The outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury will deliver his last Christmas sermon at Canterbury Cathedral this morning.

After almost a decade, Dr Rowan Williams will be stepping down to take up a new position as the Master of Magdalene College in Cambridge from January.

Dr Williams, who was enthroned as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury in February 2003, is leaving the post to make way for his replacement Justin Welby.

He told KentOnline he will "miss Kent desperately", but he is looking forward to having more free time.

Dr Williams, pictured left, said: "It's been a very eventful 10 years, with huge challenges coming up all the time.

"One of the difficulties is you have to shift from one big challenge to another.

"In between, you have to be really there - you have to be present in perfectly ordinary situations.

"You go to do an assembly in a local primary school and you can't waste your time thinking about global problems whilst your doing that.

"You go to visit a parish in east Kent and you can't be thinking about gay bishops in America. You have to focus. And that's quite hard work.

"The things that I'll miss are the grass roots encounters, wether they are at schools, or churches or community projects.

"I'll miss Kent desperately, Canterbury and the cathedral. We've always felt at home here and part of the community.

"I'll miss the marsh land in Romney, I'll miss the woodlands and the windy walks in winter by Reculver along the seafront."

Dr Rowan Williams was enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury in 2003

Dr Williams and his wife Jane have requested no leaving gifts - but are requesting people make donations to Catching Lives, a Kent homelessness charity of which he is a patron.

More than £13,500 has so far been raised by donations to the Canterbury-based charity.

Dr Williams said: "There couldn't be a better leaving present than that.

"I'm deeply grateful to all the people who have contributed to it.

"At a time when resources are being cut back for homeless people and Kent not being well supplied with facilities for the homeless, I think it's just crucial to keep that in people's eyes and push as hard as we can for proper provisions to be made."

Dr Williams said he was looking forward to working with students again and having more free time in his diary.

"Cambridge isn't unfamiliar to me," he said. "I started my married life there and my mother-in-law still lives there.

"I'm looking forward to having a front door and a garden again."

Justin Welby will be enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury in March

The Right Reverend Justin Welby, the current Bishop of Durham, will be enthroned as the next Archbishop of Canterbury on March 21.

Offering advice to him, Dr Williams said: "Don't be bullied, focus on the grassroots and all the good things that happen there.

"Quite simply, keep your eyes on Jesus and remember that's why you're here - because of Him.

"Look after your humanity. Make sure your family and leisure interests are really deep and strong. You need to be a human being to do this job, and so you need to feed what makes you human."

Dr Williams will celebrate Holy Communion at Canterbury Cathedral for the last time next Sunday to say his final goodbye.

Last month, he was awarded the freedom of the city by Canterbury City Council - when he said Canterbury will remain a "valuable part of his life".