A disappointing decision: The Australian Church Record on Canterbury’s new Archbishop

Posted on October 4, 2025 
Filed under Anglican Communion, Church of England

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.