Dame Sarah Mullally was announced as the next spiritual leader of the Church of England. Mullally, 63, was ordained in 2001 and currently serves as the bishop of London. On Friday (Oct. 3), In March 2026, she will become the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and will be the first woman to hold the position.
The announcement comes 11 months after the resignation of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. Last November, an independent review criticized Welby’s handling of child sexual abuse allegations by a church-camp volunteer. After Welby’s tenure ended in January 2025, the lengthy process began to find the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury since the year 597.
Mullally, who became a Christian at age 16, worked as an oncology nurse before entering the ministry. Her nomination to become the next Archbishop of Canterbury was approved by King Charles and announced Friday by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Sarah Mullally: First Female Archbishop of Canterbury
Of the historic occasion, Sarah Mullally said, “I share with you in that joy, not for myself, but for a Church that listens to the calling of God and says, ‘Yes, we will follow you.’” She added, “I intend to be a shepherd who enables everyone’s ministry and vocation to flourish, whatever the tradition.”
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Mullally expressed appreciation for “all the men and women, lay and ordained deacons, priests and bishops who have paved the way for this moment, and to all the women that have gone before me.” Throughout her life, she said, she has “learned to listen deeply—to people and to God’s gentle prompting—to seek to bring people together to find hope and healing.”
Amid the current “profound global uncertainty,” Mullally noted, “the possibility of healing lies in acts of kindness and love.” About this week’s attack on a Manchester synagogue, she said church members “have a responsibility to be a people who stand with the Jewish community against antisemitism in all its forms. Hatred and racism of any kind cannot be allowed to tear us apart.”
According to experts, Mullally will need to restore trust following a decade of abuse scandals. She also faces declining church attendance and ongoing debates about women in the church and same-sex marriage.
Conservatives Unhappy About a Female Church Head
Sarah Mullally’s appointment as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury wasn’t well received by conservatives in the Anglican Communion.
The Rev. Canon Fr. Phil Harris, an Anglican priest and officer in the Confessing Anglican Church, posted, “Today, Oct 3rd 2025, the Church of England died. In naming Sarah Mullally Archbishop of Canterbury, it embraced feminist rebellion over biblical truth.”
“The See of Canterbury is vacant,” said Harris. “Anglicanism globally will not follow a false teacher in ecclesiastical drag.”
Gafcon, a conservative movement of Anglicans across Africa and Asia, disapproves of female bishops and said it received today’s news “with sorrow.”Click to Post
