Rowan Williams

The Right Revd and Right Honourable  The Lord Williams of Oystermouth  PC FBA FRSL FLSW
Archbishop of Canterbury
Province	Province of Canterbury
Diocese	Diocese of Canterbury
In office	2 December 2002 (elected) – 31 December 2012 (retired)
Predecessor	George Carey
Successor	Justin Welby
Other posts	Master of Magdalene 2013–present Archbishop of Wales 2000–2002 Bishop of Monmouth 1992–2002
Orders
Ordination	1977
Consecration	1 May 1992
Personal details
Birth name	Rowan Douglas Williams
Born	(1950-06-14) 14 June 1950 Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Denomination	Anglicanism
Parents	Aneurin Williams and Delphine Morris
Spouse	Jane Paul (1981–present)
Children	Rhiannon, Pip
Profession	Bishop, theologian
Alma mater	Christ's College, Cambridge Wadham College, Oxford
Motto	Cultus Dei Sapientia Hominis (The worship of God is the wisdom of man)
Signature
Coat of arms

Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, PC, FBA, FRSL, FLSW (born 14 June 1950) is an Anglican bishop, poet and theologian. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury and Primate of All England, offices he held from December 2002 to December 2012. Williams was previously Bishop of Monmouth and Archbishop of Wales, making him the first Archbishop of Canterbury in modern times not to be appointed from within the Church of England. He spent much of his earlier career as an academic at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford successively. Apart from Welsh, he speaks or reads nine other languages.

Williams' primacy was marked by speculation that the Anglican Communion (in which the Archbishop of Canterbury is the leading figure) was on the verge of fragmentation and by Williams' attempts to keep all sides talking to one another. Notable events in his primacy included the rejection by a majority of dioceses of his proposed Anglican Covenant and, in the final General Synod of his tenure, the failure to secure a sufficient majority for a measure to allow the appointment of women as bishops in the Church of England.

Williams stood down as Archbishop of Canterbury on 31 December 2012 and became Master of Magdalene College at Cambridge University in January 2013. Justin Welby was appointed as his successor as Archbishop of Canterbury on 9 November 2012 and will be enthroned in March 2013. It was announced by 10 Downing St on 26 December 2012 that Williams was to be created a life peer; his title, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, was gazetted on 8 January 2013 and he was introduced to the House on 15 January 2013.

Early life and ordination

Williams was born on 14 June 1950 in Ystradgynlais, Swansea, Wales, into a Welsh-speaking family. He was the only child of Aneurin Williams and Delphine ("Del", "Nancy") née Morris — Presbyterians who became Anglicans in 1961. He was educated at the state school Dynevor School in Swansea, before going to the University of Cambridge, where he studied theology at Christ's College. He then went to Wadham College at the University of Oxford, where he received his Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in 1975.

Williams lectured at the College of the Resurrection, in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, for two years. In 1977 he returned to Cambridge to teach theology, first at Westcott House, having been ordained deacon at Ely Cathedral that year and priest in 1978.

Career

Early academic career and pastoral ministry

Williams did not have a formal curacy until 1980 when he served at St George's Chesterton until 1983, having been appointed as a lecturer in divinity at Cambridge University. In 1984 he became Dean and Chaplain of Clare College and, in 1986, at the age of 36, he was appointed to the Lady Margaret Professorship of Divinity at Oxford University and, with this position, as a residentiary canon of Christ Church. He was awarded the degree of Doctor of Divinity (DD) in 1989, and elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1990

Episcopal ministry

Williams was elected (in 1991) and consecrated (in 1992) as Bishop of Monmouth in the Church in Wales. He continued as Bishop of Monmouth when he was elected as Archbishop of Wales in 1999. In 2002 he was announced as the successor to George Carey as Archbishop of Canterbury – the senior bishop in the Church of England and primus inter pares (i.e. Primate) of the Bishops of the Anglican Communion. As a bishop of the disestablished Church in Wales, Williams was the first Archbishop of Canterbury since the English Reformation to be appointed from a position outside the Church of England. His election by the chapter of Canterbury Cathedral was confirmed by nine bishops in the usual ceremony in London on 2 December 2002 – at this point Williams officially became Archbishop of Canterbury. He was enthroned on 27 February 2003 as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury.

