The Church of England has broken with nearly five centuries of history by naming Dame Sarah Mullally as the next Archbishop of Canterbury — the first woman ever to hold the post.
Mullally, 63, a former chief nurse for the NHS who later entered the priesthood, was announced on Friday as Justin Welby’s successor. She has served since 2018 as the Bishop of London, the third most senior cleric in the Church.
Her appointment, confirmed by Downing Street and welcomed by King Charles III, marks a watershed for the Anglican Communion, long divided over women in leadership.
“I know this is a huge responsibility,” Mullally said outside Canterbury Cathedral, her voice steady but emotional. “But I approach it with a sense of peace and trust in God to carry me as He always has.”
She added that Anglicanism, in a time of what she called “certainty and tribalism,” offered “something quieter but stronger.”
A Church in Crisis
The Church has been without a permanent leader since Welby stepped down earlier this year after a damning inquiry into his handling of the John Smyth abuse scandal. Investigators concluded that Welby “could and should” have alerted police a decade earlier about Smyth, a prominent church lawyer who abused boys and young men.
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell has filled the gap, though he too has faced criticism over safeguarding failures.
The appointment process followed tradition: the Crown Nominations Commission submitted a name to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who passed it to the King for formal approval.
Sir Keir hailed Mullally’s selection, saying the Archbishop of Canterbury “plays a key role in our national life.”
Divisions and Support
Reactions were swift — and divided. King Charles congratulated Mullally on taking up “a role of such importance in the UK and across the global Anglican Communion,” Buckingham Palace said.
But the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, a conservative network, criticised the move. In a statement it warned that while some would celebrate, “the majority of the Anglican Communion still believes that the Bible requires a male-only episcopacy.”
Women have been allowed to serve as priests in the Church of England only since 1994. The first female bishops were consecrated in 2014.
A New Voice in Troubled Times
Mullally’s first remarks as Archbishop-designate turned to events far beyond church politics. She condemned Thursday’s deadly attack on a Manchester synagogue, calling it “horrific violence” that showed how “hatred rises up through fractures across our communities.”
“We, as a Church, have a responsibility to stand with the Jewish community against antisemitism in all its forms,” she said. “Hatred and racism of any kind cannot be allowed to tear us apart.”
Mullally will formally take office in January after the confirmation of her election, followed by an enthronement ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral.
Her rise, from nurse to bishop to archbishop, has been described by supporters as a story of service, resilience and faith. For critics, her appointment underlines deepening rifts within Anglicanism.
Either way, Dame Sarah Mullally is stepping into a role at a moment of profound challenge — not only for the Church of England, but for the global communion it leads.
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