Image source, Reuters

We're wrapping up our coverage of the aftermath of Justin Welby's resignation soon, but before we go here are the key takeaways from today:

Julie Conalty, the deputy lead bishop for safeguarding, said that in some ways, the Church is "not a safe institution", adding that the Church of England has an "institutional problem where we are not putting victims and survivors at the centre".

As a reminder, her comments are in relation to the damning report into abuse at Christian camps by barrister John Smyth in the 1970s and 1980s - which said Welby "could and should" have reported Smyth's abuse of boys and young men to police in 2013.

Victims of John Smyth met with senior church leaders today. Many of those affected by his abuse insist the Archbishop of Canterbury's unprecedented decision to stand down will not in itself be enough.

The BBC also spoke to two men who attended St John's School in Zimbabwe in the 1990s, when Smyth worked there as a teacher. One told the BBC how Smyth showered naked with boys at a summer camp, while another Smyth was known as a "creep" amongst students.

For the latest updates on this story, our colleagues have this piece on the what has happened today. For some analysis we have this piece, from the BBC's religion editor Aleem Maqbool, on the challenge the Church of England is facing.

Ben Hatton
Live reporter

As we've been reporting, the process for choosing Welby's successor could take some time, but will he remain in his post until he is replaced?

Although Welby has announced his decision to resign, he currently remains in post.

With the process potentially taking some time there could be an interim period, the BBC understands that in this case the Archbishop of York would take on his responsibilities for the Church of England.

Welby says in his statement: "It is my duty to honour my Constitutional and church responsibilities, so exact timings will be decided once a review of necessary obligations has been completed, including those in England and in the Anglican Communion.”

He adds: "I will follow through on my commitment to meet victims. I will delegate all my other current responsibilities for safeguarding until the necessary risk assessment process is complete."

When it comes to finding a successor, that appointment is formally undertaken by the King as supreme governor of the Church of England.

But the King will be acting on a recommendation from the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC). That commission is yet to be established and can only meet following a period of consultation.

Aleem Maqbool
Religion editor, BBC News

After a turbulent week and the dramatic resignation of the man that leads it, the Church of England is trying to take stock at what is a precarious moment.

There are many within the faith who have experienced this as a deeply painful time and for whom the direction the institution takes now is profoundly important.

For some, including abuse victims, that pain has come from the stark reminders that the Church is still not a place people can trust to do all the right things when it comes to keeping people safe.

Among them, there will be relief that Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has stepped aside as someone who had lost credibility on the issue which would make it difficult to sanction other clergy for not doing enough.

But some Anglicans have been upset because they feel that Justin Welby had done much good and, however slowly, was trying to steer the Church in a better direction.

• You can read more on the challenge the Church of England is facing

In 1982, the Ruston Report into John Smyth's abuse was shown to members of Iwerne - the trust that Smyth worked at while in Winchester.

"It is suggested to John Smyth that he should consider moving to another country or to another location in the UK," the report says.

In 1984, John Smyth moved to Zimbabwe, to set up Zambesi Ministries. Whilst there, he continued to abuse boys and young men at the camps he set up.

A 16-year-old boy died in suspicious circumstances at one of Smyth’s camps there. Smyth was arrested but the case was dropped.

He and his wife breached their Zimbabwe visa conditions and were given 30 days to leave the country - they went to South Africa in 2001.

The Makin reports states that there is evidence that abusive practices continued in South Africa until his death in August 2018.

Smyth and his wife Anne were excommunicated by his local church in Cape Town, South Africa, the year before he died, after he was named publicly as an abuser and refused to return to the UK.

Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

I've been speaking to another former student at St John's School in Zimbabwe, where Smyth worked as a teacher.

The former student - who also asked not to be named - attended the school in Harare from 1992 to 1997, and says "there was knowledge of his beating among the boys".

Smyth's behaviour "was spoken about by other boys", he says.

"They said that he enjoyed the beatings, and he should be avoided. In particular, he was known for this behaviour at the school summer camps."

The former student told me Smyth was known to be a "creep", and that "the abuse was of boys from quite privileged families".

But he also pointed out that beatings at the school were not just carried out by Smyth – it was part of the school culture at the time, and other teachers did beat pupils as punishments.

A report about John Smyth's history of abuse in Zimbabwe, external - written by Zimbabwean lawyer David Coltart - refers to "severe beatings" and other abusive behaviour he inflicted on boys at the summer camps he ran.

Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

More from my interview with a former student who attended a summer camp in Zimbabwe run by John Smyth, who says one of his friends was beaten with a table tennis bat on his buttocks.

The former student tells me: "We were 13 years old and at the time we did not realise this was very inappropriate behaviour."

"Every evening at the camp, Smyth organised for the boys to go on midnight naked swims together which he would join in - also naked."

The former student described Smyth as "very friendly, laid back, approachable, he was really fun, always joking."

"We only realised two years later when some parents complained, and only then did we start to speak about how this behaviour was odd."

For context: The Makin report into Smyth's abuse refers to the Scripture Union summer camp in Zimbabwe.