Williams' appointment to Canterbury was widely canvassed. A bishop who had demonstrated a huge range of interests in social and political matters, he was widely regarded, by academics and others, as a figure who could make Christianity credible to the intelligent unbeliever. As a patron of Affirming Catholicism his appointment was a considerable departure from that of his predecessor and his views, not least those expressed in a widely published lecture on homosexuality (see below) were seized on by a number of Evangelical and conservative Anglicans. The debate had begun to divide the communion, however, and Williams, in his position as leader of the Anglican Communion, would be bound to have an important role.

Since becoming a bishop, a number of institutions have granted Williams honorary degrees and fellowships, such as Kent, Cambridge, Oxford and Roehampton Universities.

In 2005 he was inaugurated as the first Chancellor of Canterbury Christ Church University. This was in addition to his ex officio role as Visitor at King's College London, the University of Kent and Keble College, Oxford. Cambridge University awarded him an honorary Doctorate in Divinity in 2006. In April 2007, Trinity College and Wycliffe College, both associated with the University of Toronto, awarded him a joint Doctor of Divinity degree during his first visit to Canada since being enthroned.

Williams is a noted poet and translator of poetry. His collection The Poems of Rowan Williams, published by Perpetua Press, was longlisted for the Wales Book of the Year award in 2004. Beside his own poems, which have a strong spiritual and landscape flavour, the collection contains several fluent translations from Welsh poets. He was criticised in the press for allegedly supporting a ' pagan organisation', the Welsh Gorsedd of Bards, which promotes Welsh language and literature and uses druidic ceremonial but is actually not religious in nature. His wife, Jane Williams, is a writer and lecturer in theology. They married in 1981 and have two children, who were also state educated.

Traditionally, as Archbishop of Canterbury, Williams acted as a Governor of Charterhouse School. He is Patron of the Canterbury Open Centre run by Catching Lives, a local charity supporting the destitute.

Williams is also Patron of the Peace Mala Youth Project For World Peace since 2002, and led the ceremony that launched the charity as one of his last engagements as Archbishop of Wales. In addition, he sits as President at WaveLength Charity, a UK-wide organisation that gives TVs and radios to isolated and vulnerable people. This role has been filled by the Archbishop of Canterbury since the charity's inception in 1939.

Williams speaks or reads 11 languages: English, Welsh, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Biblical Hebrew, Syriac, Latin and both Ancient (koine) and Modern Greek. He learnt Russian in order to be able to read the works of Dostoyevsky in the original.

Williams officiated at the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton on 29 April 2011.

On 16 November 2011, Williams attended a special service at Westminster Abbey celebrating the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible in the presence of Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip and Prince Charles who is the Patron of the King James Bible Trust.

2010 General Synod address

On 9 February 2010, in an address to General Synod, Williams warned that damaging infighting over women bishops and gay priests could result in a permanent split in the Anglican Communion. He stressed that he did not "want or relish" the prospect of division and called on the Church of England and Anglicans worldwide to step back from a "betrayal" of God's mission and to put the work of Christ before schism. But he conceded that, unless Anglicans could find a way to live with their differences over women bishops and homosexual ordination, the Church would change shape and become a multi-tier communion of different levels – a schism in all but name.

Williams also said that "It may be that the covenant creates a situation in which there are different levels of relationship between those claiming the name of Anglican. I don’t at all want or relish this, but suspect that, without a major change of heart all round, it may be an unavoidable aspect of limiting the damage we are already doing to ourselves." In such a structure, some churches would be given full membership of the Anglican Communion, with others on an outside, lower-level track with only observer status on some issues. Williams also used his keynote address to issue a profound apology for the way that he has spoken about "exemplary and sacrificial" gay Anglican priests in the past. "There are ways of speaking about the question that seem to ignore these human realities or to undervalue them," he said. "I have been criticised for doing just this, and I am profoundly sorry for the carelessness that could give such an impression."

