Woman chosen as Archbishop of Canterbury
October 03, 2025
» Continue to this story on BBC
CWN Editor's Note: Dame Sarah Mullally has been nominated by King Charles III to become Archbishop of Canterbury and leader of the worldwide Anglican communion.
The appointment of the first woman as Archbishop of Canterbury will increase strains among the world’s Anglicans. Conservative Anglicans—particularly in Africa, where the faith is growing fastest—have resisted the ordination of women. The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, in a statement responding to the appointment, said that “the majority of the Anglican communion still believes that the Bible requires a male-only episcopacy.”
The nominee—who will assume her post after her election is formally confirmed early next year—has been serving as Bishop of London since 2018. She has gained a reputation as skillful negotiator, who has held together her diocese despite heated disputed on issues such as the blessing of same-sex unions—which she welcomed as “a moment of hope for the church.”
Archbishop-elect Mullally is a former nurse, who describes herself as a feminist and supports legal abortion, but opposes the legalization of assisted suicide.
Cardinal Kurt Koch, the of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, send a message of congratulations, “to express the good wishes of the Catholic Church to you as you prepare to undertake this important service in your church.”
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