Sarah Mullally, the First Female Archbishop of Canterbury, is About to Be Enthroned

Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Supported by SKIP ADVERTISEMENT After 1,400 Years, the First Female Archbishop of Canterbury Is About to Be Enthroned Sarah Mullally will be installed on Wednesday at Canterbury Cathedral. Her appointment to the role has been both celebrated, and denounced by some factions within the global Anglican Church. Listen · 6:37 min Share full article By Megan Specia Reporting from Canterbury and London, England March 25, 2026, 12:01 a.m. ET Engraved on three stone slabs at Canterbury Cathedral is a list of all the archbishops of Canterbury, beginning with St. Augustine in A.D. 597. The first 105 names belong to men. The newest name, though, inscribed by a stonemason two months ago, breaks the mold: Sarah Elisabeth Mullally. On Wednesday, Archbishop Mullally, 63, will be formally installed as the most senior cleric in the Church of England and spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, which includes some 85 million Anglicans around the world. The ceremony, rich with tradition and set to be attended by the British prime minister and the prince and princess of Wales, will be weighted with significance for many in the church. “Installing Sarah as our first female archbishop would have almost been unimaginable even 50 years ago,” said the Very Rev. Dr. David Monteith, dean of Canterbury Cathedral, speaking ahead of the ceremony. “Today matters.” While she legally took up the role in January, Archbishop Mullally’s installation on Wednesday is the symbolic start of her ministry, where she will deliver her inaugural sermon to around 2,000 people. Despite the celebratory nature of the day’s events, the new archbishop inherits a church in a moment of transition and unease, both in Britain and the world. For more than two decades , the global Anglican Communion — which includes the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Church of Nigeria, among others — has been divided over issues including same-sex marriage and the ordination of women and L...