Magdalene College

On 17 January 2013, Williams was admitted as the 35th Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge.

Theology

Williams is a scholar of the Church Fathers as well as a historian of Christian spirituality.

In 1983 Williams wrote that orthodoxy should be seen "as a tool rather than an end in itself..." It is not something which stands still. Thus "old styles come under increasing strain, new speech needs to be generated". He sees orthodoxy as a number of "dialogues": a constant dialogue with Christ, crucified and risen; but also that of the community of faith with the world – "a risky enterprise", as he writes. "We ought to be puzzled", he says, "when the world is not challenged by the gospel." It may mean that Christians have not understood the kinds of bondage to which the gospel is addressed. He has also written that "orthodoxy is inseparable from sacramental practice... The eucharist is the paradigm of that dialogue which is 'orthodoxy'". This stance may help to explain both his social radicalism and his view of the importance of the Church, and thus of the holding together of the Anglican communion over matters such as homosexuality: his belief in the idea of the Church is profound.

John Shelby Spong once accused Williams of being a 'neo-medievalist', preaching orthodoxy to the people in the pew but knowing in private that it is not true. In an interview with Third Way Magazine Williams responded: "I am genuinely a lot more conservative than he would like me to be. Take the Resurrection. I think he has said that of course I know what all the reputable scholars think on the subject and therefore when I talk about the risen body I must mean something other than the empty tomb. But I don't. I don't know how to persuade him, but I really don't."

Although generally considered as an Anglo-Catholic, his sympathies are broad. One of his first publications was in the largely evangelical Grove Books series with the title Eucharistic Sacrifice: the Roots of a Metaphor.

Moral theology

Williams' contributions to Anglican views of homosexuality were perceived as quite liberal before he became the Archbishop of Canterbury. These views are evident in a paper written by Williams called 'The Body’s Grace', which he originally delivered as the 10th Michael Harding Memorial Address in 1989 to the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, and which is now part of a series of essays collected in the book Theology and Sexuality (ed. Eugene Rogers, Blackwells 2002).

Social views

His interest in and involvement with social issues is longstanding. While Chaplain of Clare College, Cambridge, Williams took part in anti-nuclear demonstrations at United States bases. In 1985, he was arrested for singing psalms as part of a protest organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament at Lakenheath, an American air base in Suffolk; his fine was paid by his college. At this time he was a member of the left-wing Anglo-Catholic Jubilee Group headed by Father Kenneth Leech and he collaborated with Leech in a number of publications including the anthology of essays to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Assize Sermon entitled Essays Catholic and Radical in 1983.

He was in New York at the time of 11 September 2001 attacks, only yards from Ground Zero delivering a lecture; he subsequently wrote a short book, 'Writing in the Dust', offering reflections on the event. In reference to Al Qaeda, he claimed that terrorists "can have serious moral goals" and that "Bombast about evil individuals doesn't help in understanding anything." He has subsequently worked with Muslim leaders in England, and on the third anniversary of 9/11 spoke, by invitation, at the Al-Azhar University Institute in Cairo on the subject of the Trinity. He stated that the followers of the will of God should not be led into ways of violence. He contributed to the debate prior to the 2005 United Kingdom General Election criticising assertions that immigration was a cause of crime. Williams has argued that the partial adoption of Islamic sharia law in the United Kingdom is "unavoidable" as a method of arbitration in such affairs as marriage, and should not be resisted. On 15 November 2008, the Archbishop visited the Balaji Temple in Tividale, West Midlands, on a goodwill mission to represent the friendship between the two faiths of Christianity and Hinduism.

