An announcement was made this morning by the Crown Nominations Commission, following a long process to appoint a successor to Dr Justin Welby, who announced his intent to resign as Archbishop almost a year ago. The appointment required a two-thirds majority of the Commission.
Bishop Mullally is the first woman to hold the office of Archbishop of Canterbury. She has been Bishop of London since 2018. From 1999 to 2004, she was Chief Nursing Officer for England and the National Health Service’s director of patient experience for England. From 2015 to 2018, she served as Bishop of Matabeleland, a suffragan bishop in the diocese of Exeter.
There has been considerable discussion in the church as to whether the new Archbishop would be a woman. While this might be welcomed in the UK, there were concerns among some African Anglicans that it might be too soon.
Why does the Archbishop of Canterbury matter for us here in Málaga? The Archbishop is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the Bishop of the English diocese of Canterbury. We at St Geroge’s are under the authority of the Anglican Bishop in Europe who is a bishop within the Church of England and therefore comes directly under the line management of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
There is a sense in the UK that the Church of England has been somewhat restless since the departure of Archbishop Welby in somewhat unwelcomed circumstances. It is hoped that the new Archbishop will bring a new vision around which the Church can unite and move forward.
Ahead of the appointment, the Church of England offered this prayer:
Heavenly Father,
shepherd of your Church,
send us a faithful pastor
to lead with wisdom, courage, and love,
proclaiming your Gospel,
celebrating the sacraments,
and guiding your people in unity and truth.
Strengthen your Church, we pray,
and direct us in your ways;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Read the story in the Church Times here. Read about the new Archbishop here.
In an update to the article, the Church Times reports that Bishop Mullally will remain in her current post in the diocese of London “for some months to come”, and “will not be Archbishop of Canterbury until St Paul’s hosts the confirmation of her election on 28 January”.
Picture above, the Bishop of London. Source https://members.parliament.uk/member/4696/portrait. Author :Roger Harris. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.