Sara Mully has been nominated as the new Archbishop of Canterbury on Friday, making her the first female leader of the Church of England in her 1,400 -year history.
Former Chief Nursing Officer for England will be confirmed as the top bishop of the church in a legal ceremony in the coming months.
After confirming her appointment, in her first words, Mully said, while the role is a “very big responsibility, she feels a feeling of peace and faith in God to take me”.
Cancerbury’s archbishop wants to be legally archbishop at a ceremony at Cancerbury Cathedral in January.
Spiritual leader of Anglican Church
Mully played the role of Justin Welby, who resigned in November 2024 and left the office after failing for misconduct in January 2025.
Malal would be the formal head of 85 million Anglican worldwide, but a group of Orthodox Anglican Churches across Gafcon – Africa and Asia criticized Mully’s appointment.
The group said his appointment showed that the English branch of the church had “abandoned its right to lead”.
Although King Charles III is the head of the Church of England, Cancerbury’s Archbishop is the most senior bishop and the spiritual leader of the church.
Reforms allowed a woman to play the role of archbishop
Mulli was held in 2002 as a priest and became one of the first women to be preserved as a bishop in the Church of England in 2015.
He served as a London bishop since 2018 and is known as progressive, causing discovery as permission for blessings for the same-lingo couples in championing civil partnership and marriage.
Eleven years ago, reforms were introduced to allow a woman to catch the office, which means that Mulli can become a 106th archbishop of Canterbury.
“I want, very easily, to encourage the church to grow into confidence,” he said in a historic appointment in his first statement.
“I am eager to share this journey of faith with God across the country and millions of people serving God and his communities in the Communian.”
Raja Charles gave formal consent for appointment
As the tradition is, Prime Minister Kir Karmer’s office formally announced the appointment of Mully after the formal consent of King Charles.
As the Emperor, Charles is the highest governor of the Church in England. The role was founded in the 16th century after the breakdown of King Henry VIII from the Catholic Church.
Strandmer said in a statement, “Cantorbury’s Archbishop will play an important role in our national life. I wish him every superstar and look forward to working together.”
Edited by: Wesley Dakri