Sharia law

Williams was the subject of a media and press furor in February 2008, following a lecture he gave to the Temple Foundation at the Royal Courts of Justice on the subject of "Islam and English Law". He raised the question of conflicting loyalties which communities might have, cultural, religious and civic. He also argued that theology has a place in debates about the very nature of law "however hard our culture may try to keep it out" and noted that there is, in a "dominant human rights philosophy", a reluctance to acknowledge the liberty of conscientious objection. He spoke of "supplementary jurisdictions" to that of the civil law. Noting the anxieties which the word sharia provoked in the West, he drew attention to the fact that there was a debate within Islam between what he called "primitivists" for whom, for instance, apostasy should still be punishable and those Muslims who argued that sharia was a developing system of Islamic jurisprudence and that such a view was no longer acceptable. He made comparisons with Orthodox Jewish practice ( Beth Din) and with the recognition of the exercise of conscience of Christians.

Williams' words were critically interpreted as proposing a parallel jurisdiction to the civil law for Muslims (sharia) and were the subject of demands from elements of the press and media for his resignation. He also attracted criticism from elements of the Anglican Communion.

In response, Williams stated in a BBC interview that "certain provision[s] of sharia are already recognised in our society and under our law; ... we already have in this country a number of situations in which the internal law of religious communities is recognised by the law of the land as justified conscientious objections in certain circumstances in providing certain kinds of social relations" and that "we have Orthodox Jewish courts operating in this country legally and in a regulated way because there are modes of dispute resolution and customary provisions which apply there in the light of Talmud." Williams also denied accusations of proposing a parallel Islamic legal system within Britain. Williams also said of sharia: "In some of the ways it has been codified and practised across the world, it has been appalling and applied to women in places like Saudi Arabia, it is grim."

Williams' position received more support from the legal community, following a speech given on 4 July 2008 by Lord Phillips, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. He supported the idea that sharia could be reasonably employed as a basis for "mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolution". He went further to defend Williams' position from earlier in the year, explaining that "It was not very radical to advocate embracing sharia law in the context of family disputes, for example, and our system already goes a long way towards accommodating the archbishop's suggestion."; and that "It is possible in this country for those who are entering into a contractual agreement to agree that the agreement shall be governed by a law other than English law." However, some concerns have been raised over the question of how far "embracing" sharia law would be compliant with the UK's obligation under human rights law.

Free market

In 2002 Williams delivered the Richard Dimbleby lecture and chose to talk about the problematic nature of the nation-state but also of its successors. He cited the so-called 'market state' as offering an inadequate vision of the way a state should operate, partly because it was liable to short-term and narrowed concerns (thus rendering it incapable of dealing with, for instance, issues relating to the degradation of the natural environment) and partly because a public arena which had become value-free was liable to disappear amidst the multitude of competing private interests. (He noted the same moral vacuum in British society after this visit to China in 2006.) He is not uncritical of communitarianism, but his reservations about consumerism have been a constant theme. These views have often been expressed in quite strong terms; for example, he once commented that "Every transaction in the developed economies of the West can be interpreted as an act of aggression against the economic losers in the worldwide game."

Williams has supported the Robin Hood tax campaign since March 2010, re-affirming his support in a November 2011 article he published in the Financial Times.

Creationism

Williams' response to a controversy about the teaching of creationism in privately sponsored academies was that it should not be taught in schools as an alternative to evolution. When asked if he was comfortable with teaching creationism, he said "I think creationism is, in a sense, a kind of category mistake, as if the Bible were a theory like other theories... so if creationism is presented as a stark alternative theory alongside other theories, I think there's – there's just been a jar of categories, it's not what it's about." When the interviewer said "So it shouldn't be taught?" he responded "I don't think it should, actually. No, no. And that's different from saying–different from discussing, teaching about what creation means. For that matter, it's not even the same as saying that Darwinism is–is the only thing that ought to be taught. My worry is creationism can end up reducing the doctrine of creation rather than enhancing it."

In this, Williams has maintained traditional support amongst Anglicans and their leaders for the teaching of evolution as fully compatible with Christianity. This support has dated at least back to Frederick Temple's tenure as Archbishop of Canterbury.

