William Cosmo Gordon Lang, 1st Baron Lang of Lambeth GCVO PC (known as Cosmo; 31 October 1864 – 5 December 1945) was an Anglican prelate who served as Archbishop of York (1908–1928) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1928–1942). His rapid elevation to Archbishop of York, within 18 years of his ordination, is unprecedented in modern Church of England history. As Archbishop of Canterbury during the abdication crisis of 1936, he took a strong moral stanc...
More
William Cosmo Gordon Lang, 1st Baron Lang of Lambeth GCVO PC (known as Cosmo; 31 October 1864 – 5 December 1945) was an Anglican prelate who served as Archbishop of York (1908–1928) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1928–1942). His rapid elevation to Archbishop of York, within 18 years of his ordination, is unprecedented in modern Church of England history. As Archbishop of Canterbury during the abdication crisis of 1936, he took a strong moral stance, and comments he made in a subsequent broadcast were widely condemned as uncharitable towards the departed king.
The son of a Scots Presbyterian minister, Lang abandoned the prospect of a legal and political career to train for the Anglican priesthood. Beginning in 1890, his early ministry was served in slum parishes in Leeds and Portsmouth, except for brief service as an Oxford college chaplain. In 1901 he was appointed suffragan Bishop of Stepney in London, where he continued his work among the poor. He also served as a canon of St Paul's...
Less
