Rowan Williams To Step Down As Anglican Leader

LONDON (AP) — Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams says he is stepping down at the end of the year, closing a tumultuous decade as leader of a global Anglican communion sharply divided on issues of sexuality and gender.

He announced Friday that he will take up a new post as master of Magdalene College, Cambridge.

Williams was appointed in 2002 as archbishop of Canterbury, the senior official in the Church of England and spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion.