Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 5, 2017

Cosmo Gordon Lang (1864–1945) was a prelate of the Church of England who served as Archbishop of York (1908–1928) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1928–1942). He was a parish priest in Leeds and Portsmouth, and a suffragan Bishop of Stepney, before his surprise appointment as Archbishop of York. A controversial speech in the House of Lords in 1908, against the Lords' proposal to reject David Lloyd George's 1909 "People's Budget", marked him as a radical, although he soon discarded this reputation. After the First World War he promoted church unity, and supported the failed attempt to revise the Book of Common Prayer. As Archbishop of Canterbury during the 1930s Lang condemned European fascism and anti-semitism. However, he later supported the appeasement policies of the British government, as necessary for the preservation of world peace. During the abdication crisis of 1936, he took a strong moral stance, his public comments being widely condemned as uncharitable towards the ex-king. After retiring in 1942  Lang considered himself a failure, believing  he had achieved little. Others have praised his qualities of industry, efficiency, and commitment to his calling.