BREAKING NEWS: Anglican Church Faces Global Rift as First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
LONDON, Oct. 7, 2025 — In a historic and highly controversial move, Dame Sarah Mullally has been appointed as the Archbishop of Canterbury, becoming the first woman to lead both the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion.
Her appointment — announced Friday — has shocked conservative Anglican leaders across Africa and Asia, many of whom accuse the Church of England of abandoning biblical tradition.
BACKLASH ERUPTS ACROSS GLOBAL SOUTH
The powerful Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (Gafcon) — a coalition of conservative churches representing millions of Anglicans — said it received the news “with sorrow,” citing Dame Sarah’s support for same-sex blessings and the ordination of women as unbiblical.
“We cannot walk with them in their apostasy,” said Archbishop Laurent Mbanda of Rwanda, Gafcon’s chairman.
He added that “the majority of the Anglican Communion still believes that the Bible requires a male-only episcopacy.”
⚡ CHURCH ON EDGE OF SCHISM
This latest appointment may further inflame longstanding divisions in the Communion, already strained after the Church of England voted to bless same-sex couples in 2023 — a decision that led Gafcon to reject the authority of former Archbishop Justin Welby.
With nearly two-thirds of Anglicans living in Africa, and many church leaders now openly challenging Canterbury’s leadership, a global schism appears closer than ever.
✊ OTHERS HAIL A “NEW DAWN”
Still, the appointment has been praised by more progressive voices across the Anglican world.
The Church of Southern Africa called the move “historic,” while Bishop Emily Onyango of Kenya hailed it as “a new dawn.”
“This is what the Church needs — a humble leader who listens,” said Onyango.
She dismissed Gafcon’s objections as “patriarchal, not theological.”
️ A CHURCH DIVIDED — CAN IT BE HEALED?
Dame Sarah, a former nurse and bishop of London, now steps into a role fraught with controversy and challenge.
While she has called for unity — saying, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together” — her ability to keep the 78-million-member Anglican Communion from fracturing remains in serious doubt.
The battle lines are drawn. The future of the Anglican Church hangs in the balance.
