Editing Cosmo Gordon Lang (section)

==Archbishop of Canterbury==

===In office===
[[Image:Lambeth Palace Great Hall fig tree.jpg|thumb|alt= A long, low building of brick and stonework, with arched windows. It is partially obscured by trees and shrubs. The slate roof features a six-sided tower of stone and glass.|[[Lambeth Palace]], the official residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury in London]]
Archbishop Davidson resigned in July 1928, believed to have been the first Archbishop of Canterbury ever to retire voluntarily.<ref name= Time1928/> On 26 July Lang was notified by the Prime Minister, [[Stanley Baldwin]], that he would be the successor; William Temple would succeed Lang at York.<ref>Lockhart, pp. 309–11</ref> Lang was enthroned as the new Archbishop of Canterbury on 4 December 1928,<ref name= Wilk1/> the first bachelor to hold the appointment in 150&nbsp;years. A contemporary ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine article described Lang as "forthright and voluble" and as looking "like George Washington".<ref name= Time1928>{{cite magazine|title= Religion:York to Canterbury|magazine=Time|publisher=Time Inc.|location= New York|date= 6 August 1928|url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,787459,00.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101121035432/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,787459,00.html|url-status= dead|archive-date= 21 November 2010}} {{subscription required}}</ref> Lang's first three years at Canterbury were marked by intermittent illnesses, which required periods of convalescence away from his duties.<ref name= Wilk4/> After 1932, he enjoyed good health for the rest of his life.<ref>Lockhart, p. 327</ref>
[[Image:Cosmo Lang by Laszlo.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Portrait of Archbishop Lang by [[Philip de László]], 1932]]
Lang avoided continuation of the Prayer Book controversy of 1928 by allowing the parliamentary process to lapse. He then authorised a statement permitting use of the rejected Book locally if the parochial church council gave approval. The issue remained dormant for the rest of Lang's tenure at Canterbury.<ref>Lockhart, p. 390</ref> He led the 1930 Lambeth Conference, where further progress was made in improving relations with the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]es and the [[Old Catholics]],<ref name= Wilk4>{{cite odnb|last= Wilkinson|first= Alan|title= (William) Cosmo Gordon Lang (1864–1945)|id=34398}}  ("Archbishop of Canterbury" section)</ref> although again no agreement could be reached with the non-episcopal Free Churches.<ref>{{cite news|title= Reunion and Lambeth 1930|work= The Sydney Morning Herald|date= 17 January 1931|url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19310117&id=jNEQAAAAIBAJ&pg=7231,415007|access-date= 7 August 2009}}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> On an issue of greater concern to ordinary people, the Conference gave limited approval, for the first time, to the use of contraceptive devices, an issue in which Lang had no interest.<ref>Thatcher, pp. 178–79</ref> Through the 1930s Lang continued to work for Church unity. In 1933 the Church of England assembly formed a Council on Foreign Relations and, in the following years, numerous exchange visits with Orthodox delegations took place, a process only halted by the outbreak of war. Lang's 1939 visit to the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople]] is regarded as the high point of his ecumenical record.<ref name=Wilk4/> [[George Bell (bishop)|George Bell, Bishop of Chichester]], maintained that no one in the Anglican Communion did more than Lang to promote the unity movement.<ref name= Wilk4/>

In 1937 the Oxford Conference on Church and Society, which later gave birth to the [[World Council of Churches]],<ref>Hastings, p. 272</ref> produced what was according to the church historian Adrian Hastings "the most serious approach to the problems of society that the Church had yet managed",<ref>Hastings, p. 296</ref> but without Lang's close involvement. By this time Lang's identification with the poor had largely vanished, as had his interest in social reform.<ref name= Buch170>Buchanan, p. 170</ref> In the Church Assembly his closest ally was the aristocratic [[Lord Hugh Cecil]]; Hastings maintains that the Church of England in the 1930s was controlled "less by Lang and Temple in tandem than by Lang and Hugh Cecil".<ref>Hastings, p. 253</ref> Lang got on well with [[Hewlett Johnson]], the pro-communist priest who was appointed [[Dean of Canterbury]] in 1931.<ref name= Wilk4/>

