   the archbishop of canterbury is the "primate of all england" (the "first bishop" of england),"roles and priorities", the archbishop of canterbury's official website effectively serving as the head of the established church of england and, symbolically, of the worldwide anglican communion. from the 6th century until the 16th century, the archbishops of canterbury were in full communion with the bishop of rome, the pope. during the english reformation the church broke away from the authority of the pope, at first temporarily and later more permanently. since then the archbishops have been outside of the succession of the roman catholic church's hierarchy and have led the independent national church. in the middle ages there was considerable variation in the nomination of the archbishop and other bishops. at various times the choice was made by the canons of canterbury cathedral, the king of england, or the pope. since the reformation, the church is explicitly a state church and the choice is legally that of the british crown; today it is made in the name of the monarch by the prime minister, from a shortlist of two selected by an ad hoc committee called the crown nominations commission. today, the archbishop has four main roles:archbishop's roles and responsibilities, archbishop of canterbury retrieved 8 february 2008. *he is the diocesan bishop of the diocese of canterbury, which covers the east of the county of kent and the extreme north-east of surrey. founded by augustine of canterbury in 597, it is the oldest bishopric in the english church. the bulk of this role is delegated to the suffragan bishop of dover (who is as such called the "bishop in canterbury"). *he is the metropolitan of the [[province of c
Archbishops_of_Canterbury Christianity_in_Kent Episcopacy_in_Anglicanism History_of_Kent History_of_the_Church_of_England Lists_of_Anglican_bishops_and_archbishops Lists_of_British_people Lists_of_popes,_primates,_and_patriarchs