For the first time in history, a woman became an archbishop of the Church of England
Bishop of London Sarah Mullally was elected Archbishop of Canterbury. Thus, for the first time in 1400 years, a woman will lead the Church of England. reports this AP.
Mullally is 63 years old and was previously England’s chief nurse. She will now take up the post of archbishop after 105 male predecessors, although the Church of Canterbury ordained its first female priests back in 1994, and its first female bishop in 2015.
The selection process took 11 months under the guidance of a committee of about 20 people headed by the former director general of MI5, Britain’s domestic intelligence agency. The process was not transparent, as the list of candidates was not published, and voting was conducted behind closed doors.
Mullally replaces former Archbishop Justin Welby, who resigned in November after an independent investigation found he failed to report serial physical and sexual abuse by a Christian summer camp volunteer to police immediately after he became aware of it.
Church abuse advocate Andrew Greystone said Mullally’s new role would include concerns about church leaders not doing enough to end the sexual abuse scandals that have dogged the church for more than a decade, as well as divisions over the treatment of women and the LGBTQ community.
However, in her first speech from the pulpit of Canterbury Cathedral, the archbishop said she saw hope despite uncertain global times and the church’s internal difficulties. She emphasized that her first vocation is to follow Christ and spread his message. At the same time, Mullally talked about migration, political division, the debate in parliament on the law to legalize assisted dying (which she opposes), and also mentioned the “horrific violence” during the attack on a synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur. Mullally also noted her place in church history and thanked the women who came before her, noting that she intends to be a pastor in the church to spread the faith and practices of others.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer congratulated Mullally on his appointment and wished him success, noting:
“The Church of England is of great importance to this country”.
King Charles III also approved the nomination and emphasized the importance of her role, which will have an impact around the world.
Mullally will officially become the Archbishop of Canterbury in a ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral in January. Later, she will be enthroned in an official ceremony, likely to be attended by members of the royal family.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the spiritual leader of the Church in Great Britain, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion throughout the world. The first archbishop was Augustine of Canterbury, who died in 604; he was sent to England by Pope Gregory I to convert the country to Christianity.
The Church of England has more than 85 million members in 165 countries, including the Episcopal Church in the United States. Although each national church has its own leader, the Archbishop of Canterbury is considered first among equals.
Together with the bishops of the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury has actual political power. Great Britain, like Iran and the Vatican, remains one of the three countries in the world where clerics occupy positions of power: 26 “Masters of the spiritual” have a permanent seat in the upper house of the parliament.
