Sarah Mullally officially confirmed as Archbishop of Canterbury

Dame Sarah Mullally has been officially confirmed because the Archbishop of Canterbury in a special ceremony held at St Paul’s Cathedral.

During the ceremony, Dame Sarah took up the Primatial Cross, a logo of Christ and of the authority of the Primate, and gave the blessing on the conclusion of the service.

The service featured a combination of music that included each Elgar and a South African chant. Bible readings got in each English and in Portuguese, in recognition of the Diocese of London’s link with the Anglican Province of Mozambique and Angola – Mullally was formerly the Bishop of London.

Ahead of the service, Dame Sarah said, “It is a rare and humbling privilege to have been called to be the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury. In this country and around the globe, Anglican churches bring healing and hope to their communities. With God’s help, I’ll seek to guide Christ’s flock with calmness, consistency and compassion.

“These are times of division and uncertainty for our fractured world. I pray that we are going to offer space to interrupt bread together and discover what we’ve got in common – and I pledge myself to this ministry of hospitality.”

She added that she wished the Church to be a spot where those that have suffered or been neglected in society can have their voices heard, mentioning specifically survivors of past church abuse scandals.

“I’m committed to equipping the Church to be a form and secure place that cares for everybody, especially those that are vulnerable, as we rise to the challenge of God’s call to justice, equity, peace and the care of creation”, she said.

Dame Sarah’s appointment followed a protracted hiatus where there was no serving Archbishop of Canterbury.  Her predecessor, Justin Welby, stood down from the roll over a 12 months ago following a report which criticised his handling of the kid abuse allegations against the late John Smyth.

She has faced significant criticism even before taking office. While she has stood for traditional Christian views on the issue of assisted suicide, traditionalists have expressed concern at her liberal approach to matters of human sexuality and plenty of are against female episcopacy. 

The Gafcon movement even went to this point as to say that it could not recognise the Archbishop of Canterbury and branded itself the actual Anglican Communion.

More recently she has faced scrutiny over her safeguarding track record while she was Bishop  of London. 

In an interview with the BBC coinciding together with her confirmation, she said it was right that her actions are scrutinised. 

“All of us needs to be open to having the sunshine shone on what we do, and I recognise rightly that there is bigger scrutiny on me and the actions that I actually have undertaken, and I reiterate my commitment to safeguarding. I also commit to making sure that we’ve got independence,” said Dame Sarah.