A woman puts himself at the head of the Anglican Church of England for the first time in history. Sarah Mullally (Woking, 63 years old) was already a bishop of London, as part of the new batch of Reverendas to which it was allowed to ascend in the hierarchy since 2014. Never until now, however, it had occupied one of them the highest position in the range of the denomination that entered Enrique VIII, when separating from the Catholic Church to be able to divorce from Cataline Ana Bolena.
It is the supreme governor, the visible head, of the institution. But the Archbishop of Canterbury – now the Archbishop – is the Anglican primacy in England (Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland are autonomous churches). A kind of the first one in pairswhose range and power are more symbolic than effective. His words and opinions are always taken into account, as a spiritual leader of Anglican believers worldwide.
Mulally worked as a nurse in the National Health Service (NHS) before being ordered. During that time, he said, “he had the opportunity to reflect on the love of God.” At 37 he held the political position of Chief of the Government Nursing Office in the Department of Health of England, the youngest person who had ever occupied that position.
On May 12, 2018, after a brief but meteoric career in the Church of England, in which he was Bishop of Crediton, she was appointed Bishop of London and consecrated in the Cathedral of St. Paul. Again, she was the first woman to occupy a position in that range.
“I know that it is a huge responsibility, but I assume it with a feeling of peace and confidence in God, which will guide me as you have always done,” said the designated one. “In an era that craves certainties and tribalism, Anglicanism is able to offer something quieter but stronger,” he added.
As in the rest of European societies, the number of faithful and followers of the Anglican Church is in decline. In the 2021 census, prepared by the National Statistics Office, only 48% of those consulted were defined as Christians, and only 12% as active members of the Church of England.
However, by continuing to be considered as the “official” religion of the country, headed by the monarch, it maintains a remarkable validity and public relevance.
Although the Anglican Synod, the maximum organ of internal debate, remains the scene of battles between a progressive and ordinary tendency, as it was recently seen regarding the inclusion or not in the bosom of the LGTBIQ community church or the blessing of same -sex couples, in recent years it has offered the world an image of opening with the ordering and the growing role of women in their hierarchy.
Mullall will replace after the multiple accusations against him many prelates for hiding a scandal of physical and sexual abuse of minors of historical dimensions.
Welby was two years after reaching his retirement. Since he was proclaimed Archbishop of Canterbury in 2012 he had been a very relevant figure in the public debate, with progressive positions that led him to the confrontation with the conservative governments and with part of the bishops .. his presence was key during the funeral of Isabel II or during the coronation of Carlos III.
During all this time, waiting for the monarch’s decision, Welby’s position was interimly occupied by Stephen Cottrell, the York Archbishop. Although he was one of those who voted in favor of the cessation of the previous primacy, he has also ended up being investigated for his doubtful management of another case of abuses within the Church of England.
Although the designation of Mulord by the King must be approved by a two -thirds majority by the Royal Commission of Appointments, nothing seems to indicate that he has obstacles on his way, because it has been the Government of Starmer who has really decided the appointment, which the monarch has ratified. Everything indicates that he will be consecrated as a new bishop of Canterbury next January, in a enthronement ceremony in which he will pay tribute to the monarch.
