of the House of Lords by virtue of their office since parliament first began many centuries ago. In today's Lords there are two types of member - the Lords Temporal (usually known simply as Peers) and the Lords Spiritual (the two archbishops and 24 most senior bishops of the Church of England). The Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior member of the Lords, being the first member entitled to take the oath of allegiance at the start of a new parliament after the Lord Speaker. Dr Rowan Williams took his seat in the Lords in March 2003, shortly after becoming Archbishop, and this section contains details of his parliamentary speeches and questions since that date. Further information on the Lords Spiritual and the Church of England in parliament can be seen here.
Recent items relating to Government & Parliament and House of Lords are shown below:
February 2008
Presidential Address to the Opening of General Synod February 2008
11 February 2008
Videos and transcripts of the presidential address by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams,…
Archbishop's lecture - Civil and Religious Law in England: a religious perspective
7 February 2008
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams delivers the foundation lecture in the Temple Festival…
Civil and Religious Law in England lecture - Question and Answer session
7 February 2008
Transcript of the question and answer session following the Archbishop's lecture at the Royal Courts…
Archbishop on Radio 4 World at One - UK law needs to find accommodation with religious law codes
7 February 2008
An interview with Christopher Landau of the BBC Radio 4 'World at One' programme, on the Temple lecture…
Archbishop Criticises 'Indefensible' Treatment of Young People in Prison
6 February 2008
The Archbishop of Canterbury has called upon the government to look critically at the use of strip-searching…
January 2008
Archbishop on Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill
30 January 2008
Interview with the Press Association.
Archbishop criticises 24 hour drinking
30 January 2008
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams gave a wide ranging interview to Martha Linden of the…
Archbishop's lecture - Religious Hatred and Religious Offence
29 January 2008
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, gives the James Callaghan Memorial lecture entitled…
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill - House of Lords Report Stage
15 January 2008
The Archbishop attended the first day in the House of Lords of the Report Stage of the Human Fertilisation…
December 2007
Archbishop's Speech at the Launch of Inter Faith Consultation
17 December 2007
The Archbishop spoke at the launch of a new document, issued by the Department of Communities and Local…