Iraq War and possible attack on Syria or Iran

Williams was to repeat his opposition to American action in October 2002 when he signed a petition against the Iraq War as being against UN ethics and Christian teaching, and 'lowering the threshold of war unacceptably'. Again on 30 June 2004, together with the Archbishop of York, David Hope, and on behalf of all 114 Church of England bishops, he wrote to Tony Blair expressing deep concern about UK government policy and criticising the coalition troops' conduct in Iraq. The letter cited the abuse of Iraqi detainees, which was described as having been "deeply damaging" – and stated that the government's apparent double standards "diminish the credibility of western governments". In December 2006 he expressed doubts in an interview on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 about whether he had done enough to oppose the war.

On 5 October 2007, Williams visited Iraqi refugees in Syria. In a BBC interview after his trip he described advocates of a United States attack on Syria or Iran as "criminal, ignorant and potentially murderous". A few days earlier, the former US ambassador to the UN, John R. Bolton had called for bombing of Iran at a fringe meeting of the Conservative Party conference.

When people talk about further destabilization of the region and you read some American political advisers speaking of action against Syria and Iran, I can only say that I regard that as criminal, ignorant and potentially murderous folly.– Rowan Williams, 5 October 2007

Opinion about hijab and terrorism

Williams objected to a proposed French law banning wearing of the hijab, a traditional Islamic headscarf for women, in French schools. He said that the hijab and any other religious symbols should not be outlawed.

Williams also spoke up against the scapegoating of Muslims in the aftermath of 7 July 2005 London bombings on underground trains and a bus, which killed 52 and wounded about 700. The initial blame was placed on Al-Qaeda, but Muslims at large were targeted for reprisals: four mosques in England were assaulted and Muslims were verbally insulted in streets and their cars and houses were vandalised. Rowan Williams strongly condemned the terrorist attacks and stated that they cannot be justified. However, he added that "any person can commit a crime in the name of religion and it is not particularly Islam to be blamed. Some persons committed deeds in the name of Islam but the deeds contradict Islamic belief and philosophy completely."

Interview with Emel magazine

In November 2007, Williams gave an interview for Emel magazine, a British Muslim magazine. Williams condemned the United States and certain Christian groups for their role in the Middle East, while his criticism of some trends within Islam went largely unreported. As reported by The Times, he was greatly critical of the United States, the Iraq war, and Christian Zionists, yet made "only mild criticisms of the Islamic world". He claimed "the United States wields its power in a way that is worse than Britain during its imperial heyday". He compared Muslims in Britain to the Good Samaritans, praised Muslim salah ritual of five prayers a day, but said in Muslim nations, the "present political solutions aren't always very impressive".

Position on Freemasonry

In a leaked private letter Williams said that he "had real misgivings about the compatibility of Masonry and Christian profession" and that whilst Bishop of Monmouth he had prevented the appointment of Freemasons to senior positions within his diocese. The leaking of this letter in 2003 caused a controversy, which he sought to defuse by apologising for the distress caused and stating that he did not question "the good faith and generosity of individual Freemasons", not least as his father was a member. However, he also reiterated his concern about Christian ministers adopting "a private system of profession and initiation, involving the taking of oaths of loyalty."

Unity of the Anglican Communion

Williams became Archbishop of Canterbury at a particularly difficult time in the relations of the churches of the Anglican Communion. His predecessor, George Carey, had sought to keep the peace between the theologically conservative primates of the Communion such as Peter Akinola of Nigeria and Drexel Gomez of the West Indies and liberals such as Frank Griswold, the then Primate of the US Episcopal Church and others elsewhere.

In 2003, in an attempt to encourage dialogue, Williams appointed Archbishop Robin Eames, the Primate of All Ireland, as Chairman of the Lambeth Commission on Communion, to examine the challenges to the unity of the Communion, stemming from the consecration of Gene Robinson as the Bishop of New Hampshire, and the blessing of same-sex unions in the Diocese of New Westminster. (Robinson was in a same-sex relationship.) The Windsor Report, as it was called, was published in October 2004. It recommended solidifying the connection between the churches of the Communion by having each church ratify an "Anglican Covenant" that would commit them to consulting the wider Communion when making major decisions. It also urged those who had contributed to disunity to express their regret.

