William Laud

The Most Reverend and Right Honourable

William Laud
The Most Reverend and Right Honourable; William Laud
Archbishop of Canterbury
	Portrait by Anthony van Dyck c. 1636
Church	Church of England
Diocese	Canterbury
In office	1633–1645
Predecessor	George Abbot
Successor	William Juxon
Orders
Ordination	5 April 1601
Consecration	18 November 1621; by George Montaigne
Personal details
Born	7 October 1573; Reading, Berkshire, England
Died	10 January 1645 (aged 71); Tower Hill, London, England
Buried	St John's College, Oxford
Education	Reading School
Alma mater	St John's College, Oxford
Signature
Sainthood
Feast day	10 January
Venerated in	Anglican Communion

William Laud (LAWD; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Charles I's religious reforms; he was arrested by Parliament in 1640 and executed towards the end of the First English Civil War in January 1645.

Laud believed in episcopalianism, or rule by bishops. "Laudianism" was a reform movement that emphasised liturgical ceremony and clerical hierarchy, enforcing uniformity within the Church of England, as outlined by Charles. Its often highly ritualistic aspects prefigure what are now known as high church views.

In theology, Laud was accused of Arminianism, favouring doctrines of the historic church prior to the Reformation and defending the continuity of the English Church with the primitive and medieval church, and opposing Calvinism. On all three grounds, he was regarded by Puritan clerics and laymen as a formidable and dangerous opponent. His use of the Star Chamber to persecute opponents such as William Prynne made him deeply unpopular.