It refers to a report written by Zimbabwean lawyer David Coltart, which mentions: "John Smyth being naked and taking naked showers with boys, enforced 'skinny dipping' which included a naked parade from the dormitories to the pool, boys being banned from wearing underwear; and John Smyth sleeping in dormitories with the boys, whilst other staff (including [his wife] Anne Smyth) slept in separate quarters. This is an indication of the unsafe practices in place on the camps, an adult man choosing to sleep with boys, whilst not allowing others to do so."

Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

I have been speaking to people who attended St John's School in Harare, where John Smyth worked as a Bible teacher during the 1990s.

A 45-year-old former student at the school in Zimbabwe's capital - who asked not to be named - tells me he went to a summer camp in 1991 run by Smyth called Scripture Union, attended by boys aged 13 to 16.

After bible studies in the morning and sports in the afternoon, the former student said Smyth “strongly promoted nakedness and encouraged the boys to walk around naked at the summer camp".

"He told the boys to shower naked all together in the same shower block, and Smyth also showered naked with the boys."

Smyth told them not to wear underwear in the evenings "because he said it would make you grow".

"He would then walk into the dorm rooms wearing nothing but a towel slung over his shoulder, and hang out with the boys in their bedrooms."

"Sometimes the good can mask something terrible underneath," Graham Nicholls, the director of Affinity, a church partnership group across the UK and Ireland, has told the BBC.

He was questioned on BBC Radio 5 Live earlier about whether abusers feel they're able to get away with what they're doing "because of what the institution stands for".

In the case of abuse at Christian camps by John Smyth, Nicholls agreed this can be the case, and says "we always needs to be curious... in the sense that we follow suggestions up and never assume the absolute best.

"People are capable of terrible things even if they're doing good things."

Su, a survivor of historic sexual abuse by a then-trainee minister, has spoken to the BBC about her experiences with the Church of England.

Appearing on Nicky Campbell's show on Radio 5 Live this morning, she says before and during her abuser's trial - which concluded in an indecent assault conviction in March - the Church was "notable by its absence" in terms of support for her.

Su waived her automatic right to anonymity to share her story for the first time with the media.

"Nowhere was an offer to stand by me in court, to pray for me, to support me," she told Campbell, adding that after she contacted the safeguarding team she was asked to "call us" if she needed anything.

"Why do I need to do the running?

"I haven't had one email from the Church of England to say 'how are you doing?'."

Su also called on the Church to make it easier for abuse survivors to have a voice and be part of reviews into its processes around safeguarding.

Harry Farley
News correspondent

Victims of John Smyth are meeting with senior church leaders today. Many of those affected by his abuse insist the Archbishop of Canterbury's unprecedented decision to stand down will not in itself be enough.

That is the question hanging over the Church of England this morning – will other clergy have to resign over the handling of these allegations?

At the same time the wider Church is still digesting the news of Justin Welby’s resignation. There is no modern comparison for an Archbishop of Canterbury being forced to stand aside.

Attention will begin to turn to the process for selecting his successor. That will not be quick.

A secretive committee will form over the next few months, with the chair appointed by the prime minister.

After a consultation across the UK and the wider Anglican Communion, candidates will be invited for interview.

Two thirds of the committee must agree before a name is sent to the prime minister, who passes it to the King.

The monarch, as Supreme Governor of the Church of England, will ultimately appoint the next archbishop. But that’s not expected for several months.

Kathryn Stanczyszyn
Political Reporter, BBC Radio WM

The acting Bishop of Worcester and current Bishop of Dudley, Martin Gorick, spoke to me on BBC Radio WM this morning.

He said Justin Welby has taken both personal and institutional responsibility in resigning, and institutions like churches must be made as a safe as possible.

Gorick also said he feels “uncomfortable” serving alongside some people with “serious questions to answer” and doesn’t believe the Makin report into John Smyth's abuse and the Church of England's response to it is the end of the matter.

As someone who has worked in the Church for nearly 40 years he said he feels re-establishing trust with the public must now be a priority, but that overall the institution is “getting better and listening and learning from survivors”.

Welby's decision to step down has shown a "willingness to take responsibility for the wider Church's failings" and to demonstrate the "seriousness of his commitment to those who have suffered as a result", a bishop who was one of John Smyth's victims has said.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Bishop of Guildford Andrew Watson says he is "deeply grateful for all who have reached out to me over the course of the past week, and for your concern and prayers".

Watson first revealed his abuse at the hands of Smyth in 2017.

"My prayers remain first and foremost with my fellow victims of Smyth’s abuse," he says.

"I am personally aware that this is a time of heightened emotion for many (which I share), as the depth of Smyth's brutality has been so clearly revealed; and I pray for some kind of closure for those who have waited so long for it."

