“No repentance, but the Lawyers told us we can’t do it – yet”
“The Church of England has halted its plans to introduce ‘wedding’ services for same-sex couples after the bishops finally accepted long-resisted legal advice that it is not possible to do so without the approval of two-thirds of General Synod.
Plans to allow clergy to enter a same-sex civil marriage have also been scrapped owing to the legal complications, ongoing divisions on the issue and the confusion that bringing in the reform by itself would sow. …
The upshot is that the Church of England will continue, for the time being at least, officially to hold to traditional biblical teaching on marriage – while liberals will continue quietly to flout it and make use of the ‘blessings’ fudge they got in under Welby.”
– This Daily Sceptic article has news and commentary.
(Our headline is a very rough summary. Image: The Church of England’s General Synod in February 2023)
The Anglican Communion – has the ship sailed?
“It was telling that Madeleine Davies, Senior Writer at the Church Times, gave short shrift to the idea that the unity of the Anglican Communion was high on the priority list for those selecting the new Archbishop of Canterbury.
Her response on BBC Radio 4’s Sunday programme, was simple – ‘That ship has already sailed.’
It seems almost everyone involved would agree.
The Anglican Consultative Council certainly thought so – their decision to chose representatives of tiny, liberal provinces to be the voice of the ‘Anglican Communion’ on the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) gave no indication that they were looking for unity. …”
– From Anglican Futures.
Image: The Mary Celeste – a ship with no crew or passengers.
“Archbishop” — Church Society podcast
From Church Society:
“In this extra-long episode of the Church Society podcast, Lee and Ros talk about the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the newly announced appointment of Bishop Sarah Mullally as the 106th person to hold that office.”
– Listen here.
“Keep the pattern”
“Friends in Christ, last Friday, the appointment of a new Archbishop of Canterbury was announced, Dame Sarah Mullally, the first female in the role. Previously she had been chief nursing officer in the UK’s National Health Service (the youngest person ever appointed to that role). Her experience and training appears to be much more in management (both secular and ecclesiastical) than in parish ministry work. …”
– In his Minister’s Letter to the Cathedral congregations, published on Thursday, Dean of Sydney Sandy Grant shares some reflections on what is most important in a bishop.
Why are Christians hung up about Sarah Mullally? An explanation for those outside the church
“Sarah Mullally is to be the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, which has upset a number of Christians, especially in the Anglican community here and abroad, and particularly in Africa. Though if you aren’t a Christian, you may be confused as to why many are unhappy with the appointment. Most of the negative commentary is either written for a church audience, and hence does not explain precisely why this statement or that stance is such a problem …”
– At The Critic, Peter Leach, Minister of Grace Church, Coventry (part of the International Presbyterian Church) helpfully explains some of the reasons behind the unhappiness over the appointment of the new Archbishop of Canterbury.
Get up to speed on responses to the Canterbury announcement
Here’s a handy list of links we’ve posted to responses to the appointment of Dame Sarah Mullally as the next Archbishop of Canterbury –
Archbishop Dr Laurent Mbanda – GAFCON.
Archbishop Dr Justin Badi Arama – Global Fellowship of Anglican Churches.
Bishop Peter Hayward, Commissary for the Archbishop of Sydney.
Dr Mark Thompson, Principal of Moore Theological College.
The Church of England Evangelical Council.
The Pastor’s Heart – with Archbishop Laurent Mbanda, Dr Lee Gatiss, and Vaughan Roberts.
Image: Bishop of London Sarah Mullaley speaks at the Church of England’s General Synod, 6th February 2023.
Appointment of New Archbishop Continues Tragic Slide into Irrelevance
“This week, the Church of England’s leadership continued its tragic slide into irrelevance as it announced the appointment of Sarah Mullally as the next Archbishop of Canterbury.
Anglicans around the world had hoped for the appointment of an orthodox and faithful guardian of the faith who would address the serious decline in England’s established church and its dire standing in the global Anglican Communion. Sadly, those making the appointment have chosen to continue on a decades-long course of theological revisionism, cultural capitulation, empty churches, and unprecedented division.
In fact, the Church’s recent trajectory has attracted the condemnation of Anglicans worldwide. …”
– Principal of Moore Theological College, Dr. Mark Thompson, writes at The Gospel Coalition.
Image courtesy Moore College’s Centre for Christian Living.
Laurent Mbanda, Lee Gatiss and Vaughan Roberts: A lanyard wearing Archbishop and fractured communion
From The Pastor’s Heart, a special and important edition:
“The Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, will take on the role of Archbishop of Canterbury — but instead of celebration, the global response has been marked by shock, disappointment, and unprecedented criticism.
