A female bishop is on track to potentially become the first woman to serve as the archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England, according to odds posted by British betting companies.
Guli Francis-Dehqani, bishop of Chelmsford, has emerged as the frontrunner to succeed the Rev. Justin Welby, who resigned in January. Betting companies such as Ladbrokes and Star Sports have placed her as the early favorite, with odds at evens and 2 to 1, respectively, as reported by The Telegraph.
Other strong candidates include Michael Beasley, bishop of Bath and Wells, and Thabo Makgoba, archbishop of Cape Town.
Her rise in prominence comes amid increasing visibility for female bishops, a change made possible only in 2014 when the Church of England revised its laws to permit their appointment. According to data released last year by the Church's General Synod, women make up around 30% of bishops in the denomination.
Francis-Dehqani, 58, was born in Iran and fled the country with her family after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Her brother, Bahram, was shot dead in 1980. Her father, who was then the Anglican bishop in Iran, survived an assassination attempt, and her mother, who was the daughter of another bishop, also survived an attempt on her life.
The family eventually settled in the United Kingdom, where her father served as a bishop in exile, according to The Times. She studied at Nottingham and Bristol universities, was ordained in 1999, and became bishop of Loughborough in 2017 before moving to Chelmsford in 2021.
The Canterbury Crown Nominations Commission will hold its first meeting later this month, with at least two additional meetings scheduled for July and September. A nominee must receive support from two-thirds of voting members through a secret ballot, with a formal nomination for Welby’s successor expected by autumn.
