The Archdeacon of London is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England. They are responsible for the eastern Archdeaconry (the Archdeaconry of London) of the Two Cities (London and Westminster) in the Diocese of London, an area without area bishop and, rather, overseen by the diocesan Bishop of London. The immediate western counterpart in this area is the Archdeacon(ry) of Charing Cross.
Since 1989, the churches of this supervisory cleric are the numerous remaining churches of the City of London. Those of the Archdeacon of Charing Cross are the relatively few churches, but much more heavily populated zone that is the City of Westminster.
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History
Before the 20th century, the early medieval-founded London archdeaconry included parts of the East End as well as the City of London. The extent of the archdeaconry was reduced in 1912 (with the creation of the Archdeaconry of Hampstead) and in 1951 (with the creation of the Archdeaconry of Hackney) then latest boundary changes with the creation of the Archdeaconry of Charing Cross in 1989 saw the archdeaconry become coterminous with the limits of the City of London.
Archdeacons of Charing Cross
This archdeaconry, comprising the City of Westminster, was created shortly before Klyberg's appointment in June 1989. The archdeacon serves directly under the Bishop of London, who takes direct responsibility for the Two Cities area since there is no area bishop.
On 16 June 2015, it was announced that from 1 January 2016 the Archdeacon of London would take responsibility for the whole Two Cities area; a part-time Associate Archdeacon would also work across both. Lain-Priestley was thus collated to the Charing Cross archdeaconry, and became known as the Archdeacon for the Two Cities. Lain-Priestley resigned this on 31 December 2018 to become an Adviser to the Bishop of London.
As Archdeacon of Charing Cross since 2020, Atkinson was archdeacon full-time; in June 2023 it was announced that Atkinson was to become Bishop of Bradwell (an area bishop in the Diocese of Chelmsford) from "autumn" 2023. On 8 January 2024, it was announced that Katherine Hedderly was to become Archdeacon of Charing Cross "after Easter"; she was duly collated 15 April 2024.