Sarah Mullally Becomes First Female Archbishop Of Canterbury

British monarch, King Charles III, has approved the assignment of Dame Sarah Mullally, becoming the archetypal pistillate Archbishop of Canterbury and volition presume the relation successful January.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has welcomed the decision, saying, “The Church of England is of profound value to this country. Its churches, cathedrals, schools, and charities are portion of the cloth of our communities.

“The Archbishop of Canterbury volition play a cardinal relation successful our nationalist life. I privation her each occurrence and look guardant to moving together.”

The hairsbreadth of the Crown Nominations Commission for Canterbury, Lord Evans of Weardale, added, “I volition beryllium praying for Bishop Sarah arsenic she prepares to instrumentality up this caller ministry successful the coming months.”

Dame Sarah who antecedently held the presumption of Chief Nursing Officer for England is the youngest idiosyncratic to clasp that post.

She aboriginal trained for ministry astatine the South East Institute of Theological Education and studied astatine South Bank University and Heythrop College. She presently serves arsenic Bishop of London.

Ordained successful 2001, she near her authorities nursing relation successful 2004 to prosecute full-time ministry successful the London borough of Sutton. In 2005, she was made a Dame successful designation of her important contributions to nursing and midwifery.

When she became Bishop of London successful 2017, she reflected connected her dual careers, saying, “I similar to deliberation that I person ever had 1 vocation: to travel Jesus Christ, to cognize him and to marque him known, ever seeking to unrecorded with compassion successful the work of others, whether arsenic a nurse, a priest, oregon a bishop.”

Her assignment arsenic Bishop of London had already been seen arsenic a motion of advancement successful the Church’s attitudes toward women successful leadership, pursuing Libby Lane’s historical consecration arsenic the archetypal pistillate bishop successful 2015.

As a bishop, Dame Sarah is viewed by galore arsenic a harmless brace of hands, fixed her administrative acquisition and estimation for dependable leadership.

She is considered comparatively progressive connected the contented of same-sex blessings wrong the Church. In 2023, aft a ballot approving specified blessings, she described the result arsenic “a infinitesimal of anticipation for the Church,” portion acknowledging that differences successful sentiment remain.

On her ain role, she has said she “would person the speech (with a couple), and determination are surely prayers wrong that suite (of prayers) that I would use.”

Her assignment followed astir a twelvemonth of vacancy since Justin Welby announced his resignation amid disapproval implicit the Church’s safeguarding failures.

The Makin reappraisal had implicated Welby successful failing to alert authorities successful 2013 regarding alleged abuses by John Smyth. Welby has since accepted idiosyncratic and organization work for those failures and expressed a “profound consciousness of shame” implicit the harm caused to survivors.

As Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah volition automatically person a spot successful the House of Lords—a relation she has already held since 2018 arsenic a elder bishop.

Her ceremonial confirmation, known arsenic the confirmation of election, volition instrumentality spot successful January successful a work astatine St Paul’s Cathedral. During this service, she volition legally go the Archbishop of Canterbury.