Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the head of the Church of England, resigned on Tuesday amid the fallout from a long-running sexual abuse scandal.
Mr Welby stepped down after an independent investigation found he had failed to inform police about serial physical and sexual abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps as soon as he became aware of it.
If you're new to the story, here's the background to Mr Welby's decision and its global significance to the Church of England.
Who is Justin Welby?
He was the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury.
The 68-year-old was appointed to the church's highest role in 2013.
Following a career in the oil industry, he was ordained as a priest in the church of England in 1992 and worked in Africa and the Middle East.
Mr Welby presided over the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla in May 2023.
Why did he resign?
Mr Welby apologised last week after an independent report described a barrister who ran summer camps for young Christians, John Smyth, as the most prolific serial abuser associated with the church.
Mr Welby said he had "no idea or suspicion" of the allegations before 2013, but the independent report concluded that it was unlikely he would have had no knowledge of the concerns regarding Smyth in the 1980s.
"Having sought the gracious permission of His Majesty The King, I have decided to resign as Archbishop of Canterbury," Mr Welby said in a statement.
"I hope this decision makes clear how seriously the Church of England understands the need for change and our profound commitment to creating a safer church.
"As I step down, I do so in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse."
Mr Welby had been under significant pressure to resign, but had ruled out stepping down as recently as last week.
Three members of the church's governing body, the General Synod, began circulating a petition calling for his resignation, while at least one of the church's 108 bishops had publicly declared his position untenable.
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, the church's second-ranking cleric, called Mr Welby’s resignation "the right and honourable thing to do".
What was the report?
The Makin Report was an independent review by Keith Makin into the Church of England's handling of allegations of serious abuse by the late John Smyth.
It was handed down on November 7.
Keith Makin said:
“The abuse at the hands of John Smyth was prolific and abhorrent. Words cannot adequately describe the horror of what transpired.
“Many of the victims who took the brave decision to speak to us about what they experienced have carried this abuse silently for more than 40 years.
“Despite the efforts of some individuals to bring the abuse to the attention of authorities, the responses by the Church of England and others were wholly ineffective and amounted to a cover-up."
Who was John Smyth?
According to the Makin Report, John Smyth was "arguably the most prolific serial abuser to be associated with the Church of England".
The Makin Report concluded Mr Welby had become aware of the abuse allegations against Smyth in 2013, at the latest.
The independent report had found Smyth had subjected more than 100 boys and young men to "brutal and horrific" physical and sexual abuse during a 40-year period.
Smyth was chair of the Iwerne Trust, which funded the Christian camps in Dorset in England, and Mr Welby worked at them as a dormitory officer before he was ordained.
The report detailed horrific conditions for many of his victims, including that he had subjected some children to as many as 800 strokes of a cane.
The report said several of the victims' accounts indicated "their experience of sexual abuse, particularly describing John Smyth kissing them, draping himself and/or his arms over them, nakedness and other indicators of sexual abuse".
Smyth moved to Africa in 1984, and continued his abuse until close to his death in 2018.
What is the Archbishop of Canterbury?
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the head of the Church of England and is traditionally seen as the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion.
Each of the 46 churches that comprise the Anglican Communion has its own primate, but the Archbishop of Canterbury is considered first among equals.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the spiritual leader to 85 million Anglicans worldwide.
Under legislation, the archbishop of Canterbury is required to retire at 70.
They are usually expected to remain in that role until then and Justin Welby was set to retire in 2026.
What is the Church of England?
The Church of England, known in Australia as the Anglican Church, is the primary state church in England.
The Church of England sustains a traditional Catholic order system that includes ordained bishops, priests and deacons.
While it upholds many customs of Roman Catholicism, it also embraces fundamental ideas adopted by protestant reformation.
King Henry VIII is considered the founder of the Church of England after he broke ties with the pope in the 1530s and declared himself the Supreme Head of the Church of England.
Has the church faced other abuse allegations?
Yes.
Like the Catholic Church, the Church of England has faced a long series of allegations that priests and others affiliated used their positions to abuse young men and women.
An independent inquiry established by the government found that 390 people associated with the church were convicted of child sexual abuse between the 1940s and 2018.
Deference to the authority of priests, taboos surrounding the discussion of sexuality and a culture that gave more support to alleged perpetrators than their victims helped make the Church of England "a place where abusers could hide," the inquiry found.
Mr Welby's supporters said he was instrumental in changing the culture of the church and improving its safeguarding procedures after he became Archbishop of Canterbury in 2013.
What will happen now?
If an Archbishop of Canterbury wants to resign before they retire, they must tender their resignation to the monarch who will then grant permission for them to step down.
A process to find Mr Welby's successor will now begin.
It will start with the Corwn Nominations Commission, which nominates candidates for the Archbishop of Canterbury and other bishops in England.
The commission is made up of 16 members, which includes the archbishop of York, representatives of the clergy and laypeople, a representative of the Anglican Communion and a chair appointed by the prime minister.
The commission will then send the named of the preferred candidate and an alternate to the prime minister, who will then advise King Charles III on his selection.
According to Reuters, Martyn Snow, the bishop of Leicester, Graham Usher, the bishop of Norwich, and Guli Francis-Dehqani, the bishop of Chelmsford, have all been tipped to succeed Mr Welby and become the 106th archbishop of Canterbury.
Has an archbishop ever resigned before?
Mr Welby's predecessor resigned from his role in 2012 at the age of 61.
Dr Rowan Williams returned to academia, at the University of Cambridge.
His time in office was marked by criticism in the Anglican Church worldwide over his liberal views on homosexuality while liberals criticised him for failing to live up to those principles.