Once, the Archbishop of Canterbury was recognised as the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion — the “first among equals” for Anglicans everywhere. But that authority has been dramatically eroded in recent years, especially after the GAFCON and Global South movements declared in 2023 that they no longer recognised Canterbury’s leadership, citing the Church of England’s decision to bless same-sex relationships as a betrayal of biblical truth.
As the GAFCON Kigali Commitment put it:
“Public statements by the Archbishop of Canterbury and other leaders of the Church of England in support of same-sex blessings are a betrayal of their ordination and consecration vows to banish error and to uphold and defend the truth taught in Scripture.”
With GAFCON and the Global South together representing as much as 85% of global Anglicans, Sarah Mullally will now lead a communion that is, in practical terms, far smaller and more fractured than it was at the start of Justin Welby’s tenure.
So what does this appointment mean for the future of Anglicanism?
Joining us today are three leading voices (statements from their organisations are linked):
See also George Owers article in The Critic: The Lanyard Class Archbishop.
– Watch at YouTube – or watch or listen at The Pastor’s Heart website.
A disappointing decision: The Australian Church Record on Canterbury’s new Archbishop
From The Australian Church Record:
“The ACR regrets this appointment and laments the way it will likely accelerate the weakening of the Church of England and the bonds which hold together the Anglican Communion.”
“The Australian Church Record (ACR) notes the announcement that Dame Sarah Mullally has been appointed to the office of Archbishop of Canterbury, and as such, the Primate of All England and metropolitan bishop of the Province of Canterbury. The ACR regrets this appointment and laments the way it will likely accelerate the weakening of the Church of England and the bonds which hold together the Anglican Communion.
At the heart of the English Reformation in the sixteenth-century was the gospel of Jesus Christ. The supreme authority of the Holy Scriptures declared that the great problem of the sinfulness of mankind could only find its remedy in the once for all sacrifice of Christ on the cross. By faith, and faith in Christ alone, could anyone stand before almighty God, and that gift of faith was precisely that which the world needed. At the cost of his life, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer stood for these truths and bequeathed a noble theological heritage to the Church of England in the Book of Common Prayer, the 39 Articles of Religion, and the Ordinal.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is not merely a symbolic primate; historically, he is called to safeguard doctrine, discipline, and unity under the lordship of Christ. From Augustine of Canterbury to Thomas Cranmer to the modern incumbents, that office has borne the responsibility of upholding the priority of the gospel throughout the English church. As a global Anglican communion came into being the office took on a moral responsibility to keep calling churches back to the teaching of the Scriptures and the centrality of the crucified and risen Saviour. Yet in our day …”
– Read the full statement here.
Appointment of the Archbishop of Canterbury — Response from Sydney
Appointment of the Archbishop of Canterbury
We acknowledge the appointment of Dame Sarah Mullally as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury with a spirit of prayerful reflection and gospel-centred concern.
We commend Dame Sarah’s distinguished record of public service in healthcare and recognise her achievements in administrative leadership.
However, we also recognise that this appointment comes at a time of profound theological tension within the Anglican Communion. The recent trajectory of the English Church–particularly regarding issues of human sexuality, biblical authority, and unity–has caused deep concern among those who hold to the historic and reformed teachings of Scripture.
Her public comments show she has strayed from the clear teaching of scripture and promoted serious error that will neither advance unity nor the mission of the church.
The office of the Archbishop of Canterbury once held a symbolic leadership role in the global Anglican Communion. However, due to a tragic failure to uphold biblical teaching, successive Archbishops have forfeited the trust of orthodox Anglicans, who now look to other leaders.
The Church of England and its new leadership must urgently return to the message of faith, hope, and love entrusted to us by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Bishop Peter Hayward
Commissary for the Archbishop of Sydney (on leave) 4 October 2025
Other responses to the appointment of the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury
From Church Society:
We note the election of Dame Sarah Mullally as Archbishop of Canterbury. We offer our congratulations and prayers for her as she prepares to take up this ministry, and we hope to be able to meet with her in due course to discuss the urgent need for reformation and renewal of the Church of England in biblical faith.
While the milestone election of a female archbishop creates additional problems of disunity in the Church in England and around the world, we note the positive comments of the Bishop of Ebbsfleet about this here.
