On Friday, the Church of England named Sarah Mullally as the next Archbishop of Canterbury. She will be the first woman to hold the office in 1,400 years. This upset conservative Anglican churches in Africa that don’t support women bishops.
The 63-year-old former nurse will be the ceremonial head of 85 million Anglicans around the world. Like her predecessors, she will have to deal with a communion that is split between conservatives and more liberal Christians in the West over the role of women in the church and the acceptance of same-sex couples.
Many religious leaders in Britain were happy with the appointment, but Laurent Mbanda, the archbishop of Rwanda and head of a global group of conservative Anglican churches, told Reuters that Mullally would not be able to bring the Communion together.
A Nigerian bishop said the choice was “very dangerous” because men should lead and women should follow.The evangelical part of the Church of England also said that what they called a drift away from scripture should stop.
Mullally has been the Bishop of London since 2018 and has been a strong supporter of blessings for same-sex couples, which is a big issue in the Anglican Communion around the world.Some African countries make it illegal to be gay.
Mullally said in a speech at Canterbury Cathedral on Friday that she would try to help every ministry grow, “no matter what our tradition.”
She told Reuters in an interview that the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion had been dealing with tough issues for a long time when it came to same-sex relationships.
“It might not be fixed right away,” she said.
Mullally said she wanted the Church to deal with the abuse of power after sexual abuse scandals and issues with keeping people safe. She also spoke out against rising antisemitism after an attack on a synagogue in Manchester on Thursday that killed two men.
Changes that were made more than ten years ago made it possible for a woman to become the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury.It is one of the last British institutions that has only been run by men up until now.
But a lot of churches in Africa and Asia don’t like those changes.
“Christ is the head of the Church, man is the head of the family, and from the beginning, God has never given a woman the job of leading,” Funkuro Godrules Victor Amgbare from Nigeria told Reuters in Abuja.
Mullally will take over for Justin Welby, who stepped down because of a scandal involving covering up child abuse. Some Anglicans criticised him for being too involved in social issues.
In her speech at the cathedral, she talked about how hard it is to live in a time when people “crave certainty and tribalism” and in a country where people are struggling with complicated moral and political issues about migration and communities that feel ignored.
“Remembering the terrible violence of yesterday’s attack on a synagogue in Manchester, we are seeing hatred that rises up through cracks in our communities,” she said. She also said that her Christian faith gave her hope in a world that often feels “on the brink”.
Mullally is also very against a bill in parliament that would allow assisted dying. He calls it “unworkable and unsafe” and says it puts the most vulnerable people in society at risk.
Mullally used to be a cancer nurse and was England’s Chief Nursing Officer from 2000 to 2005.In 2002, she was made a priest, and in 2015, she became one of the first women to be made a bishop in the Church of England.
The mother of two adult children who is married said that nursing and Christian ministry have some things in common.
“It’s all about people and being with them when things are hard,” she told a magazine once.
Linda Woodhead, a theology and religious studies professor at King’s College London, said that Mullally’s strong management skills were needed by the Church.
“Her focus on unity, kindness, and strength is just what the Church and the country need right now,” she said.
The appointment was made public by the office of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is a member of the Church of England, the country’s official church.
King Charles, the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, gave it his official approval. This position was created in the 16th century when King Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church.
David Pestell, 74, who leads a group of tourist guides in Canterbury, thought about Mullally’s predecessors.
He said, “Some of them have been very good, and some of them have been pretty bad.””Some of them have been very controversial, and some of them have died.I hope this one doesn’t happen to it. “It’s great.”