Canterbury, United Kingdom. Sarah Mullally will be enthroned on Wednesday as the Church of England’s first female Archbishop of Canterbury, taking on the challenge of uniting a divided 85-million-strong global Anglican Communion.
Enthronement at Canterbury Cathedral
Mullally, 63, will be installed at Canterbury Cathedral before an audience of 2,000 guests, including heir-to-the-throne Prince William, his wife Kate, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Opposition from conservative Anglican bloc
Her appointment in October drew criticism from a conservative grouping of Anglican churches in mostly African and Asian countries known as Gafcon, which this month established a new council in a direct challenge to her leadership.
The bloc rejected her predecessor Justin Welby’s leadership over same-sex blessings and opposes the ordination of women and greater inclusion of LGBTQ+ members. The Church of England has approved the ordination of women for more than three decades.
Service to blend tradition with global symbolism
The service for Mullally’s enthronement as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury will combine centuries-old tradition with global symbolism, her office said.
She will formally seek admission by knocking on the cathedral’s west door and will be greeted by children. Prayers and readings in multiple languages, including Urdu, and African choruses are planned to reflect the global reach of the Anglican Communion.
More than 100 guests will travel to Britain from provinces across 165 countries for the ceremony, which will include seating Mullally in the Chair of St Augustine, made from Purbeck marble in the early 13th century.
St Augustine, who brought Christianity to early Anglo-Saxon England, became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in 597.
“To be welcomed into the city and diocese of Canterbury is an immense privilege,” Mullally said.
What do you expect will be Mullally’s biggest challenge in attempting to unite the global Anglican Communion?
