We welcome today’s announcement that the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally DBE, has been nominated as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury.
We offer our warm congratulations to Bishop Sarah on her appointment and look forward to working with her in this new ministry, as together we continue to serve Christ and his Church.
Bishop Sarah will be the first woman to hold the office of Archbishop of Canterbury. She will be installed at Canterbury Cathedral in March 2026, following her Confirmation of Election at St Paul’s Cathedral in January.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior bishop in the Church of England and, in effect, its spiritual leader. The Archbishop also serves as the ceremonial head of the global Anglican Communion, a network of churches in more than 165 countries.
Bishop Sarah responded to the announcement of her appointment, saying:
“As I respond to the call of Christ to this new ministry, I do so in the same spirit of service to God and to others that has motivated me since I first came to faith as a teenager.
At every stage of that journey, through my nursing career and Christian ministry, I have learned to listen deeply – to people and to God’s gentle prompting – to seek to bring people together to find hope and healing.
I want, very simply, to encourage the Church to continue to grow in confidence in the Gospel, to speak of the love that we find in Jesus Christ and for it to shape our actions.
And I look forward to sharing this journey of faith with the millions of people serving God and their communities in parishes all over the country and across the global Anglican Communion.
I know this is a huge responsibility but I approach it with a sense of peace and trust in God to carry me as He always has.”
As we mark this moment, we offer the following prayer:
Gracious God,
We give thanks for the appointment of Bishop Sarah Mullally as the next Archbishop of Canterbury.
Recognising the weight of the ministry she will undertake,
we ask that you strengthen and guide her in all things.
We pray also for the Diocese of London,
as they prepare for the change and transition that her departure will bring.
May she be upheld by your grace and surrounded by the prayers of your people,
as she leads with wisdom, courage and compassion.
Amen.