Portal:Christianity/Selected biography/October 2009

Cosmo Lang as archbishop of Canterbury, c. 1932

(William) Cosmo Gordon Lang, 1st Baron Lang of Lambeth, GCVO (31 October 1864 – 5 December 1945), was an Anglican prelate who served as Archbishop of York (1908–1928) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1928–1942). His rapid elevation to Archbishop of York, within 18 years of his ordination, is unprecedented in modern Church of England history. As Archbishop of Canterbury during the abdication crisis of 1936 he took a strong moral stance, and comments he made in a subsequent broadcast were widely condemned as uncharitable towards the departed king. In 1908 Lang was nominated Archbishop of York, despite his relatively junior status as a suffragan rather than a diocesan bishop. He entered the House of Lords as a Lord Spiritual and caused consternation in traditionalist circles by speaking and voting against the Lords' proposal to reject David Lloyd George's 1909 "People's Budget". After World War I he began to promote church unity, and at the 1920 Lambeth Conference was responsible for the Church's Appeal to All Christian People. As Archbishop of York he supported controversial proposals for the revision of the Book of Common Prayer, but after acceding to Canterbury he took no practical steps to resolve this issue. Lang became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1928. He presided over the 1930 Lambeth Conference, which gave limited church approval to the use of contraception. After denouncing the Italian invasion of Abyssinia in 1935 and strongly condemning European antisemitism, Lang later supported the appeasement policies of the British government. On retirement in 1942 he was created Baron Lang of Lambeth and continued to attend and speak in House of Lords debates until his death in 1945. Although he did not believe he lied up to his own standards, others have praised his qualities of industry, his efficiency and his commitment to his calling.

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