The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, Bishop Mark Strange, today (25 March) attended the installation of the new Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally, at Canterbury Cathedral.
The special service on the Feast of the Annunciation enthroned the first ever female leader of the Church of England.
The new Archbishop will also serve as the head of the global Anglican Communion, which consists of around 85 million people across 165 countries.
The Prince and Princess of Wales were part of the congregation representing King Charles, and heard Dame Sarah’s first sermon as archbishop, before 2,000 guests.
The Primates of the Anglican Communion were all invited.
“My prayer is that many will make this journey and that Archbishop Sarah will feel supported in this remarkable ministry she is embarking on,” said Bishop Mark, Primus, as he arrived at Canterbury Cathedral.
“I feel deeply honoured to be here representing the Scottish Episcopal Church on the day we witness the first woman taking up this wonderful role among us.”
Today’s service came at the conclusion of a six-day pilgrimage undertaken by the new Archbishop from London to Canterbury as part of her spiritual preparation for her installation. The historic ceremony included the Archbishop banging on the door of the cathedral with her staff three times to request entry, befoe she was installed on the Diocesan throne – the Choir Cathedra – and on the ancient Chair of St Augustine, near the shrine of St Thomas Becket, which has been used to install Archbishops for centuries
In her sermon, the Archbishop highlighted people who were not able to attend the service because of the war in the Middle East, and offered prayers for them and people living in other areas with conflict. She also acknowledges safeguarding failures in the Church of England, saying “we hold victims and survivors in our hearts and in our prayers”.
The service included a wide range of voices from across the Church. Among those elements was a Portuguese reading, a nod to associations with Anglican churches in Angola and Mozambique, and also a South African Xhosa hymn.
The 105 previous Archbishops of Canterbury, from St Augustine in 597 AD, have all been men. This is the first time that a woman has been eligible for the role, because female bishops were not consecrated by the Church of England when the previous Archbishop of Canterbury was chosen 13 years ago. They now make up almost one third of all bishops in England.
Dame Sarah, then the Bishop of London, was chosen as Archbishop of Canterbury in October 2025. She was confirmed as Archbishop in at legal ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral in London in January this year, and in February made an oath of allegiance to the sovereign, acknowledging the King as the supreme governor of the Church of England.
BBC One’s coverage of the installation service can be watched again here.