In November 2005, following a meeting of Anglicans of the "global south" in Cairo at which Williams had addressed them in conciliatory terms, 12 primates who had been present sent him a letter sharply criticising his leadership which said that "We are troubled by your reluctance to use your moral authority to challenge the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada." The letter acknowledged his eloquence but strongly criticised his reluctance to take sides in the communion's theological crisis and urged him to make explicit threats to those more liberal churches. Questions were later asked about the authority and provenance of the letter as two additional signatories' names had been added although they had left the meeting before it was produced. Subsequently the Church of Nigeria appointed an American cleric to deal with relations between the United States and Nigerian churches outside the normal channels. Williams expressed his reservations about this to the General Synod.

More recently Williams has established a working party to examine what a "covenant" between the provinces of the Anglican Communion would mean in line with the Windsor Report.

Comments on the British Government

On 8 June 2011, Williams said that the British Government is committing Britain to "radical, long-term policies for which no-one voted". Writing in the New Statesman magazine, Williams raised concerns about the coalition's health, education and welfare reforms. He said there was "indignation" due to a lack of "proper public argument". He also said that the " Big Society" idea was viewed with "widespread suspicion", noting also that "we are still waiting for a full and robust account of what the Left would do differently and what a Left-inspired version of localism would look like". The article also said there was concern that the government would abandon its responsibility for tackling child poverty, illiteracy and poor access to the best schools. He also expressed concern about the "quiet resurgence of the seductive language of 'deserving' and 'undeserving' poor" and the steady pressure to increase "what look like punitive responses to alleged abuses of the system". In response, David Cameron said that he “profoundly disagreed” with Williams’ claim that the government was forcing through “radical policies for which no one voted”. Cameron said that the government was acting in a “good and moral” fashion and defended the “Big Society” and the Coalition’s deficit reduction, welfare and education plans. “I am absolutely convinced that our policies are about actually giving people a greater responsibility and greater chances in their life, and I will defend those very vigorously”, he said. “By all means let us have a robust debate but I can tell you, it will always be a two-sided debate.”

Ecumenism

Williams did his doctoral work on Vladimir Lossky, a prominent Russian Orthodox theologian of the early-mid 20th century. He is currently patron of the Fellowship of Saint Alban and Saint Sergius, an ecumenical forum for Orthodox and Western (primarily Anglican) Christians. He has expressed his continuing sympathies with Orthodoxy in lectures and writings since that time.

Williams has written on Saint Teresa of Avila, a Spanish Roman Catholic mystic. On the death of Pope John Paul II he accepted an invitation to attend his funeral, the first Archbishop of Canterbury to attend a funeral of a Pope since the break under King Henry VIII. He also attended the inauguration of Pope Benedict XVI. During the Pope's state visit to the United Kingdom in September 2010, the two led a service together at Westminster Abbey.

Williams said in April 2010 that the child sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland had been a "colossal trauma" for Ireland in particular. Williams' remarks were condemned by the second most senior Roman Catholic bishop in Ireland, the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, who said that "Those working for renewal in the Catholic Church in Ireland did not need this comment on this Easter weekend and do not deserve it."

Works

• Dostoevsky: Language, Faith and Fiction (Baylor University Press, 2008); ISBN 1-84706-425-6
• Foreword to W. H. Auden in Great Poets of the 20th century series, The Guardian, 12 March 2008.
• Where God Happens: Discovering Christ in One Another (New Seeds, 14 August 2007)
• Wrestling with Angels: Conversations in Modern Theology, ed. Mike Higton (2007 SCM Press) ISBN 0-334-04095-7
• Tokens of Trust. An introduction to Christian belief. (2007 Canterbury Press)
• Grace and Necessity: Reflections on Art and Love (2005)
• Why Study the Past? The Quest for the Historical Church (2005 Eerdmans)
• Anglican Identities (2004) ISBN 1-56101-254-8
• Darkness Yielding, co-authored with Jim Cotter, Martyn Percy, Sylvia Sands and W. H. Vanstone (2004) ISBN 1-870652-36-3
• The Dwelling of the Light—Praying with Icons of Christ (2003 Canterbury Press)
• Lost Icons: Essays on Cultural Bereavement (2003 T & T Clark)
• Silence and Honey Cakes: The Wisdom of the Desert (2003) ISBN 0-7459-5170-8
• Faith and Experience in Early Monasticism (2002)
• Ponder These Things: Praying With Icons of the Virgin (Canterbury Press, 2002)
• Writing in the Dust: Reflections on 11 September and Its Aftermath (Hodder and Stoughton, 2002)
• The Poems of Rowan Williams (2002)
• Arius: Heresy and Tradition (2nd ed. 2001 SCM Press) ISBN 0-334-02850-7
• Christ on Trial (2000) ISBN 0-00-710791-9
• On Christian Theology (2000)
• Faith in the University (1989)
• After Silent Centuries (1994)
• Open to Judgement: Sermons and Addresses (Darton, Longman and Todd, 1994)
• Teresa of Avila (1991) ISBN 0-225-66579-4
• Christianity and the Ideal of Detachment (1989)
• Politics and Theological Identity (with David Nicholls) (Jubilee 1984)
• Open to Judgement: Sermons and Addresses (1984)
• Peacemaking Theology (1984)
• The Truce of God (London: Fount, 1983)
• Essays Catholic and Radical (Bowerdean 1983) (ed. with K. Leech)
• Eucharistic Sacrifice: The Roots of a Metaphor (1982 Grove Books)
• Resurrection: Interpreting the Easter Gospel (1982 Darton, Longman and Todd)
• The Wound of Knowledge (1979 Darton, Longman and Todd)

For a detailed bibliography for 1972–2005, see kai euthus.

Honours and awards

• Sitara-e-Pakistan, 2012
• Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), 1990
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL), 2003
• Membership in the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, 2002
• Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Francis I, 2004
• Honorary doctorates: University of Kent, DD, 2003; University of Wales, DD, 2003; Evangelisch-Theologische Fakultät, University of Bonn, Dr. theol. honoris causa, 2004; University of Oxford DCL, 2005; University of Cambridge DD, 2006; Wycliffe College, University of Toronto, DD, 2007; Trinity College, University of Toronto, DD, 2007; Durham University, DD, 2007; St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, DD, 2010; Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, DD, 2011; King's College London DD honoris causa, 2011; Collegium Augustinianum Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology, DD honoris causa, 2013, Honorary Doctorate Canterbury Christ Church University, 2012
• Honorary Student of Christ Church, Oxford
• Honorary Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford
• Honorary Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge
• Honorary Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge
• Order of Friendship (Russia), 2010
• Founding Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales (FLSW), 2010
• Freedom of the City of Canterbury, Kent
• Royal Victorian Chain, 2012
• Life peerage (announced 26 December 2012) gazetted (8 January 2013) as Baron Williams of Oystermouth, of Oystermouth in the City and County of Swansea.

Styles and titles

• Rowan Williams Esq (1950–1975)
• Dr Rowan Williams (1975–1978)
• The Revd Dr Rowan Williams (1978–1986)
• The Revd Professor Rowan Williams (1986–1992)
• The Revd Canon Rowan Williams (1986–1992)
• The Rt Revd Dr Rowan Williams (1992–1999)
• The Rt Revd The (Lord) Bishop of Monmouth (1992–1999)
• The Most Revd Dr Rowan Williams (1999–2002)
• The Most Revd (or His Grace) The (Lord) Archbishop of Wales (1999–2002)
• The Most Revd and Rt Hon Dr Rowan Williams (2002–2012)
• The Most Revd and Rt Hon (or His Grace) The (Lord) Archbishop of Canterbury (2002–2012)
• The Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dr Rowan Williams (1–8 January 2013)
• The Rt Revd and Rt Hon The Lord Williams of Oystermouth PC (8 January 2013–present)