London, Oct 3 Marking a major milestone in its over a millennium and a half history, the Church of England has got its first woman chief with nurse-turned-cleric Sarah Mullally being chosen for its top post, which was vacant for almost a year.
Dame Sarah Mullally, 63, has been named as the new Archbishop of Canterbury designate, the BBC reported.
A former Chief Nursing Officer of the National Health Service in which she served for over 35 years, Mullally became a priest in 2006 and was appointed as the first female Bishop of London in 2018 - the third most senior member of clergy in the Church of England.
Technically, the monarch is head of the Church of England, but the Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior bishop and is the spiritual leader of the church and the worldwide Anglican Communion.
In line with tradition, the process of choosing a new Archbishop involves a name being given to the Prime Minister and then passed to the monarch.
Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has welcomed Mullally's appointment, saying: "I wish her every success and look forward to working together."
King Charles III has also wished her on her new role, "which is of such importance in the UK and across the global Anglican Communion", Buckingham Palace said.
However, there was also some opposition to her appointment.
The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, which represents conservative views, was critical, saying that although some will welcome it, "the majority of the Anglican Communion still believes that the Bible requires a male-only episcopacy", the BBC reported.
Women were first ordained priests in the Church of England in 1994, while the first female bishop appointments followed 20 years later in 2014.
While Mullally does not legally take on her new role until a confirmation of election in January, and an enthronement service comes later after paying homage to the King, she made her first public statement on Friday, condemning the "horrific violence" of Thursday's attack on a synagogue in Manchester.
"Hatred and racism cannot tear us apart," she said.
Asked by the BBC what she will bring to her new role, Mullally said: "I have had experiences as a nurse leading complex organisations, as the government's chief nursing officer, and also a diocese that is very diverse in London. So I have been prepared for some of this, but recognise I can't do it alone. I need to do it with other colleagues."
She said that she realised that "being the first woman is historic, and I often go to schools, and particularly the young women sit up and listen, and they don't want to be the Bishop of London or the Archbishop of Canterbury, but it does allow them to think there are possibilities for them to fulfil their dreams".
The Church of England has been without someone in the top job for almost a year after Justin Welby resigned over a safeguarding scandal following a report into a prolific child abuser associated with the Church faulted him for not reporting the matter to the police.
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell took on most of Welby's responsibilities in an interim move and was one of the voting members of the body charged with choosing his successor. He himself has faced calls to step down over his handling of an abuse case.
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