Sarah Mullally, the first female Archbishop of Canterbury: an Asian perspective
Today's historic decision by the Church of England, which will see a female head of the primatial see for the first time, is also highly significant for the Asian Churches that are part of the Anglican Communion. Among them are the United Churches of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, which have already opened up the ordained ministry to women, with female bishops in some Indian dioceses.
London (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Sarah Mullally, 63, the current Bishop of London, was appointed today as the new archbishop of Canterbury, the primatial episcopal see of the Church of England. She is the first woman to hold this office in the nearly 500-year history of the Anglican Church.
Mullally's appointment, which came after a lengthy selection process, was approved today by King Charles II, who is the titular head of the Church.
In January 2026, she will replace outgoing Archbishop Justin Welby, who announced his resignation last year following revelations about the improper handling of a sexual abuse case committed by a member of his archdiocese.
In her first address at Canterbury Cathedral today, Rt Revd Sarah Mullally addressed the topic of “deep global uncertainty”, stating that “the possibility of healing lies in acts of kindness and love”, words that echo her personal history: before entering the ordained ministry, the new leader of the Archdiocese of Canterbury was a nurse who cared for cancer patients.
The choice of Sarah Mullally is also significant for Christians in Asia. In her role as the Anglican primate, she will be called upon to preside as "primus inter pares" over the Anglican Communion, which brings together 46 Churches in 165 countries.
This community currently has 85 million members, most of whom live outside of Great Britain: more than half are in Africa, but Asia also has significant and vibrant communities, from Sri Lanka to Myanmar, the Middle East to Hong Kong, and even in Southeast Asia.
But Asia also has a specific distinction within the Anglican Communion. On this continent, specifically in South Asia, where their presence is most deeply rooted, Anglican communities have given rise to the "United Church" experience, that is, Churches that already enjoy a form of internal unity with other Protestant denominations (for example, Methodist).
Four such Churches exist within the Anglican Communion: the two largest are in India (the Church of South India, which has over 4.5 million members, and the Church of North India, which has over 2 million), plus the Church of Pakistan and the Church of Bangladesh.
In Asia, United Churches have also been at the forefront of opening up the ordained ministry to women, which now finds its fullest expression in the Anglican world with the appointment of Sara Mullay as archbishop of Canterbury.
In Asia, this is also a major development. The Church of South India began admitting women to the priesthood in 1960 and to the presbyterate in 1982.
Eggoni Pushpalalitha was India’s first female bishop, ordained in Andhra Pradesh in 2013, virtually simultaneously with the first female Anglican bishop in the Church of Ireland.
The Church of North India took the same step last year with the episcopal consecration of Violet Nayak in Phulbani, Odisha, already followed recently by two more ordinations of women bishops.
The Church of Pakistan has also ordained women as deacons in 2001, but does not admit them to the priesthood or the episcopate.
For its part, the small Church of Bangladesh resumed admitting women to the diaconate in 2021 after a 15-year suspension, and two years ago celebrated its first female priestly ordinations.
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12/02/2016 15:14
