The new Archbishop of Canterbury has said the Church of England must strive to be “a stable presence in an unstable world”.
Dame Sarah Mullally described it as a “humbling privilege” to take on her new role as she addressed the Church’s parliament for the first time as its top bishop.
She acknowledged the “significant challenges” faced by a Church which saw her predecessor Justin Welby resign over safeguarding failures.
The new archbishop, who was formally confirmed in her role at a service in St Paul’s Cathedral last month, gave her first presidential address at the Church’s General Synod on Tuesday.
She was greeted with a round of applause as she stood to speak, before telling those gathered in central London’s Church House: “I stand here among you by no means for the first time, but for the first time as the Archbishop of Canterbury.
“It is a humbling privilege to be called to serve in this role.
“It brings with it a huge weight of responsibility, at a time when people love to remind me that the Church faces significant challenges.”
She repeated her previously stated intention to approach the role with “calm, consistency and compassion”, adding “as we seek to be what the Church has for so long been: a stable presence in an unstable world”.
Dame Sarah is the first woman to be appointed to the Church’s top ministry role and is the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury.
Technically, the King is head of the Church of England, but the person holding the role of Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior bishop and the spiritual leader of the Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion.
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