Dame Sarah Mullally has been announced as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Bishop of London’s appointment was announced on Friday morning (local time) following approval by the King in his capacity as head of the Church of England.
The Archbishop, 63, has been outspoken on a number of political and social issues during her tenure as bishop of London.
A former chief nursing officer, she is a vocal critic of the assisted dying legislation making its way through Parliament, warning that the bill puts vulnerable people at risk.
On homosexuality, the Archbishop described the vote to approve blessings for same-sex couples in the Church of England as a “moment of hope”.
Mullally also co-signed a letter against the former Tory Government’s Rwanda policy on illegal migration, saying that the policy should “shame us as a nation”.
In her first comments since accepting the role, the Archbishop said: “As I respond to the call of Christ to this new ministry, I do so in the same spirit of service to God and to others that has motivated me since I first came to faith as a teenager.
“At every stage of that journey, through my nursing career and Christian ministry, I have learned to listen deeply – to people and to God’s gentle prompting – to seek to bring people together to find hope and healing.”
She added: “I know this is a huge responsibility but I approach it with a sense of peace and trust in God to carry me as He always has.”
The Archbishop was made a dame in 2005 in recognition of her former role as chief nursing officer for England. In accordance with Church rules, she will be allowed to remain in post as Archbishop of Canterbury until she turns 70. However, it can be extended for a year.
The appointment follows the conclusion of the third and final Crown Nominations Commission meeting, which took place on Friday. The group of 17 people, led by Lord Evans, the former MI5 chief, had to agree with a two-thirds majority on who the next archbishop should be.
In her first address to Canterbury Cathedral, Mullally said: “In an age that craves certainty and tribalism, Anglicanism offers something quieter but stronger: shared history, held in tension, shaped by prayer, and lit from within by the glory of Christ.
“That is what gives me hope. In our fractured and hurting world, that partnership in the Gospel could not be more vital.”
She added: “Across our nation today, we are wrestling with complex moral and political questions. The legal right of terminally ill people to end their own lives.
“Our response to people fleeing war and persecution to seek safety and refuge. The pressures on communities who have been overlooked and undervalued. The deep-rooted question of who we are as a nation, in a world that is so often on the brink.”
She spoke of the “horrific violence” of the terror attack at Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester, adding: “We then, as a Church, have a responsibility to be a people who stand with the Jewish community against anti-Semitism in all its forms. Hatred and racism of any kind cannot be allowed to tear us apart.”
The Archbishop also addressed the controversy surrounding the Church of England’s poor record regarding safeguarding, admitting its history of failures had “left a legacy of deep harm and mistrust”.
“We must all be willing to have light shone on our actions, regardless of our role in the Church,” she added. “Safeguarding is everyone’s business. But for those of us in senior leadership, it carries an added weight of accountability.”
In the address, she also gave thanks to “all the women that have gone before me”, adding: “Thank you for your support and your inspiration.”
However, victims and survivors of Church-related abuse were less enthusiastic about her appointment.
A victim of abuser John Smyth, an evangelical Christian whose abuse led to Justin Welby’s resignation, described the appointment as “absolutely disastrous”.
They claimed: “Bishop Sarah has been complicit in multiple safeguarding failures in the Diocese of London. The Church of England needed someone from outside the safeguarding scandals that have brought the Church to its knees. That is not Bishop Sarah. The CofE did not need ‘more of the same’.
“This appointment has succeeded in uniting the victim community: united in disbelief and dismay.”
Andrew Graystone, an advocate for victims and survivors of Church-related abuse, added: “This has caused real shock and dismay amongst victims and survivors who have been in touch with me. The Diocese of London has a disastrous track record of safeguarding failures.
“The Church of England is in desperate need of healing. In spite of her background, we have to ask whether Sarah Mullallay has the character and political gifts of a reconciler.
“We had hoped that a new archbishop would be able to move the Church forward in its safeguarding practices. This appointment doesn’t do that. If anything, we are starting further back. Sarah Mullally has yet to demonstrate that she really understands abuse, and that she prioritises the care of victims over the Church’s reputation.”
Gilo, a campaigner and survivor of child sexual abuse within the Church, added: “It’s not a great day, it’s a depressing day for survivors”.
The post of archbishop has remained vacant for nearly a year since Bishop Welby was forced to resign following a report into his handling of the worst abuse scandal in the Church’s history.
An independent review found Smyth had perpetrated brutal sexual, physical and mental abuse against more than 120 boys and young men since the late 1970s.
The review also found that Smyth’s “abhorrent abuse” could have been exposed four years earlier if Bishop Welby had contacted the authorities.
Responding to the announcement of the new Archbishop, Reverend Angela Berners-Wilson, the first woman priest in England, told the Telegraph: “I’m delighted that they’ve chosen a woman, I don’t know her well, I met her once, but I’m delighted it’s a woman, and good luck to her. It’s not an easy job by any means, she’s got a lot to do.
“The Church has come a long way in accepting women, but there’s still quite a way to go. It’s amazing we’ve got a female archbishop only ten years after the first woman bishop.”
Mullally will become Archbishop legally at a ceremony in Canterbury Cathedral in January, followed by a formal enthronement service at a later date where members of the Royal family are likely to be present.
She was educated at South Bank University, London, and Heythrop College, University of London, and trained for ministry at the South East Institute of Theological Education.
She completed her title at St Saviour Battersea Fields, in the Diocese of Southwark, and was ordained as a priest in 2002.
In 2006, she was appointed team rector, Christ Church, Sutton, Southwark and then became canon residentiary and treasurer at Salisbury Cathedral in 2012.
In 2015, she was consecrated as Suffragan Bishop of Crediton, in the Diocese of Exeter, and in 2018 took up her role as Bishop of London as well as Dean of the Chapels Royal from 2019.
The King and the Prime Minister congratulated Mullally on her appointment as Archbishop.
Bishop Anthony Poggo, secretary general of the Anglican Communion, said: “I welcome and commend the nomination of Bishop Sarah as the next Archbishop of Canterbury”.
Lord Evans said: “It has been a great privilege to have chaired the Crown Nominations Commission as it sought to discern who God is calling to lead the Church of England and Anglican Communion as Archbishop of Canterbury.”
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