Image source, Reuters

This is a complex story with elements going back many decades, so here's a quick look at what you should know:

• A day after the Archbishop of Canterbury resigned, another bishop has said that "in some ways, we are not a safe institution"
• Julie Conalty, the deputy lead bishop for safeguarding, said the Church of England has an "institutional problem where we are not putting victims and survivors at the centre"
• Justin Welby said he would step down as the Church's most senior bishop yesterday, days after a damning report into abuse at Christian camps by barrister John Smyth in the 1970s and 1980s
• The Makin review, published last week, said Welby "could and should" have reported Smyth's abuse of boys and young men to police in 2013
• Welby said in his resignation that he was told police had been notified in 2013 and "believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow"
• While the most senior member of the clergy has gone, there is increasing pressure on others who failed to report Smyth to the authorities to resign too
• The Bishop of Gloucester told the BBC that Welby standing down should not bee seen as "job done" and called for anyone involved in cover ups of abuse to be "held to account"
• This morning, one survivor told Sky News that bishop's "who kept the stories to themselves" should now be the focus of questioning

Barrister John Smyth QC was accused of attacking boys he met at Christian summer camps which he ran in Dorset during the 1970s and 1980s.

An independent inquiry found that Smyth identified pupils from leading public schools including Winchester College and took them to his home, where he carried out lashings with a garden cane in his shed.

The inquiry said eight of the boys received a total of 14,000 lashes, while two more received 8,000 strokes between them over three years.

Some 30 boys and young men are known to have been directly physically and psychologically abused in the UK.

Smyth later moved to southern Africa where the inquiry found he physically abused a further 85 boys and young men in several countries, including Zimbabwe. The number of actual victims "likely runs much higher", the report said.

In Zimbabwe he was charged with the manslaughter of a 16-year-old boy who was attending one of his summer camps. Smyth was not convicted of the offence. He died aged 77 in Cape Town in 2018.

Over at Newscast, Adam Fleming has been speaking to BBC religion editor Aleem Maqbool about why Justin Welby has resigned, and what changed in the 24 hours before he did.

They discuss how the Archbishop of Canterbury stepping down will affect the Church of England, as well as how they'll go about choosing a successor.

Listen to the most recent Newscast episode on BBC Sounds for more on what Welby stepping down means on.

We're getting lots of reaction coming in from senior Church of England clerics across the country.

Bishop of Manchester says the victims "have shown great courage in coming forward", emphasising that the Church we must listen to them carefully to ensure this kind of abuse is never repeated.

In a statement, David Walker adds the failure to act was part of a "culture that was deeply embedded in parts of the Church. Smyth’s abuses were known about over 40 years ago".

"They were repeatedly hidden by those who could have exposed him," he says.

Walker adds that he is committed to ensuring the churches in Manchester are safe places, where the culture is focused on the needs of the victims and survivors. He also calls for the Church to challenge "cultural obstacles to good safeguarding".

Meanwhile the Bishop of Oxford has also released a statement on the scandal. Stephen Croft says he is confident that today's procedures are much better today than they were back then.

"We've seen this sort of awful behaviour in many institutions over the last ten years", he says, adding that "we're all conscious of the need for change."

The Makin report - which was released last week - says Justin Welby and John Smyth were together at multiple Christian holiday camps run by the Iwerne Trust, between Summer 1975 and August 1979.

"We have explored with Justin Welby his relationship at that time with John Smyth. He knew John Smyth from the Iwerne camps and was in John Smyth’s dormitory for two camps," the report states.

"He has described being 'impressed' by John Smyth and reacting to his apparent power of intellect and charismatic [in the lay sense] personality. He says that they were never close, however."

It adds: "Justin Welby says that he and John Smyth 'exchanged Christmas cards' for several years", something Welby characterises as "usual for the time".

The report also says Welby says recalls "making donations" to John Smyth to help with his ministry in Zimbabwe, "but cannot remember the details of this, timing or amounts".

In 1981, a church chaplain warns Welby about Smyth, "stating: ‘One of the boys had a chat with me’ and advises him to stay away from John Smyth," the report says.

Welby says he was unaware of the abuse allegations against Smyth until 2013. He now says he should have done more to make sure the allegations were properly investigated.

Andrew Morse was abused by John Smyth over several years.

He has spoken to the BBC about how Smyth befriended him initially, before the abuse took place during the 1970s and 1980s.

You can watch him speaking about his experience in this video, which contains details some people may find distressing:

Image source, Getty Images

The bishop of Gloucester has just been on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, saying it's important that "we put victims and survivors at the fore" of all the conversations on this topic.

Rachel Treweek tells the programme Welby's resignation was right, but it would be wrong to say that therefore it's "job done".

She says the cover up of Smyth's abuse by leaders in the Church and priests revealed in the Makin report is "absolutely horrific".

Treweek thinks everyone who was "part of that cover up in the 70s, 80s, 90s, must be brought to account".

She says people involved in safeguarding should be going through the processes now of investigating this, and if they are not, "people like myself will be using our voice."

"This is not about the church being silent," Treweek adds - "there must be consequences".

Some of the details in this story are distressing.

If you've been affected by similar issues, resources for support are available on the BBC Action Line website.