Justin Welby, appointed Archbishop of Canterbury today, is equipped to deal with the church's divisions, observers say, thanks to his corporate experience and charisma.

The outgoing head of the Church of England once said that he hoped his successor would have "the constitution of an ox and the skin of a rhinoceros."

Justin Welby may well be considering those words today, after being appointed the new Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the world's estimated 85 million Anglicans.

He takes over from Rowan Williams a church struggling with shrinking congregations in Britain and beset with divisions over women clergy and gay marriage. But many observers say Welby, the fourth-most senior figure in the Church of England until now, is better equipped for those challenges than anyone else in the church's hierarchy as a result of his corporate experience and relatively good standing among both conservative and liberal factions.

Welby, who told a press conference Friday that he had “never expected” the appointment, struck an optimistic note throughout, saying: "It's exciting, because I believe that we are at one of those rare points, where the tide of events is turning, and the church nationally, including the Church of England, has great opportunities to match its very great, but often hidden strengths."

A figure from the evangelical wing of the church and one with backing from many traditionalists, Welby opposes gay marriage, potentially the most serious faultline in a church already at odds with the British government over new proposals to legalize gay marriage. However, his support for women clergy has also won him admirers from beyond conservative circles.

“He has strong record on female clergy, but at the same time, traditionalists who disagree about women in leadership feel that he has come there through quite a scriptural route, that he understands why some people are not in favor, and is prepared to fight for their right to remain in the Church of England by finding ways to square their consciousness,” says Elizabeth Oldfield, director of Theos, a theology think tank.

While he won't be able to run England's state church like a company, his corporate nuance is likely to come in handy when it comes to tackling some of the wider organizational challenges the church faces as congregations dwindle and age, depriving it of its primary source of funding.

“There are fewer parishioners, as well as an increasingly aging and much more stretched clergy,” says Ms. Oldfield, who notes Welby's success several years ago as dean of Liverpool, where he was able to sort out local church finances. “Working out what is a sustainable model for the church over the course of the century is a hugely urgent piece of work, and I think that Justin Welby might be the person to do that.”

Ben Quinn | This article can be read in full at thechristiansciencemonitor.com

Picture by jepoirrier