===International and domestic politics===

[[Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R69173, Münchener Abkommen, Staatschefs.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|alt=Interior photograph, showing in the foreground the five main signatories to the Munich Agreement, and in the background their various aides and assistants. Of the five, the two to the left are in black suits, the remainder in military uniform.|The signatories to the [[Munich Agreement]], September 1938. Lang hailed the Agreement, and called for a day of thanksgiving to God.]]
Lang often spoke in the House of Lords about the treatment of Russian Christians in the Soviet Union. He also denounced the anti-semitic policies of the German government, and he took private steps to help European Jews.<ref name= Wilk5>{{cite odnb|last= Wilkinson|first= Alan|title= (William) Cosmo Gordon Lang (1864–1945)|id=34398}} ("International Affairs" section)</ref><ref name= L381>Lockhart, pp. 381–83</ref> In 1938 he was instrumental in saving 60 rabbis from Burgenland, who would have been murdered by the Nazis had the archbishop not obtained them entry visas to England.<ref>Fuchs, Chapter 1</ref>

In 1933, having commented on the "noble task" of assisting India towards independence, he was appointed to the Joint Committee on the Indian Constitution.<ref name= L381/> He condemned the Italian invasion of [[Ethiopia|Abyssinia]] in 1935, appealing for medical supplies to be sent to the Abyssinian troops.<ref name= Wilk5/> As the threat of war increased later in the decade, Lang became a strong supporter of the government's policy of appeasing the European dictators, declaring the Sunday after the [[Munich Agreement]] of September 1938 to be a day of thanksgivings for the "sudden lifting of this cloud".<ref name= Wilk5/> Earlier that year, contrary to his former stance, he had supported the Anglo-Italian agreement to recognise the conquest of Abyssinia, because he believed that "an increase of appeasement" was necessary to avoid the threat of war.<ref>Hastings, pp. 327–28</ref> Lang also backed the government's non-intervention policy in regard to the [[Spanish Civil War]], saying that there were no clear issues that required the taking of sides.<ref name= Buch170/> He described the [[bombing of Guernica]] by the Germans and the Italians, on 26 April 1937, as "deplorable and shocking".<ref>{{cite journal|last= Street|first= Peter|title= Shockwaves from Spain|url= https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2017/21-april/features/features/shockwaves-from-spain-1|journal= The Church Times|date= 21 April 2017|access-date= 21 September 2017}}</ref> In October 1937 Lang's condemnation of [[Second Sino-Japanese War|Imperial Japanese Army actions in China]] provoked hostile scrutiny by the Japanese authorities of the [[Anglican Church in Japan]], and caused some in that church's leadership to publicly disassociate themselves from the [[Church of England]].{{sfn|Ion|1990|p=245}}

On the domestic front, Lang supported campaigns for the abolition of the death penalty.<ref>{{cite news|title= Parliament will be asked to abolish death penalty|work= The Independent, St Petersburg, Florida|date= 10 December 1928|url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=950&dat=19281210&id=3KELAAAAIBAJ&pg=4664,1443550|access-date= 6 March 2011}}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He upheld the right of the Church to refuse the remarriage of divorced persons within its buildings,<ref name="Lockhart, p. 378">Lockhart, p. 378</ref> but he did not directly oppose [[A.P. Herbert]]'s [[Matrimonial Causes Act 1937|Matrimonial Causes Bill]] of 1937, which liberalised the divorce laws – Lang believed  "it was no longer possible to impose the full Christian standard by law on a largely non-Christian population."<ref name="McLeod232" /> He drew criticism for his opposition to the reform of the ancient [[tithe]] system, whereby many farmers paid a proportion of their income to the Church; in the subsequent "Tithe Wars", demonstrators at [[Ashford, Kent]] ceremonially burned his effigy.<ref name="Lockhart, p. 378"/><ref>{{cite magazine|title= Foreign News: Tithe War|magazine=Time|publisher=Time Inc.|location= New York|date= 14 August 1933|url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,745901,00.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101122133957/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,745901,00.html|url-status= dead|archive-date= 22 November 2010}} {{subscription required}}</ref>
Near the end of his term in office Lang led a deputation from several church groups to the [[Ministry of Education (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Education]], to present a five-point plan for the teaching of religion in state schools. These points were eventually embodied in the [[Education Act 1944]].<ref>Lockhart, pp. 368–69</ref>

