Having sought the gracious permission of His Majesty the King, I have decided to resign as Archbishop of Canterbury.

Makin magazine exposed the long-standing conspiracy of silence about John Smyth’s atrocious abuses.

When I was informed in 2013 and told that the police had been notified, I mistakenly believed that a proper resolution would follow.

It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and traumatic period between 2013 and 2024.

It is my duty to honor my constitutional and ecclesiastical responsibilities, so the exact timing will be decided once a review of the necessary obligations, including those in England and the Anglican Communion, is completed.

I hope this decision makes clear how seriously the Church of England takes the need for change and our deep commitment to creating a safer church. As I resign, I do so in pain with all victims and survivors of abuse.

The last few days have renewed my deep and long-felt sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England. For almost 12 years I have struggled to make improvements. It is for others to judge what has been done.

In the meantime, I will fulfill my commitment to meet victims. I will delegate all other current safeguarding responsibilities until the necessary risk assessment process is completed.

I ask everyone to keep my wife Caroline and my children in your prayers. They have been my most important support throughout my ministry and I am eternally grateful for their sacrifice. Caroline ran the Spouses Program during the Lambeth Conference and traveled tirelessly to conflict zones supporting the most vulnerable, women and their carers locally.

I believe that stepping aside is in the best interests of the Church of England, which I love dearly and which I have been honored to serve. I pray that this decision will point us back to the love that Jesus Christ has for each of us.

For, above all else, my deepest commitment is to the person of Jesus Christ, my savior and my God; bearer of the sins and burdens of the world and the hope of every man.