Church Of England Confirms Sarah Mullally As Its First Woman Leader

Former nurse Sarah Mullally was officially confirmed Wednesday as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury and the first woman to head the Church of England, the mother church of the 85-million-strong global Anglican communion.

At a historic service at London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral, Mullally, 63, legally took up the position ahead of her formal installation—or enthronement—at Canterbury Cathedral on March 25.

Mullally will begin her public ministry and full programme of public engagements after that date, according to the church.

A heckler briefly interrupted proceedings and was escorted from the cathedral, although it was not immediately clear what the person said.

Her appointment has caused a backlash among some conservative members of the Anglican Communion, particularly in Africa, with the Church of Uganda describing it last October as “sad news.”

Conservative churches have been at odds for years with more liberal Western counterparts, particularly over women priests and LGBTQ issues.

Ahead of the service, Mullally had spoken of her hopes to lead with “calmness, consistency, and compassion” in what she described as “times of division and uncertainty for our fractured world.”

“It is an extraordinary and humbling privilege to have been called to be the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury,” she said in a statement.

Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, who is second in rank in the Anglican hierarchy, said he hoped that as she took the “baton,” the church would learn from its “past failings” and become “simpler, humbler, and bolder.”

Mullally was named in October as the successor to Justin Welby, who announced he would be stepping down last January amid fallout over an abuse scandal.

He resigned after a report found the Church of England had covered up a 1970s serial abuse case and that Welby had failed to report the abuses to authorities when they came to his attention in 2013.

READ ALSO: Nigeria’s Anglican Communion Faults Mullally’s Appointment As Archbishop Of Canterbury

According to the independent probe, John Smyth, a lawyer who organised evangelical summer camps in the 1970s and 1980s, was responsible for the abuse of as many as 130 boys and young men.

The Church of England became Britain’s state establishment church following King Henry VIII’s split from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1530s.

The British monarch is its supreme governor, while the Archbishop of Canterbury is seen as the spiritual leader of Anglicans worldwide.

Mullally, who is married with two children, worked in Britain’s state-run National Health Service for more than three decades, rising to become chief nursing officer for England in 1999.

Ordained a priest in 2002, she became the first female Bishop of London in 2018, only four years after the church began allowing women bishops following years of bitter factional wrangling.

Mullally has reportedly described herself as a feminist and called the decision to finally allow priests to bless same-sex couples in 2023 as “a moment of hope for the church,” although she recognised that differences remained.

She said in an interview with some UK media on Wednesday that she was committed to speaking out against misogyny where she sees it.

There were an estimated one million regular Anglican worshippers in Britain in 2024.

Globally, the church estimates there are around 85 million Anglican followers in more than 165 countries.

AFP