But we need a change of direction, not just of sex. More concerning is the appointment (for the third time in a row to this position) of someone who does not seem to actually hold to the doctrine of the Church of England on marriage and sexual ethics but wants it to change. We pray that at a time when there is serious fracture and distrust on this subject, as there is on serious safeguarding issues as well, that God would give bishop Sarah the wisdom she will need to help restore confidence and credibility to the church.
From The Church of England Evangelical Council:
The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) joins Anglicans across the world in praying for Bishop Sarah Mullally on the announcement that she is to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury.
Bishop Sarah will take up her role as the next Archbishop of Canterbury at a difficult time for the Church of England, set against a backdrop of global conflict and instability.
At home, the Church of England faces challenges because of declining attendance, financial pressures and their impact on sustaining parochial ministry. This is in the context of the significant divisions created by the Living in Love and Faith process. More broadly, across the Anglican Communion, in recent years there has been a significant loss of confidence in the role of the Archbishop and a cry for leadership consonant with our Anglican doctrinal heritage.
These challenges exist within a wider context of political fragility—both in the UK and abroad—with contentious debates domestically, including the proposed assisted dying legislation, immigration, and ongoing wars in Europe and the Middle East.
We therefore pray that God will enable Bishop Sarah to hold to the apostolic faith and call the Church of England to recommit to the historic doctrines and formularies entrusted to it. We pray that this might be a moment where the current drift away from a biblical and Anglican understanding of marriage and sexual ethics is either halted or a way is found to secure biblical convictions in the Church of England for the future. Above all, our hope is that she will lead the Church of England in presenting the unchanging good news of the gospel afresh to our needy world.
In 2 Timothy 1:14, Paul implores Timothy to ‘guard the good deposit’. We pray that, with the help of the Holy Spirit, Bishop Sarah will be enabled to do the same.
From Anglican Futures:
The wrong Archbishop for this cultural moment? – Their conclusion:
The crowning achievement for most Archbishops of Canterbury is the highlight of hosting a “Lambeth Conference” of all the Communion’s bishops. One is due in 2032, the year before the archbishop is due to retire – but whether there will be a Communion to gather is doubtful.
Bishop Mullally may, as many say, be “really kind”. She may, as she says, “…intend to be a shepherd who enables everyone’s ministry and vocation to flourish, whatever our tradition…”, but the thing about shepherds is they have to know both where the good pasture is and where the wolves are.
Given that in less than two hours today Bishop Mullally repeated her failings at home and further alienated the Communion abroad, it is hard to imagine a worse start for the new incumbent of the chair of St Augustine, or a worse morning for the Church of England. There might be “Nothing like a Dame”, but she has just over six years from January to put things right.
– Do read the whole article.
And at The Critic:
The lanyard class Archbishop – by George Owers, writing about the “quiet revival” happening in many places –
“If I were to try to imagine a candidate for the new Archbishop of Canterbury who is the furthest away from this, the worst and least suitable replacement for Welby possible, I would probably pick someone along the following lines. They’d be a former state bureaucrat who made an entire career out of the sort of bland HR department-inspired managerialism that is destroying the church, probably a senior civil servant in (say) the NHS. They’d be on record as having every tick-box lazy progressive political and theological opinion imaginable. They would, of course, have lived and worked in London for most of their life and be a thoroughgoing metropolitan. …”
Photo via The Archbishop of Canterbury’s website.
Canterbury Appointment Abandons Anglicans — Gafcon responds to the appointment of the new Archbishop of Canterbury
From Gafcon:
To my dear brothers and sisters in our Gafcon family,
Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The news has finally arrived after months of prayer and long waiting. But it is with sorrow that Gafcon receives the announcement today of the appointment of Dame Sarah Mullally as the next Archbishop of Canterbury. This appointment abandons global Anglicans, as the Church of England has chosen a leader who will further divide an already split Communion.
For over a century and a half, the Archbishop of Canterbury functioned not only as the Primate of All England but also as a spiritual and moral leader of the Anglican Communion. In more recent times, the See of Canterbury has been described as one of the four “Instruments of Communion,” whilst also chairing the other three Instruments, namely the Lambeth Conference, the Primates Meeting and the Anglican Consultative Council.
However, due to the failure of successive Archbishops of Canterbury to guard the faith, the office can no longer function as a credible leader of Anglicans, let alone a focus of unity. As we made clear in our Kigali Commitment of 2023, we can “no longer recognise the Archbishop of Canterbury as an Instrument of Communion” or the “first among equals” of global Primates.
