Career
Adam was ordained deacon in 1994 and priest in 1995 and served in parishes in the dioceses of Oxford (1994–2002), Ely (2002–2010), and London (2010–2017).[6] While still a curate in 1996, he appeared in a television advertisement for Ford Escort cars, in which the caption stated, "Will Adam has married 14 women since he got his. What do you do in yours?", showing him adjusting his clerical collar.[7] In 1998, he was a youth delegate to the World Council of Churches Assembly in Harare, Zimbabwe.[8]
In 2017, Adam was appointed the Archbishop of Canterbury's Ecumenical Adviser at Lambeth Palace,[9] while also holding the role of honorary assistant priest in his wife's parish at Compton, West Sussex.[10] In 2019, he was also made director of the Department for Unity, Faith and Order in the Anglican Communion.[9] In this role he was responsible for and co-secretary of dialogues between the Anglican Communion and other churches and Christian world communions, including those with the Catholic Church (Anglican - Roman Catholic International Commission and IARCCUM),[11] the Orthodox Church (ICAOTD)[12] and a new dialogue with the Pentecostal World Fellowship.[13] In February 2021 he was appointed deputy secretary general of the Anglican Communion, based at the Anglican Communion Office (ACO) adjacent to Portobello Road Market.[9]
In March 2022, it was announced that Adam would be the next Archdeacon of Canterbury and a residentiary canon of Canterbury Cathedral, following the departure of the previous incumbent, the Very Reverend Jo Kelly-Moore, who was made Dean of St Albans.[7] He was installed at Canterbury during Evensong on 18 July 2022,[14] but seconded back to the ACO for the Fifteenth Lambeth Conference between 27 July and 7 August 2022.[5] In 2025, he chaired the Diocese of Canterbury’s Vacancy in See Committee as part of the process for the appointment of the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury.[15]