===Abdication crisis===
{{further|Edward VIII abdication crisis}}
[[File:King Edward VIII and Mrs Simpson on holiday in Yugoslavia, 1936.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Edward VIII]] on holiday in Yugoslavia with [[Wallis Simpson]], 1936]]
Lang was responsible for drafting King George V's silver jubilee broadcast message in 1935, and the King's last two Christmas messages.<ref name= Wilk6/> This closeness to the throne was not maintained when the king died in January 1936 and was succeeded by his son, [[Edward VIII]]. The new king was wary of Lang, whom he had once admired.<ref name= Wilk6>{{cite odnb|last= Wilkinson|first= Alan|title= (William) Cosmo Gordon Lang (1864–1945)|id=34398}} ("Monarchy" section)</ref><ref name= L396>Lockhart, pp. 396–401</ref> Edward now found Lang to be "rather{{nbsp}}[...] accustomed to the company of princes and statesmen, more interested in the pursuit of prestige and power than the abstractions of the human soul".<ref>Duke of Windsor, pp. 272–74</ref>

Lang believed that, as [[Prince of Wales]], Edward had not always been wise in his choice of friends and acquaintances, whose standards Lang was later to condemn as "alien to all the best instincts and traditions of his people".<ref>Mackenzie, p. 546</ref> The archbishop had been aware for some time of the King's relationship with the American [[Wallis Simpson]], then married to her second husband [[Ernest Simpson]]. In mid-1936 it became clear that the King intended to marry Simpson either before or shortly after his impending coronation, depending on the timing of her divorce from her husband. Lang agonised over whether he could, with good conscience, administer the Coronation Oath to the king in such circumstances, bearing in mind the Church's teaching on marriage. He confided to his diary his hopes that circumstances might change, or that he might be able to persuade the King to reconsider his actions, but the King refused to meet him.<ref name= L396/> Lang kept close contact with [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]] (the queen mother), [[Stanley Baldwin]] (the Prime Minister) and [[Alec Hardinge]] (the King's Private Secretary).<ref name= Wilk6/> The king believed that Lang's influence was strong, later recalling how from beginning to end he felt the archbishop's "shadowy, hovering presence" in the background.<ref>Duke of Windsor, p. 331</ref> The king's view was accurate; Lang met with Baldwin on seven occasions during the crisis, an "unusual" frequency, and "made the most of his opportunities" to influence Baldwin into taking a firm line.<ref>Don, p. 199.</ref>{{efn|In a letter of 25 November, marked "strictly confidential", Lang had written to Baldwin, in advance of the latter's meeting with the king later in the day; "The [press] leakage will soon become a flood and will burst the dam. Any announcement{{nbsp}}[...] of the kind you indicated to me [of the king's abdication] should be made as soon as possible. The announcement should appear as a free act{{nbsp}}[...] he [the king] must leave as soon as possible, it would be out of the question that he should remain".<ref>Don, p. 194.</ref>}}

The matter became public knowledge on 2 December 1936 when [[Alfred Blunt]], [[Bishop of Bradford (diocese)|Bishop of Bradford]], made an indirect comment on the King's "need for Divine Grace".<ref>Lockhart, p. 401</ref> By then the king had unalterably decided that he would abdicate rather than give up Wallis Simpson. All attempts to dissuade him failed, and on 11 December he gave up his throne in favour of his brother, [[George VI]].<ref>Duke of Windsor, pp. 407–408</ref> Two days later Lang broadcast a speech, in which he said: "From God he received a high and sacred trust. Yet by his own will he has{{nbsp}}[...] surrendered the trust." The king's motive had been "a craving for private happiness" that he had sought "in a manner inconsistent with the Christian principles of marriage".<ref>Mackenzie, p. 545</ref> The speech was widely condemned for its lack of charity towards the departed king<ref>Hastings, pp. 247–48</ref> and provoked the writer [[Gerald Bullett]] to publish a satirical punning rhyme:{{efn|''Cantuar'' is an abbreviation of [[Canterbury]] – Lang signed himself C. C., Cosmo Cantuar – but can be read as "cant you are". There are two versions of the rhyme. Lockhart, p. 406, and Don, p. 210, publish this one. McKibben has a different version of the last two lines: "Of charity how oddly scant you are! How Lang O Lord, how full of Cantuar!".<ref>McKibben, p. 280.</ref>}}
{{Blockquote|text=<poem>
My Lord Archbishop, what a scold you are!
And when your man is down, how bold you are!
Of Christian charity how scant you are!
And, auld Lang swine, how full of Cantuar!<ref>Don, p. 210.</ref></poem>}}

