The Anglican bishop of London, Sarah Mullerly, will become the first woman to occupy the position of Archbishop of Canterbury after the approval of her nomination by King Carlos III.
The Archbishop-Designadada Mullall will be installed as the highest episcopal authority of the Church of England in March 2026. This will formally turn it into the spiritual leader of approximately 85 million Anglicans in 165 countries, even while the cohesion of the Anglican communion is increasingly affected by disagreements about teaching and practice in LGBT issues.
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In a statement published on October 2 on the Archbishopric website of Canterbury, Mullall said that he wishes to “respond to the call of Christ” in his new ministry with the “spirit of service to God” that has motivated it from its youth.
“I hope to share this path of faith with millions of people who serve God and their communities in parishes throughout the country and throughout the global Anglican communion,” he said.
The president of the Catholic Bishop Conference of England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, celebrated the news of the Mullerly appointment as 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, pointing to X that “will contribute many personal gifts and experience to his new role.”
The prefect of the Dicastery for the promotion of the Christian Unit of the Vatican, Cardinal Kurt Koch, congratulated Mullall in a letter on Friday, transmitting the “best wishes of the Catholic Church”, despite “occasional tensions” in the theological dialogue between both churches.
“I know that the challenges facing the Church of England and the Anglican communion are at this time considerable, and the appointment of a new archbishop has been expected with great interest and expectation,” Koch wrote.
Mulally’s appointment arrives almost a year after his predecessor, the exarzobispo of Canterbury Justin Welby, will resign from office in November 2024after receiving criticism for its management of historical cases of child abuse that occurred in the United Kingdom and Africa, and for the controversy about their support for the blessing of same -sex relationships.
During the General Synod of the Church in July 2024, it was approved that blessing services for same -sex couples could be carried out in their parishes. The Archbishop-Deigned supported the measure that allows Anglican ministers to offer blessings to same-sex couples and has led processes to review the teachings and policies of the Church of England regarding marriage and sexuality.
The conflict on these issues has continued to shake the Anglican communion since Welby’s departure.
In July, the Church of England voted to withdraw a 1991 doctrinal document, “issues about human sexuality”, of its requirements for the selection of the clergy, citing that the document, which condemned the homosexual activity, was “contextually inappropriate” and “prejudiced and offensive for many people.”
The global conference of the Anglican future (GAFCON), a group of conservative Anglicans especially strong in Africa and Asia, protested the decision, affirming on Friday that “it is clearer than ever that Canterbury has renounced its authority to lead” the Church founded by King Henry VIII in 1534.
Mullall will legally become Archbishop of Canterbury during his “confirmation of choice” in the San Pablo cathedral in January 2026.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in CNA.
Kristina Millare
Kristina Millare is an independent journalist with professional experience in communications in the humanitarian aid sector and development, news journalism, entertainment, politics and government, business and entrepreneurship.