(JTA) — British Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks will retire in September 2013.
United Synagogue President Simon Hochhauser announced Dec. 13 that Sacks would be stepping down after serving for 22 years, the Jewish Chronicle reported.
Hochhauser said that focus groups will help in the selection process for a successor, the newspaper reported.
On Wednesday, the office of the Chief Rabbi issued a statement regarding the retirement.
"I am determined in the next three years to accelerate my efforts to help shape the direction and the future of our community," Sacks said in the statement. "I will continue to focus my efforts on a new generation of leaders, rabbinic and lay, so that they are inspired by the breadth and depth of our Jewish heritage and a creative vision of what Anglo Jewry can achieve.
Sacks, who replaced Lord Immanuel Jakobovits in 1991, was knighted in 2005 and entered the House of Lords last year.
