Canterbury is dead. Unless God does a miracle in the Church of England, we have likely seen our last Archbishop of Canterbury who is an actual faithful Anglican Christian bishop.
Yes, strong words. Words that may offend. But with the appointment of Sarah Mullally to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury, there is no other realistic conclusion.
The immediate response from GAFCON states it well:
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.
Further, for many, including this writer, by the standards of Scripture and tradition, it is ontologically impossible for her or any her to be a bishop. (And let us not descend into silly arguments about sexism. I cannot be a mother or an aunt, and it is not sexist to say so.) So how can she be our archbishop?
But a much worse problem in Mullally’s case is that she is an apostate. GAFCON notes one of her apostasies:
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.
So on the most presenting ecclesiastical issue of the 21st Century, Mullally has been willfully unfaithful. And one can be sure there are additional apostasies behind that, including denial of the authority of Scripture. There always are additional apostasies behind denial of the most basic teaching of Scripture on marriage, which teaching begins even in the Genesis Creation narrative:
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. (Genesis 2:24)
So no matter how big a mitre and how rich a cope and how faux glorious an enthronement by which she is presented to us, Mullally will never be an archbishop for faithful orthodox Anglicans. And given how most Church of England bishops are also apostate, one should not hold one’s breath in hopes there will ever be another faithful Archbishop of Canterbury. Certainly, God by his grace could still bring that about, but we should not presume on his grace, especially when this current fall from grace and from the Faith is so willful.
For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. (Hebrews 6:4-6)
The selection of Mullally presents many Anglicans with difficult choices. We especially pray for the faithful in the Church of England. Given the structure of that established mother church, they are in a particularly difficult position. GAFCON and those affiliated with it, including the Anglican Church in North America, also have decisions to make:
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.
It is likely that meeting will decide on a new way of selecting an archbishop (or archbishops) to lead faithful Anglicans worldwide, one that really will be “a focus of unity” as Canterbury is supposed to be and once was.
Join us in praying for that vital meeting in Nigeria next year and for faithful orthodox Anglicans worldwide.
Today is a sad day. It is right to mourn the end of a good and often glorious run that lasted over 1400 years at Canterbury. But let us not be guided by sentimentality, by nostalgia for a Canterbury that no longer exists.
For Canterbury is dead. Long live faithful Anglicanism.
