New Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby takes office The Anglican Church has welcomed its new leader today with a ceremony in St Paul's that officially marks Justin Welby's election to Archbishop of Canterbury. The former Bishop of Durham, a former oil executive who gave up a lucrative career to become a man of the cloth, officially took up his new role as the leader of the world's 77million Anglicans at noon. He was confirmed as the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury at a service under the dome of the cathedral attended by the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, and seven other senior Church of England bishops. Mr Welby, 57, succeeds Dr Rowan Williams, who left after a decade in office at the end of December to take up a new post as Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge. Dr Sentamu, who preached at the service, said: "Archbishop Justin Welby brings many gifts to the office of Archbishop of Canterbury. He has my prayers and my support as he assumes this challenging role in the service of the Church of England and of the Anglican Communion worldwide. During the ceremony, Mr Welby took the oath of allegiance to the Queen and made a formal written declaration of assent to his election as Archbishop of Canterbury. The service heard prayers for Mr Welby, his wife Caroline and their five children, that they may find "joy" in their new home. The ceremony was attended by the bishops of Norwich, Leicester, Lincoln, Rochester, Winchester, Salisbury and London. His election comes at a time of huge divisions within the Anglican Church - both at home and abroad - over the role of women clergy and the acceptance of gay marriages.