IT has to be the ultimate Situations Vacant advert.

Wanted: A new Archbishop of York, with heavenly prospects, and a palace thrown in (but with few mod cons).

Obviously, that is not quite the wording.

But the Church of England has, for the first time, decided to advertise the £52,950-a-year post of Archbishop, following Dr David Hope's decision to resign to go back to life as a parish priest early next year.

The move is part of the Church's efforts to be more open and democratic in the way it chooses its leading clergy.

The selection process has been reformed following criticisms that it was too secretive and liable to be influenced by an "old boy's network".

The ad, which is appearing in church newspapers such as Church Times under the heading Vacancy in the See of York, asks anyone wanting to propose candidates for the vacancy to write in before November 12 to the Archbishops' Secretary for Appointments or to the Prime Minister's Appointments Secretary at 10 Downing Street.

People are also invited to give comments on the needs of the diocese, the Northern Province or the wider church.

The Church is also planning to announce when the Crown Nominations Commission will meet to consider the candidates. Members of the commission were previously sworn to secrecy about when and where they were meeting. The commission will vote in a secret ballot to come up with a shortlist of two names, which will be submitted to the Prime Minister early next year.

The commission can, if it wishes, express a preference between the two candidates. Mr Blair will then choose one to be forwarded to the Queen, who makes the appointment. It will be a number of months before the work is completed and Dr Hope's successor can be named.

As part of the process, the Prime Minister's Appointments Secretary and Archbishop's Secretary for Appointments will carry out consultation within the diocese and northern province, including meetings with representatives of civic life and other denominations and faiths.

A public meeting will also be held within the diocese, with further details revealed about this at a later stage.

A number of leading bishops are thought to be in the running to move into Bishopthorpe Palace, including the Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Rev James Jones and the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Tom Wright.

Updated: 10:13 Friday, October 15, 2004