Editor’s Note: This is part of a series of articles highlighting inspirational women during Women’s History Month. Click on the links below for related stories:

Meet Virginia Henderson Yates by Marianne Wood
The Black Gazelle by Danny Minton
Omie Wilks, A Hidden Life by Darryl Tippens

By Mary Glover

It’s no wonder, I suppose, that every day we learn of another thing – job, accomplishment, award – that is a ‘first ever’ for a woman. Too often that is followed in quick order by backlash and objections, but we persist, nonetheless. And, one of these significant milestones has very recently happened in The Church of England and with it, that amorphous body known as the Worldwide Anglican Communion, which includes The Episcopal Church USA.

Last October, Bishop of London Sarah Elisabeth Mullally was selected to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury, the first woman so named in that office’s 1400-year history. Getting there had numerous steps. When the vacancy in the office occurred, multiple candidates were considered before Bishop Mullally was elected by the Crown Nominations Committee. Her nomination was then submitted to the Prime Minister, and it was approved by King Charles III and the church officials. A Confirmation of the Election service was held in January at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, at which Bishop Sarah was officially named the 106^th Archbishop of Canterbury. The final step on her journey will be the Installation worship service on March 25th, when she will assume the Cathedral Chair as Diocesan Bishop of the See of Canterbury, oldest in the English church, and the Chair of St Augustine as Primate of All England, symbolizing her ministry in the wider Anglican Communion.

Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Elisabeth Mullally
(Photo Credit © House of Lords / photography by Roger Harris)

Archbishop Sarah, 63, was born into a family of four children southwest of London. After graduating from the University of London, she began her career as a nurse, specializing in cancer care at Westminster Hospital. She was later made Director of Nursing at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. In 1999, she was appointed the Government’s Chief Nursing Officer for England’s Department of Health, and in 2005, was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth for her outstanding contribution to nursing and midwifery.

Archbishop Sarah and her husband, Irish native and IT systems architect, Eamonn Mullally, are the parents of two grown children. Of his wife, he says: “Sarah has always been a trailblazer, changing the world quietly by getting alongside people and sharing the love of Christ.” Eamonn enjoys such charmingly British hobbies as being a London tourist guide and beekeeping. Sarah openly discusses her dyslexia, and her difficulties with writing and reading. Among her favorite pastimes are cooking, walking, and pottery, a shared hobby with her daughter.

Bishop Sarah’s journey to become the Archbishop traveled past a number of mileposts in the Church of England. Female priests were first ordained there in 1994, and their first female bishop was ordained in 2015. In the Episcopal Church USA, women have been ordained as priests since 1976.  In 1989, Barbara Harris was the first female ordained as bishop in the US, and in the Anglican Communion.

While she was Chief Nursing Officer, Sarah discerned a call to ordination and pursued her Theological Education. She was ordained in 2001 and was a self-supporting minister before making the “biggest decision of my life” to leave her Government post in 2004. Afterward, she served as a Canon at Salisbury Cathedral, then as Suffragan Bishop in the Diocese of Exeter. She was just the fourth woman ordained Bishop in England. In 2018, she was installed as the 133rd Bishop of London, the first woman to hold that office. She also served Queen Elizabeth as Dean of Her Majesty’s Chapels Royal. As Bishop of London, Sarah was seated in the House of Lords as one of the Lords Spirituals. When introduced there, she said: “I am the Bishop I am today because of that first vocation to nursing, and compassion and healing are constants at the heart of who I am.”

By virtue of her various vocations and honors, Sarah has been addressed as “The Rt. Rev’d and Rt. Hon. Dame Sarah Mullally.” As Archbishop of Canterbury, she is now entitled to sign her documents and correspondence with the shorter, but equally distinguished, “+Sarah Cantuar.”

Regarding the Archbishop of Canterbury, it’s safe to say that most of us Episcopalians can only name a few of the other 105 (men) so called. It is good to remember, however, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, Augustine. Born in Rome, he was sent to England around 597 by Pope Gregory I and he established Christ Church, Canterbury, as the principal cathedral. A more familiar Archbishop to many is Thomas Becket, elected in 1162. Becket was murdered on the Canterbury steps by four of Henry II’s knights. Pilgrimages to his shrine were popular for centuries and are the backdrop of Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales.” And, we must remember Thomas Cranmer, made the first Protestant Archbishop by Henry VIII in 1533. Cranmer put the Bible, translated into English, in all parish churches and he compiled The Book of Common Prayer, the liturgies, prayers, and documents that remain a centerpiece of our common worship worldwide.

It is among the duties of the Archbishop to crown the monarch of England and to officiate at most Royal events in the church. The Archbishop is not regarded, however, as the formal head of the worldwide Communion, but is traditionally seen as its spiritual leader, with a primary position of defining and bringing about unity among the 40-odd branches of the church. This includes around 100 million members in 165 countries. Within that diversity there are still deep rifts over issues around the role of women and the treatment of LGBTQ people. The expected, but unfortunate, backlash to Archbishop Sarah’s election has been rejection of her leadership by some regional leaders who vow to break away and form their own authority.

In remarks at her Confirmation service, Bishop Sarah said: “I was charged to work in partnership with my fellow Primates and Bishops of the Anglican Communion. I look forward to this shared ministry as we seek to be, not only disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, but also his apostles, sent to share the good news of his love with all entrusted to our care. May the Lord be merciful to us and strengthen our hearts after the encouragement of the Apostle Paul… We all know the cost and burden of the episcopal [bishop] calling as well as the deep joy that comes from the privilege we have of serving God’s people and the wider world.”

One can hope, along with her, that a shared vision, our common prayer and worship, and the call to spread the good news of God’s love will prevail over all obstacles and divisions as we journey on together.

Rev. Mary Glover is rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church

Sources
Historic UK
Lambeth Conference
Archbishop of Canterbury
Britannica