newsThe eyes have it – and not all will be on the new Archbishop of Canterbury today
Canterbury Cathedral – Mother Church of the 80 million strong Anglican Communion (Picture: Trevor Grundy)
By Trevor Grundy
Dame Sarah Mullally will today be installed as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury with the Sisyphean task of maintaining what’s left of unity in the badly split 80 million strong worldwide Anglican Communion.
She is the first woman ever to hold this title.
Mullaly takes over from Justin Welby who was forced to resign last year after failing to take action against a number of high-ranking clerics who abused children.
Sarah Mullally – hats off to the first woman ABC
Forty- one primates have been invited to attend the installation service at the Mother Church in Canterbury.
But a significant number of African, South American and Asian prelates will not be there.
They object to a woman as Archbishop of Canterbury and continue to deny full Christan rights for gay men and women.
From 1980, Dame Sarah had been a nurse, eventually becoming the youngest ever chief nursing officer for England in 1999.
She was still performing that role when she was ordained as a priest in 2002 and became the first female Bishop of London in 2018.
Hawkish conservatives within the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) and the Global Anglican Communion which was recently formed at Abuja lead the pack and the growling grows stronger every year,
“They have burnt down the bridge, thrown off Western shackles and cannot countenance being in the same rom as Mullally,” Andrew Atherstone, professor of modern Anglicanism at the University of Oxford wrote in The Times on March 21, 2026.
In total, about a quarter of the primates will be absent including many from some of the communion’s largest provinces.
This academic added: “No archbishop can hold back the tidal wave of Anglican disruption. The fragmentation and future re-arrangements of the Anglican Communion is inevitable.”
So good luck Sarah. You’re going to need it.
But not all eyes will be on the new ABC this afternoon in Canterbury.
A cross-section of the British establishment will be looking to see how the heir to the throne, Prince William, behaves.
Prince William – The Firm’s future will be in his hands
Until recently, he made it clear that he feels uncomfortable in the company of people of faith.
He and his wife, Kate, rarely attend church services.
But just three days before the ceremony of installation at Canterbury Cathedral, the Buckingham Palace public relations machine rolled into overdrive explaining in a statement how the Prince of Wales has suddenly warmed towards the Established Church of England.
When he becomes king, William will become the Supreme Governor of the Church of England and Defender of the Faith.
As part of that role, the monarch is responsible for approving the appointment of archbishops, bishops and deans on the recommendation of the prime minister.
Historian Tom Holland told The Times that being a Church of England believer was part of the job requirement. “William can’t really be king if he cannot manage that,” said the respected academic who hosts the Rest is History podcast
If the health of his father Charles worsens that could be sooner than later.
Some un-named aide said to be close to William said that the future king recently had a warm conversation with the new ABC reflecting his “genuine interest, not only in the Church’s work, but in its role as a guardian of distinctive and ancient English spiritual tradition that remains relevant in contemporary life.”
Expect to see a few more publicity shots of William, Kate and kiddies going in and out of churches over the next few months.
But don’t hold your breath.
It’s not easy to get away on Sundays, even if you’re a royal.
”We would love the future Supreme Governor to be at church every Sunday,” said the ABC’s aide “but one has to be practical around the fact that they are a couple with young children.”