Dame Sarah Mullally, Archbishop-designate of Canterbury

Last month, the Anglican Church chose Sarah Mullally as the new archbishop-designate of Canterbury, the titular See of the Anglican Communion. Ms. Mullally will be “legally confirmed” in January, 2026 and formally installed as archbishop in March, 2026. She will be the first woman raised to the See of Canterbury. Women were first ordained to the Anglican priesthood in England in 1994, and the first woman was elevated to the Anglican episcopacy in England only in 2015. The last archbishop, Justin Welby, resigned a year ago from the position when it was revealed that he had failed to properly report to the authorities the sexual abuse of minors taking place in a youth camp associated with the Church of England.

I suppose it was inevitable that a woman be named archbishop of Canterbury at some point. I suspect the “progressive” wing of the Anglican Communion, which supports legalized abortion, same-sex marriage, and female priests, have given up on any hope of effecting a reconciliation with the “conservative” wing of the Communion, so they felt emboldended, or at least no longer inhibited, to choose a woman to be archbishp of Canterbury. Needless to say, conservative Anglicans, who have organized themselves into various groups, the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) being chief among them, lamented the decision. GAFCON has claimed for years now that Canterbury can no longer assume the role as a sign of unity among Anglicans because Canterbury’s bishops have rejected orthodoxy in favor of accommodating the culture. Even with all that accommodation, however, the number of Anglicans in the worldwide Commuion has declined precipitously, especially in Europe and the United States. The decision to raise Ms. Mullally to Canterbury will doubtless contribute to the further disintegration of the Anglican Communion as a worldwide denomination. Indeed, it may prove the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

Truth be told, the ties that bind Anglicans in a worldwide Communion have not been very tight for some time now. The movement to ordain women to the priesthood, and then to the episcopacy, has caused great strain among worldwide Anglicans since the 1970s, especially between the more orthdox of the Global South and the more progressive of the West. The same can be said of the movement to ordain openly gay persons to the priesthood and then raise them up as bishops. Gene Robinson was consecrated as the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion as the Bishop of New Hampshire in 2004. His ordination caused a schism in the Communion. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ms. Mullally’s being raised to Canterbury caused the same.

In one of her first statements as archbishop-designate, Ms. Mullally condemned the attack on a synagogue in Manchester. Good. However, her words were disappointingly prosaic and mundane, as if she were speaking with the aid of a template in which she added the appropriate aggrieved “community” and the pertinent anti-virtues to condemn and gather forces to fight. It was dry-eyed drivel, and that’s being kind. Certainly, one must feel obliged to address such an attack. But could she not have mustered up some emotion in the effort? Well, she’s British, of course. If “The Crown” series constitutes true facts, the late Queen had the same problem, bemoaning her inability to cry, even in the face of the greatest of tragedies.

This is, in point of fact, a great tragedy. The Anglican Communion has played fast and loose with Christian faith and morals, especially morals, for so long it may be that no one even notices, anymore. Apprently, there are plenty of Anglicans who can’t seem to find motivation to bother. Consider the attention and anticipation that accompanied the conclave of cardinals earlier this year in Rome, and the surprise and utter joy at the election of an American pope! And not just in the United States. Compare that with the election and announcement of Dame Mullally to the See of Canterbury. Are even Anglicans much interested? Are they even aware? Canterbury, once a great bastion of Christian faith in the outreaches of what once was the Roman Empire, now sits barely noticed. That is a tragedy.

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.