106th Archbishop of Canterbury

This Wednesday, we are celebrating the Annunciation; also the Anglican Bishop, Sarah Mullally, will be officially installed here in Canterbury at the Cathedral, which is just a short walk from our parish church. She is the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury since Saint Augustine first arrived in Kent from Rome in AD 597 and she will be the first woman to hold the position.

Some of the key figures attending will be Cardinal Kurt Koch (who is the President of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity), Archbishop Flavio Pace (who is the Secretary) and Revd Martin Browne OSB, also from the Dicastery. The Catholic Co-Chairs of ARCIC (The Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission) and IARCCUM (International Anglican–Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission), Archbishops Bernard Longley and Don Bolen (who are based in Regina, Canada) will be there too. Our new Archbishop of Westminster, Richard Moth, will be reading a lesson.

Archbishop Sarah will be wearing the ring that Pope Paul VI presented to the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey, on 24 March 1966.

When Archbishop Sarah’s appointment was announced, Cardinal Koch wrote to her that the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion have been having ecumenical talks for nearly 60 years, ‘and during that time, we’ve really grown closer in understanding and affection. Even though there have been some disagreements, this work of trying to get closer together has been supported by the warmth of the relationships between the pastors of our two communities.’ Those disagreements have included differences between Catholics and Anglicans about the ordination of women as priests, and then as bishops, as well as differences between Catholics and Anglicans, and among Anglicans themselves, about blessing same-sex couples.

As we celebrate the solemnity of the Annunciation, let us offer our prayers that the Lord will bless Archbishop Sarah with the gifts she needs for her very demanding ministry. May she be equipped to be a bridge of communion and unity for the faithful she will serve.

Let us also pray for Christian Unity:

God of heaven and earth, your Son, Jesus Christ, has revealed you as our Father and promised us the gift of the Holy Spirit. Grant to your Church to overcome the scandal of our divisions, so that we may bear witness to your life of communion, in the unity of our profession of faith and in the love of mutual service. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.