Centuries-old ceremony marks official election of new Archbishop of Canterbury

Dame Sarah Mullally has been formally elected as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury in another step in the lengthy and centuries-old process towards becoming the Church of England’s top bishop.

She was officially named in October as the next person to take the leading role, making history by becoming the first woman to do so.

Dame Sarah will remain Bishop of London until a ceremony known as the Confirmation of Election, which will take place at St Paul’s Cathedral on January 28.

But on Tuesday a traditional ceremony took place at Canterbury Cathedral to see her formally elected.

Dame Sarah did not attend.

She was chosen earlier this year by a committee known as the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC), chaired by a former MI5 director and made up of religious and lay members of the Church and wider Anglican Communion who had to agree to a new archbishop by a two-thirds majority.

Tuesday’s ceremony was a formality dating back to the Reformation and involved the College of Canons of Canterbury Cathedral meeting in the religious building’s medieval Chapter House to elect the new archbishop, with several legal officers and invited observers in attendance.

Following this, a certificate – stamped with the Cathedral’s seal – is issued by the College of Canons to the King, recording the college’s decision.

Public declarations are also displayed at the cathedral and a Letters Patent issued in the King’s name, noting the election.

Dame Sarah met Charles at Buckingham Palace on Thursday in what is thought to have been their first official meeting since she was named Archbishop of Canterbury-designate in October.

After Tuesday’s ceremony she is known as Archbishop of Canterbury-elect.

Following January’s ceremony in London, which will see Dame Sarah legally become Archbishop of Canterbury, her enthronement will take place at Canterbury Cathedral on March 25.

In her first public speech when she was named as the next archbishop, Dame Sarah said she intended to “be a shepherd who enables everyone’s ministry and vocation to flourish, whatever our tradition”, and thanked all those who had “paved the way for this moment”.

She also acknowledged the Church’s “history of safeguarding failures”, which she said “have left a legacy of deep harm and mistrust, and we must all be willing to have light shone on our actions, regardless of our role in the Church”.

The 105th archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, formally resigned in early January having announced his intention to stand down two months earlier over failures in handling a safeguarding scandal.