Lang's most recent biographer considers that his broadcast was "arguably the biggest mistake of his primacy."<ref name = Don>{{cite book|first=Alan|last=Don|editor1=Robert Beaken|author-link=Alan Don|title=Faithful Witness: The Confidential Diaries of Alan Don, Chaplain to the King, the Archbishop and the Speaker, 1931–1946|location=London|publisher=[[SPCK]]|year=2020|isbn=978-0-28108-398-5|page=202}}</ref> The volume, and vehemence, of the reaction were immense. [[Alan Don]], Lang's secretary and chaplain, wrote in his diary entry for Tuesday 15 December; "A perfect deluge of letters – the majority abusive and even vituperative", and went as far as to venture a rare criticism of his master; "C. C. was a little unfair to the poor King. I wish [he] had submitted his address to one of us beforehand but{{nbsp}}[...] he trusted his own judgement – which{{nbsp}}[...] [was] slightly at fault".<ref>Don, p. 203.</ref>{{efn|As Lang's chaplain and secretary, Don had a ringside seat at the abdication crisis and, despite Lang's noted reticence, remained remarkably well-informed. His entry for 20 January 1936, some 10 months before the crisis became public knowledge, reads; "That the Prince of Wales would like to make way for the Duke of York and his charming Duchess, I do not doubt..."<ref>Don, p. 169.</ref>}}

Lang did not disguise his relief that the crisis was over. He wrote of George VI: "I was now sure that to the solemn words of the Coronation there would now be a sincere response."<ref>Lockhart, pp. 406–07</ref> On 12 May 1937, Lang [[Coronation of George VI and Elizabeth|crowned George VI]] with full pomp in [[Westminster Abbey]]. It was the first coronation to be broadcast. ''Time'' magazine recorded: "All through the three-hour ceremony, the most important person there was not the King, his nobles or his ministers, but a hawk-nosed old gentleman with a cream-&-gold cope who stood on a dais as King George approached: The Rt. Hon. and Most Reverend Cosmo Gordon Lang, D.D.. Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of All England."<ref name = Godsave>{{cite magazine|title= God Save The King|magazine=Time|publisher=Time Inc.|location= New York|date= 24 May 1937|url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,848686-2,00.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111107230441/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,848686-2,00.html|url-status= dead|archive-date= 7 November 2011}} {{subscription required}}</ref> Supposedly the archbishop fumbled with the Crown{{efn|Lang was looking for a thread of red wool on the crown, which he had placed to allow him to align it with the centre of king's forehead, but it had been removed, in error, by an assistant.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2023/28-april/features/features/cosmo-lang-and-the-last-king|first=David|last=Wilbourne|title=Cosmo Lang and the last King|publisher=[[Church Times]]|date=28 April 2023|access-date=15 January 2024}}</ref>}} but Lang himself was fully satisfied: "I can only be thankful to God's over-ruling Providence and trust that the Coronation may not be a mere dream of the past, but that its memories and lessons will not be forgotten."<ref>Lockhart, pp. 411–422</ref> He also said of the Coronation: "It was in a sense the culminating day of my official life. Once I saw it was going well, I enjoyed every minute." "Thank God that is over!" said his chaplain, as they got into the car to leave. "Lumley, how can you say such a thing!" cried the archbishop. "I only wish it was beginning over again."<ref>Rowse, p. 33</ref>

===War===

When the Second World War began in September 1939, Lang saw his main duty as the preservation of spiritual values during what he deemed to be an honourable conflict.<ref name= L435>Lockhart, pp. 435–42</ref> He opposed strategies such as indiscriminate bombing, and on 21 December 1940, in a letter to ''[[The Times]]'' signed jointly with Temple and [[Cardinal Hinsley]], Lang expressed support for the pope's Five Peace Points initiative.<ref name= Hastings392>Hastings, pp. 392–95</ref> Lang was sympathetic to the [[Progressio (organization)|Sword of the Spirit]] campaign, founded by Hinsley in 1940 to combat anti-democratic tendencies among Catholics.<ref name= Hastings392/> In May 1941 [[Lambeth Palace]], Lang's London home, was hit by bombs and made uninhabitable.<ref name= Wilk6a>{{cite odnb|last= Wilkinson|first= Alan|title= (William) Cosmo Gordon Lang (1864–1945)|id=34398}} ("The Second World War" section)</ref>

After the Axis attack on the USSR in June 1941, Lang said that the Soviets must now be regarded as allies, without forgetting or condoning the excesses of the past.<ref name= L435/> His relations with [[Winston Churchill]], prime minister since May 1940, were difficult because "he [Churchill] knows nothing about the Church, its life, its needs or its personnel". There was therefore "uncertainty as to what motives or how much knowledge may determine his decisions [on Church matters]".<ref>Lockhart, pp. 435–36</ref>