Wikipedia:Today's featured list/April 7, 2014
The Archbishops of Canterbury were in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, from the 6th century until the 16th century. During the English Reformation the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope, and the Archbishop of Canterbury subsequently became the head of the Church of England and, symbolically, of the worldwide Anglican Communion. In the Middle Ages there was considerable variation in the nomination of the archbishop and other bishops. At various times, the choice was made by the canons of Canterbury Cathedral, the King of England, or the Pope. Since the reformation, the church is explicitly a state church and the choice is legally that of the British crown; today it is made in the name of the monarchy of the United Kingdom by the Prime Minister from a shortlist of two selected by an ad hoc committee called the Crown Nominations Commission. A list of the Archbishops of Canterbury (pictured) is kept in the Cathedral. (Full list...)