Lambeth Degree
The Lambeth Degree is not an honorary degree. The candidates, though, do not have to sit an examination: the awards are made in recognition of their contribution to the life of the Church, generally over many years. The Archbishop of Canterbury�s right to grant degrees is derived from Peter�s Pence Act of 1533 which empowered the Archbishop to grant dispensations previously granted by the Pope. The practice began during the time when attendance at Oxford and Cambridge, the only universities at that time in England, was frequently disrupted by the difficulty of travel or outbreaks of the plague. The Archbishop was empowered to grant exemption from the residential requirements necessary for a degree. Lambeth degrees can be awarded in Divinity, Law, Arts, Literature, Medicine and Music.