A female bishop may become the first woman to hold the position of archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England, according to odds posted by British betting firms.
Guli Francis-Dehqani, bishop of Chelmsford, has emerged as the leading candidate to become the next archbishop of Canterbury. British betting firms have placed her as the early favorite to succeed the Rev. Justin Welby, who stepped down in January.
Francis-Dehqani’s odds were placed at evens and 2 to 1 by the firms Ladbrokes and Star Sports, according to The Telegraph. If selected, she would become the 106th archbishop of Canterbury and the first woman to hold the office.
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Her rise comes at a time of growing visibility for female bishops, a change enabled only in 2014 when the Church of England altered its laws to allow their appointment.
According to numbers released last year by the Church of England General Synod, women comprise around 30% of bishops in the denomination.
The nomination process is handled by the Canterbury Crown Nominations Commission, which will be chaired by Lord Evans of Weardale, the former director general of MI5.
The commission’s first meeting will occur later this month, with at least two more in July and September.
A nomination requires support from two-thirds of voting members in a secret ballot, with a formal nomination for Welby’s successor expected by autumn.
Last November, Welby announced his decision to step down in the wake of criticism over the Church’s handling of an abuse scandal involving barrister and Christian camp leader John Smyth.
Francis-Dehqani, 58, was born in Iran and fled the country with her family following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Her brother, Bahram, was shot dead in 1980. Her father, then the Anglican bishop in Iran, survived an attempt on his life, as had her mother, who was the daughter of another bishop.
The family settled in the United Kingdom, where her father served as a bishop in exile, according to The Times. She later studied at Nottingham and Bristol universities, was ordained in 1999, and became bishop of Loughborough in 2017 before moving to Chelmsford in 2021.
Michael Beasley, bishop of Bath and Wells, and Thabo Makgoba, archbishop of Cape Town, are also considered strong candidates. Star Sports has listed Makgoba, the most senior Anglican bishop in South Africa, at 25 to 1.
Francis-Dehqani has drawn attention for her criticism of immigration policy in the U.K.
Last week, she responded to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s comment that Britain was becoming an “island of strangers,” saying that immigrants “are not ‘strangers’ but friends who fully participate and contribute as we worship, serve, and live life together.”
“Political leaders must acknowledge that words matter because they influence how people perceive and treat vulnerable people. It can never be acceptable to dehumanize migrants as if they are not deserving of dignity, compassion, and rights,” she added.
Betting firms caution that early favorites have not always secured the role.
When former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey retired in 2002, Michael Nazir-Ali was thought to be the likely successor. But the role ultimately went to Rowan Williams. Likewise, in 2012, John Sentamu and Christopher Cocksworth were seen as front-runners before Justin Welby was appointed, despite not being on most early lists.
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