'We are already split and this will divide us more': Conservative Anglican group laments the new Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally

Bishop Mullally is currently Bishop of London.

She will be the first female to take on the role, and is on the liberal wing of the church.

The Archbishop of Armagh John McDowell said: “On behalf of the Church of Ireland, I express my best wishes to Bishop Sarah Mullally on her nomination to become the next Archbishop of Canterbury following today’s announcement by the Crown Nominations Commission, and assure her of the prayers of the members of the Church of Ireland as she enters into this challenging and important role in the life of the Anglican Communion.”

However, Bishop Mullally’s position on things like transgenderism, homosexuality, and abortion will now come under scrutiny from conservatives, some of whom also believe that scripture requires a male for the role.

GAFCON issued a statement today noting her appointment "with sorrow".

"This appointment abandons global Anglicans, as the Church of England has chosen a leader who will further divide an already split communion," said the GAFCON statement, which was signed by Rev Dr Laurent Mbanda, chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council.

"Though there are some who will welcome the decision to appoint Bishop Mullally as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury, the majority of the Anglican Communion still believes that the Bible requires a male-only episcopacy.

"Therefore, her appointment will make it impossible for the Archbishop of Canterbury to serve as a focus of unity within the Communion."

Chairman of GAFCON Ireland Tim Anderson (retired minister of St Elizabeth's in east Belfast) said he "100%" and "wholeheartedly" endorses this message.

He added: “I am personally very happy to give my full support to all of the Archbishop Mbanda’s statement, and would encourage other faithful Anglicans in Ireland and beyond to do likewise.”

Among GAFCON’s other major figures is David McClay, bishop of Down and Dromore, who serves as regional secretary for GAFCON in Great Britain and Europe.

Meanwhile Canon Alan Irwin, who ministers in Lack, Fermanagh, told the News Letter that when it comes to the question of whether a woman should be an archbishop, it is a "non-essential" issue as far as he is concerned.

"I don't get worked up about it," he said.

However, asked if it could deepen a split among Anglicans, he said: "It certainly will cause additional tension... they just need to be careful. The last thing we want is a split."

He added that the important thing for the new archbishop is not her sex, but whether she starts "moving the church back to the foundations... which are the Scriptures".

"They need to hold to the Scriptural teachings of the reformed faith, and get the church back to the foundations of its faith, and try to encourage the country back to the Christian values and principles on which it was based and which is constantly being eroded," he said.

Canon Ian Ellis, former editor of The Church of Ireland Gazette, welcomed the appointment, saying: "She is a bishop of immense experience and has a great awareness of so many contemporary issues both in the church and in society at home and in the wider world.

"The task of any Archbishop of Canterbury is a daunting one and I am certain that Bishop Mullally will be supported by the prayers and good wishes of countless people around the Anglican Communion and beyond its confines.

"The election of the first woman to hold this position is a truly historic occasion and, while there are differing views on women's ordination right across the different Christian denominations, I believe the new Archbishop of Canterbury will be respected and esteemed."

On her blog, titled 'Contemplation in the shadow of a carpark', Rev Mullally wrote in 2012 about reading an article on Rick Santorum, an anti-abortion US politician.

"Santorum has a daughter who has a genetic disorder which means that she will die early and the article states that nearly 90% of all such children in the US would have been aborted," wrote Rev Mullally.

"I would suspect that I would describe my approach to this issue as pro-choice rather than pro-life although if it were a continuum I would be somewhere along it moving towards pro-life when it relates to my choice and then enabling choice when it related to others – if that makes any sense."

In 2022, she "warmly welcomed" the creation of the "London Diocese LGBT+ Advisory Group", and hoped it would help in making "everyone feel as safe as possible and in bringing about the ‘radical new Christian inclusion'”.

She had added that “this initiative acknowledges the gratitude of the Diocese for the unique life and contribution of LGBT+ people to the church in London".