Sarah Mullally breaks historic barrier as first female Archbishop of Canterbury

International

FOR the first time in its 1,400-year history, the Church of England has chosen a woman to serve as Archbishop of Canterbury, appointing Bishop Sarah Mullally to lead more than 85 million Anglicans worldwide.

Mullally, 63, succeeds Justin Welby, who resigned last year following criticism over the church’s handling of abuse allegations.

Her appointment, announced Friday, marks a defining moment for an institution grappling with declining attendance, internal divisions, and the challenge of staying relevant in an increasingly secular Britain.

Before entering the priesthood, Mullally built a distinguished career in healthcare, working as a nurse in London hospitals and rising to become England’s Chief Nursing Officer.

She was consecrated as Bishop of London in 2018, the church’s third most senior role.

“As I respond to the call of Christ to this new ministry, I do so in the same spirit of service to God and to others that has motivated me since I first came to faith as a teenager,” Mullally said in a CNN report.

She noted that her careers in nursing and ministry had taught her the importance of listening deeply and working to bring people together in hope and healing.

She takes on the role at a turbulent time. The Church of England is still reeling from an independent report that revealed senior leaders, including Welby, knew by 2013 about decades of abuse by John Smyth, a Christian camp leader accused of assaulting boys in the 1970s and 1980s.

Welby’s resignation, described by historian Diarmaid MacCulloch as “historic and without exact precedent,” was the first of its kind for an Archbishop of Canterbury accused of negligence over abuse cases.

Mullally has said the church’s failures left a legacy of harm and mistrust, and she pledged to ensure survivors are heard while fostering a culture of safety and wellbeing.

Mullally’s elevation was only possible because of reforms under Welby a decade ago that opened the episcopate to women.

While many Anglicans welcomed her appointment, conservative factions voiced resistance. GAFCON, a coalition of churches across Africa and Asia, argued that the choice signaled Canterbury’s diminishing authority to lead.

The group, representing regions where Anglicanism has been expanding, has long opposed liberal positions on women’s ordination and sexuality.

The demographic shift of global Anglicanism, now concentrated largely in former British colonies, has sharpened tensions between more progressive views in the West and conservative positions in the Global South.

Mullally will be officially installed at Canterbury Cathedral in March, becoming the 106th archbishop since Saint Augustine first brought Christianity to England from Rome in 597.(MyTVCebu)