Oct. 3 (UPI) — The new Archbishop of Canterbury designate is Dame Sarah Mullally, the first woman in the position.
Mullally, 63, is a former chief nurse and became a priest in 2006. She was named the first female bishop of London in 2018, which is the third-most senior clergy member in the Church of England.
In her first public statement Friday she condemned the “horrific violence” of Thursday’s attack on a synagogue in Manchester. She said “hatred and racism cannot tear us apart.”
The Church of England announced in a statement: “The Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) for Canterbury nominated Bishop Sarah following a process of public consultation and prayerful discernment that began in February this year.”
There will be an Election by the College of Canons of Canterbury Cathedral sometime before Christmas, and there will be a confirmation on Jan. 28. Then there will be an enthronement in March, the church said.
The last leader of the Church of England, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, left his post in January. He had resigned two months earlier over his handling of a sex abuse scandal.
A Christian camp organizer, the late John Smyth, had allegedly abused boys at the camp in the 1970s and ’80s. A report found that Smyth might have faced charges while he was alive if Welby had reported the abuse when he learned about it in 2013. Smyth died in 2018.
Once an archbishop has been chosen by the church, a name is passed to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, then passed to King Charles III.
The king is the head of the Church of England, but the Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior bishop and spiritual leader of the church and the Anglican Communion worldwide.
Starmer welcomed Mullally’s appointment, saying: “I wish her every success and look forward to working together.”
The Church of England first ordained women priests in 1994. The first female bishop appointments came 20 years later in 2014.
A conservative group, the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, criticized Mullally’s appointment. They said that, although they welcome it, “The majority of the Anglican Communion still believes that the Bible requires a male-only episcopacy,” the BBC reported.
She said Friday in Canterbury Cathedral that “in an age that craves certainty and tribalism, Anglicanism offers something quieter but stronger,” the BBC reported.
She promised to confront the failures that “left a legacy of deep harm and mistrust. … We must all be willing to have light shone on our actions, regardless of our role in the Church.”
Bishop Anthony Poggo, secretary general of the Anglican Communion, said in a statement, “May God grant her wisdom and discernment, as she seeks to listen to member churches, encourage mutual support, and foster unity. The Anglican Communion Office is fully committed to supporting her ministry as she works with other Provinces and the Instruments of the Anglican Communion.”