We had hoped that the Church of England would take this into due consideration as it deliberated over the choice of a new Archbishop of Canterbury and would choose someone who could bring unity to a divided Anglican Communion. Sadly, they have not done so.
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.
However, more concerning is her failure to uphold her consecration vows. When she was consecrated in 2015, she took an oath to “banish and drive away all strange and erroneous doctrine contrary to God’s Word.” And yet, far from banishing such doctrine, Bishop Mullally has repeatedly promoted unbiblical and revisionist teachings regarding marriage and sexual morality.
In 2023, when asked by a reporter whether sexual intimacy in a same-sex relationship is sinful, she said that some such relationships could, in fact, be blessed. She also voted in favour of introducing blessings of same-sex marriage into the Church of England.
Anglicans believe that the church has been given authority by God to establish rites and ceremonies and to settle doctrine controversy, “and yet it is not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God’s Word” (Article XX). The church cannot bless or affirm what God has condemned (Numbers 23:8; 24:13). This, however, is precisely what Bishop Mullally has sought to allow.
Since the newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury has failed to guard the faith and is complicit in introducing practices and beliefs that violate both the “plain and canonical sense” of Scripture and “the Church’s historic and consensual” interpretation of it (Jerusalem Statement), she cannot provide leadership to the Anglican Communion. The leadership of the Anglican Communion will pass to those who uphold the truth of the gospel and the authority of Scripture in all areas of life.
Gafcon gathered in Jerusalem in 2008 to reset the Anglican Communion back onto its biblical foundations. Today’s appointment makes it clearer than ever before that Canterbury has relinquished its authority to lead. The reset of our beloved Communion is now uniquely in the hands of Gafcon, and we are ready to take the lead.
For such a time as this, Gafcon has summoned global orthodox Anglican bishops to Abuja, Nigeria, from 3 to 6 March, 2026, for the G26 Bishops Assembly. This may be the most significant gathering of faithful Anglicans since 2008.
Today’s announcement will cause sadness and dismay among Anglicans worldwide. Yet, every morning, Anglicans throughout the world recite the words of Psalm 95: “Today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”
Today, that is our prayer for all bishops and leaders within the Anglican Communion, including Bishop Sarah Mullally. We pray that as she takes upon herself the weight of this historic office, she will repent, and earnestly work with the Gafcon leadership to mend the torn fabric of our Anglican Communion.
May all our hearts be softened to hear the voice of God in Scripture, and may we all be inclined to obey, as we move out in gospel mission to a lost and hurting world, for the glory of God.
Yours in Christ,
The Most Reverend Dr Laurent Mbanda
Chairman, Gafcon Primates Council
Friday 3rd October, 2025.
via e-mail.
“Church of England’s treatment of Bernard Randall is evil”
“The Church of England’s treatment of former school chaplain, Rev Dr Bernard Randall, deserves to be described as evil.
The Christian Legal Centre is rightly calling for Dr Randall to be restored to ministry after statutory authorities found that he did not pose a safeguarding risk. …”
– Julian Mann writes at Christian Today.
Photo: Christian Concern.
Church of England Newspaper suspends publication
The Church of England Newspaper’s Editor, Andrew Carey, has announced that there will be no further published editions of the CEN until further notice. Instead, a weekly newsletter (by email?) will be sent out “for the foreseeable future” –
“In 1828, a group of young evangelical clergy set up a newspaper called The Record. One of its earliest subscribers and supporters was a young John Henry Newman. The Newspaper formed what became known as the ‘Recordite’ faction in the C of E opposing Tractarianism. It was in the 1950s that the Record merged with The Church of England Family Newspaper to become CEN. …”
Has Living in Love and Faith come to an end? An open letter to the Archbishop of York
At Psephizo, Ian Paul writes to the Archbishop of York:
“Dear Stephen
I read with interest your address to York Diocesan Synod on 5th July, and one word leapt out for me: ‘final’. Near the end of your address, you comment:
The Living in Love and Faith process is not yet complete. Some final proposals will be brought to the February 2026 meeting of the General Synod.
If that is the case, I am and countless others (on all sides of this debate) will be delighted. This has been a disastrous and divisive process since 2017; I wonder whether you realise how damaging it has been, and whether you will ever publicly acknowledge that. It sprang out of Justin’s spontaneous and ill-conceived phrase ‘radical new Christian inclusion rooted in scripture and Christian theology’ which was both incoherent (how can this be new if it’s rooted in existing theology?) and immediately open to misinterpretation …”
– Read it here.
Image: Ian Paul speaks at last year’s Church of England General Synod.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…