Who will be the next Archbishop of Canterbury

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Q.� So he campaign has started

A.� Yes. The convention is that candidates should not be seen to campaign for the post, but the good bishop of Rochester seems to be doing just that.

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Q.� How

A.� In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Dr Nazir-Ali tried to persuade listeners that he was something of a liberal - even though he is widely regarded as a conservative thinker. 'I have worked with women's groups for their empowerment, I am in favour of the ordination of women and I appointed the first woman archdeacon in the church,' he said. 'I work on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which is at the cutting edge of biotechnology. I mean, what could be more future-orientated '

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Q.� A powerful case

A.� Dr Nazir-Ali, who was born in Pakistan, is the favoured choice of the evangelicals in the church - and they are the ones with the money. However, the interview may have done more harm than good. After all, the new archbishop is officially appointed by God.

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Q.� God

A.� Well yes - those on the Crown Appointments Commission will be guided by God's insubstantial right-hand-man, the Holy Spirit.

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Q.� And who's on the commission

A.� It has 13 voting members and three non-voting members and will meet for two-and-a-half days to choose a shortlist of two names. These will then be presented to the Prime Minister, who will choose one. The commission will be chaired by a lay communicating member of the Church of England, appointed by Tony Blair, after consulting senior figures within the church and outside.

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Q.� Any more obvious candidates

A.� The Rt Rev Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, is the traditionalists' favourite. He is a respected theologian with a voice of authority. But he opposes the ordination of women as priests. Another traditionalist is Bishop of Winchester the Rt Rev Michael Scott-Joynt. He chaired two difficult reports - on human sexuality and the remarriage of divorcees - and is considered a safe pair of hands.

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Of course, the commission may favour a liberal - and they don't come much more liberal than Archbishop of Wales Dr Rowan Williams, probably the cleverest bishop. He was the youngest professor at Oxford when he began teaching theology there in 1986. However, he supports disestablishment and sympathises with homosexual priests.

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Q.� How important is the archbishop's post now

A.� Not nearly as important as it was. It is an office of pomp but little power. The archbishop ranks second in order of national precedence only to the royal family, above the Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor. Yet though head of the Anglican Communion and the Church of England, the archbishop has no power to intervene in any dispute outside Canterbury diocese. In many ways, he is more important abroad, where the Anglican Communion has provinces in 164 countries and an active membership of 25 million compared with the 980,000 worshippers in England.

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Q.� So who will get it

A.� An insider at Church House, the C of E's headquarters, said: 'The trick is to offer the least offence to the greatest number of people.' That may be the one trick that Dr Michael Nazir-Ali can't pull off.

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Steve Cunningham