The Diocese of North Carolina shares the joy and excitement felt around the world today at the historic announcement of the next Archbishop of Canterbury! We join with Presiding Bishop Rowe in welcoming Bishop Sarah Mullally, and we invite your prayers for her as she prepares to serve as the first woman to become Archbishop of Canterbury.
Grace and blessings to her and to the Church of England and our Anglican Communion,
Bishop Sam and Bishop Jennifer
From The Episcopal Church: Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe congratulates new Archbishop of Canterbury
I am very pleased at the news that Bishop Sarah Mullally, who has served as bishop of London since 2018, has been named the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury. She will be the first woman to hold the role, which was established more than 1,400 years ago.
Bishop Sarah is known in the Church of England as a wise and steady leader, a faithful advocate for the leadership of women in the church, and a bishop who will be committed to safeguarding vulnerable people and victims of abuse. She is a former nurse who served as the government’s chief nursing officer for England and has dedicated her vocational life to serving those in need. Earlier today, when asked about her two careers, she said, “I prefer to think that I have always had one vocation: to follow Jesus Christ.”
In the last several years, Bishop Sarah has led Living in Love and Faith, the Church of England’s process to discuss issues of human sexuality, and called the 2023 decision by that church’s General Synod to bless same-sex couples “a moment of hope.”
I have written to Bishop Sarah to send my warmest congratulations to her, her husband, Eamonn, and their family, and to tell her how much I look forward to working with her at the primates meeting and across the Anglican Communion.
Please join me in praying for the Church of England, for all of the primates and churches of the Anglican Communion, and for Bishop Sarah at this momentous time.
