4 October 2025

Statement on the new Archbishop of Canterbury

I welcome the news overnight of the appointment of the Right Reverend and Right Honourable Dame Sarah Mullally, as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury.

Bishop Sarah has served as the Bishop of London since 2018. She was ordained to the priesthood in 2001 after a career as a nurse highlighted by her tenure as the Government’s Chief Nursing Officer for England.

An installation service for the new Archbishop of Canterbury is scheduled for March 2026 at Canterbury Cathedral.

Bishop Sarah has said:

“I want, very simply, to encourage the Church to continue to grow in confidence in the Gospel, to speak of the love that we find in Jesus Christ and for it to shape our actions.”

Please join me in praying for Bishop Sarah, the Church of England, and the wider Anglican Communion, as she prepares to take on this role.

The Most Reverend Geoffrey Smith
Archbishop of Adelaide and Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia