History has been made in the Church of England as Sarah Mullally officially begins her role as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury in the institution’s 1,400 years of existence.
The former cancer nurse, now the 106th person to occupy the position, was all smiles as she was formally welcomed during a ceremony held on Wednesday at Canterbury Cathedral.
The ceremony marked the start of her public ministry as head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
Over 2,000 guests attended the event, including Prince William and UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer alongside representatives from the Anglican Communion’s 42 member churches, the Vatican, and the Orthodox Church.
A notable moment during the service was the use of the St John’s Bible for the Corporal Oath, the first time it has been used in such a capacity.
The Dean of Canterbury, David Monteith, described the development as remarkable, noting that the emergence of a female archbishop “would have been almost unimaginable even 50 years ago.”
Before her rise within the Church, Archbishop Mullally built a distinguished career in healthcare, serving as a cancer nurse and later becoming England’s Chief Nursing Officer
The Church of England ordained its first female priests in 1994 and consecrated its first female bishop in 2015, the same year Mullally was appointed a bishop, becoming the fourth woman to attain that rank.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
