The Archbishop of Canterbury has resigned after it was revealed he failed to pursue an investigation into allegations of serial physical and sexual abuse by a Church of England volunteer at Christian summer camps.

Justin Welby, 68, resigned on Tuesday, five days after the independent Makin Report singled him out over criticism over his handling of harassment allegations dating back to the 1970s.

Here’s what you need to know:

Who is Justin Welby and why did he resign?

Welby announced his resignation “with a heavy heart”, taking “personal and corporate responsibility” for failing to act on “heinous abuses” allegedly committed by the late John Smyth, who volunteered at Christian summer camps decades ago.

“The last few days have renewed my long-held and profound sense of shame at the historic preservation failures of the Church of England,” Welby said.

Educated at Eton, Britain’s most prestigious private school, Welby worked in the oil industry for more than a decade before being ordained in 1992. He was made senior bishop of the Church of England in 2013.

Welby was an outspoken spiritual leader of the global Anglican community who publicly grappled with issues ranging from same-sex marriage to Britain’s immigration policy, Israel’s war in Gaza, slavery reparations, climate change and his own mental health issues.

Who was John Smyth and what was he accused of?

Smyth was a Canadian-born, evangelical British lawyer who held leadership roles in a charity called the Iwerne Trust, which ran Christian camps in England and Wales.

The first details of Smyth’s physical abuse of schoolchildren attending the camps in the 1970s and 1980s emerged in a 1982 report by the charity.

Smyth reportedly brought students from prestigious public schools in England, including Winchester College, to his home and whipped them with a cane in his shed.

The case was not reported to the police by the foundation, the church or the schools whose students were abused.

Instead, Smyth moved to Zimbabwe, where he founded Zambesi Ministries, which operates similar Christian camps for students.

Accused of murdering a young boy found dead in a swimming pool in 1992, Smyth moved to Cape Town, South Africa.

In 2013, a victim reported Smyth’s abuse to the Church of England, which reported the allegations to the police but no investigation was launched.

The 1982 Iwerne Trust report was made public in 2016 and an investigation was launched by Channel 4 News in 2017.

Smyth died the following year in Cape Town, aged 77.

In total, he was held responsible for the violent abuse of at least 115 children and young people in England, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

The report said Smyth subjected boys and young men to “brutal and horrific” physical and sexual abuse for 40 years.

Smyth beat some victims with up to 800 strokes of the cane and provided diapers to absorb the bleeding, the report said.

He would then drape himself over his victims, sometimes kissing them on their necks or backs.

Welby said he had “no idea or suspicion” about the allegations before 2013, but the independent report concluded it was unlikely he had any knowledge of concerns about Smyth in the 1980s.

Who could replace Welby?

According to church rules, the Royal Nomination Commission (CNC) is a body of clergy that oversees the selection of Welby’s successor.

He submits the name of the preferred and alternative candidate to the UK prime minister, who then advises the monarch on the appointment.

It’s too early to tell who CNC will choose to succeed Welby, but there are some possible candidates.

Stephen Cottrell, archbishop of York and the second most senior bishop in the Church of England, will compete.

Cottrell released a statement following Welby’s resignation, saying it was “the right and honorable thing to do.”

Sarah Mullally, the former chief nursing officer at the Department of Health and current bishop of London, may also be a candidate. He is the third most senior bishop of the Church of England.

The bishop of Newcastle, Helen-Ann Hartley, has called for Welby to resign, which could make him a possible candidate at a time when the Church of England is trying to move on from the scandal.

He also recently revealed that he had been subjected to “coercive language” from Welby and Cottrell in the past.

Martyn Snow, bishop of Leicester; Graham Usher, bishop of Norwich; and Chelmsford bishop Guli Francis-Dehqani has also been claimed as Welby’s replacement.

While Snow abstained from a church council vote on blessings for gay couples, Usher was in favor of gay rights.

Francis-Dehqani was born in Iran and described how her brother was killed following the Iranian Revolution.

If a woman is elected archbishop of Canterbury, she will be the first to hold the post.

Has the church faced other allegations of abuse in the past?

Welby’s resignation took place against the background of widespread historical sexual abuse in the Church of England.

A 2022 report from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse found that respect for the authority of priests, taboos surrounding discussion of sexuality and a culture that gives alleged perpetrators more support than their victims have helped make the Church of England “a place where abusers can go free” took it out. to hide”.