I am sure, like many thousands of Anglicans around the world, you celebrated late last year when news of the election of then Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, as the next Archbishop of Canterbury was publicly announced. Her election has very special resonance for those who have worked for many years to increase the numbers of lay and ordained women as leaders in our beloved Church.
A number of Anglican, ecumenical, and inter-faith friends and whanau have reached out over the past month or so to ask me to explain the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury and whether or not their leadership has any direct impact upon our Province. So, I figured it would be good to share a very short ‘explainer’ and offer my reflections.
The official service marking the confirmation of the election of The Right Reverend Sarah Mullally as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury was held at St Paul’s Cathedral last week. Our Province was represented at that milestone service by Reverend Canon Isaac Beach from Te Hui Amorangi o Te Tai Rawhiti. Isaac was a member of the Crown Nominations Committee, charged with the responsibility of overseeing the process which led ultimately to the election of Bishop Sarah. He was an exemplary representative of our Province on such a high-level Committee.
(You can read more about the careful and lengthy process of prayerful discernment which led ultimately to the decision made by the Nominations Committee here.)
Last week’s service was essentially a legal ceremony set within the context of public worship. It is when the legal functions and responsibilities of the office the Archbishop of Canterbury are formally vested in the new Archbishop. At this point in time, the Archbishop is no longer ‘Elect’, but, having taken the oath of allegiance to the King of England and declared her assent to being the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Sarah has now legally assumed the role. She has thus become the first woman to hold the esteemed office in its 1429-year history!
On March 25th at Canterbury Cathedral, Archbishop Sarah will be officially installed as Archbishop of Canterbury at Canterbury Cathedral, where the historic See was first established in 597. This will mark the beginning of her public ministry as Archbishop of Canterbury. The roles she will carry are very significant, primarily so with a focus upon leadership for the Church of England. She will be known as the Primate of All England, and she is thus also the most senior Bishop for the Church of England.
Archbishop Sarah has already made clear she wants her ministry to be one of public outreach with special concern for those on the margins and she has already publicly committed to calling out misogyny in the Church.
In terms of her leadership within the wider Anglican Communion, she will be known, as were her predecessors, as primus inter pares—the first among equals. She is not the ‘boss’ of all the other Archbishops and Primates in the Anglican Communion; rather she is expected to be an exemplary co-disciple or co-witness for faith filled unity and mutuality, to provide wise and compassionate pastoral leadership, and to gather with senior church leaders across the world as partners in prayer and enacting God’s unending mission work.
Some weeks ago, I was asked to comment on her election. From my long years of working with the Anglican Communion, I am very aware of just what a moment of elation this represents for women and for young girls as they now see a new horizon of ministry possibility for themselves. Archbishop Sarah speaks herself in one of the videos linked above about how as a young girl, it never occurred to her that such leadership roles in the Church were ever intended for other than men.
I am sure we will join together in giving thanks to God for the global ministry and leadership of the new Archbishop of Canterbury. I pray also that we here in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Polynesia will continue as the people of God to do all we can to prepare ourselves to be leaders within a three tikanga church which is safe and remains so. I pray that we continue our commitment with grace and compassion to being the welcoming, hospitable, inclusive, and justice seeking community God calls us to be!
Dr Jenny Te Paa Daniel
Emeritus Professor / Taiahorangi
St Johns Theological College
