Dame Sarah Mullally Appointed as Pioneering Female Archbishop of the Church of England
The Church of England has selected Sarah Mullally as the inaugural woman leader of the Church of England, with Downing Street announcing the top cleric of Canterbury nearly a year after the departure of Justin Welby following a safeguarding controversy.
This represents the inaugural instance an archbishop of Canterbury has been chosen since the Church of England opened the episcopate to women in 2014.
The archbishop is regarded as the spiritual leader of the Anglican church worldwide and they also have a seat in the House of Lords.
The Stephen Cottrell, the archbishop of York took on most of the responsibilities in the interim, and was among the decision-makers of the group responsible for selecting Welby’s successor.
The selection body had to approve the selection by a two-thirds majority vote. Once decided, in line with tradition, the steps entail presenting a nominee to the prime minister – in this case Keir Starmer and then submitted to the sovereign.
The new archbishop will not formally assume the role until a formal endorsement in January, with an installation ceremony taking place later, after they have paid homage to the king.
