The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dame Sarah Mullally was installed as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury at Canterbury Cathedral on Wednesday 25 March in a service with over 2,000 people in attendance, including many from the Diocese of Canterbury.
The service marked the beginning of Dame Sarah’s public ministry and is the first time in its 1,400-year history that a woman has held the office.
In her sermon during the service, the Archbishop said: “As I begin my ministry today as Archbishop of Canterbury, I say again to God: ‘Here I am’.
“May we have the audacity to believe in the promises of God: for with Him, nothing will be impossible.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior bishop in the Church of England and the ceremonial leader of the global Anglican Communion, an international network of churches in more than 165 countries. They are also the Diocesan Bishop of Canterbury, supported in this ministry by the Bishop of Dover.
Speaking ahead of the service The Right Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Bishop of Dover said: “Imagine, the first in 1,400 years, that is pretty amazing. For the Diocese it means that we have turned over a page and we are starting the next chapter and what a way to begin it.
“I hope people in the local churches will be equally excited as I am, and they will be full of expectation in the knowledge that this is a new start and we’re going to go forward to tell the story of Jesus.”
There were a number of representatives from across the Diocese taking part in the service, including pupils from the John Wallis Academy in Ashford greeting Archbishop Sarah at the Great West Door, and prayers led by a pupil of The Archbishop's School in Canterbury, as well as the Archdeacon of Maidstone, The Venerable Darren Miller, and Domenica Pecoraro, Kent Refugees Programmes Manager for the Diocese of Canterbury.
Also in attendance were people from across the parishes in our diocese, including The Reverend Rachel Webbley, Team Rector of the Whitstable Benefice. After the service, she gave her message for Archbishop Sarah: “Welcome, make yourself at home. We really look forward to working with you … where women thrive, everyone thrives.”
The service is available to watch on the .
The Diocese of Canterbury will also be formally welcoming the Archbishop in a special Service of Welcome at Canterbury Cathedral on Saturday 28 March at 5:30pm. Those unable to attend .
Image credit: Lambeth Palace/Neil Turner