CANTERBURY, United Kingdom.- The first woman named primacy of the Anglican Church, Sarah Mullallywas enthroned this Wednesday in the canterbury churchspiritual cradle of Christianity in Englandin a ceremony that wanted to highlight the universal character of a communion that suffers not only from secularism, but from danger of a schism by its most conservative sector.
The event disturbed the tranquility of the medieval town of Canterbury, east of London, where Saint Augustine of Canterbury He began to preach Christianity in 6th centurybut it did not arouse great attention from the British media, not even due to the presence of the princes of wales, William and Catherinein the imposing Gothic cathedral.
⛪Historical moment for the Anglican Church
Sarah Mullally was sworn in as Archbishop of Canterbury, becoming the first woman to lead the Church of England in nearly 500 years of history.
The ceremony takes place this Wednesday in the city’s cathedral, in… pic.twitter.com/oZ19VVs9YM
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Receives the crosier of Archbishop of Canterbury
Mullally, 63, was excited to receive the Archbishop of Canterbury’s crosier in a ceremony rich in pomp and pageantry, in which guests of different religions – of Christian faiths but also Jews, Muslims or Hindus, all men – were able to witness the number of Anglican dignitaries, who in just twelve years (since the priestly ordination of women was introduced) have taken a great role.
The Anglican Church, created in 1534 as split from the Church of Romewas born as an English national church, but expanded throughout the world, mainly with the british empireand its 85 million faithful are today found mainly in Asia and Africa. In fact, according to the church itself, only one million Britons are “regular practitioners” and of them only half go to mass on Sundays.
Conservative opposition movement
It has been in Africa where a conservative movement has grown opposed to the “modernist” drift of Anglicanism, particularly with regard to the ordination of women as priests and bishops and against homosexual marriage, now possible in the church.
Last October, this movement led by Rwandan archbishop Laurent Mbanda was declared as Global Anglican Communion and claimed to be the true and only representative of the Anglican religion.
Although they could represent half of world Anglicanism, this not yet consummated schism did not deserve any mention today from Sarah Mullally in her long-awaited first sermon. “It is normal,” said a faithful identified as Suzanne, “it is typical of the Anglican spirit: to avoid all confrontation.”
In reality, Mullally’s sermon avoided any controversial topics, and you almost had to read between the lines to find a generic call for peace “in the Middle East and the (Persian) Gulf, in Ukraine, Sudan and Burma”, without pointing the finger at anyone.
Or like when he said that “we must not minimize the pain of all those who felt hurt by the actions, inactions or failures of some within our Christian community,” a careful allusion to the cases of pedophilia within the church that, in fact, cost his predecessor at the head of the archbishopric of Canterbury his position.
Reading the gospel in Spanish
The ceremony, despite tiptoeing around controversial issues, had a marked cosmopolitan characterand African songs in Swahili and Bemba and a prayer in Urdu could be heard. In addition, the main reading of the gospel was done in Spanish by a Mexican bishop (the attendees were able to follow the content in a booklet with the script of the complete ceremony that was offered to each one).
The passage chosen was that of the Gospel of Saint Luke where the archangel Gabriel announces himself to Mary to announce that she will become pregnant without knowing a man, and she responds: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.”
Archbishop Mullally, who at several moments found it difficult to hold back tears, stressed that she saw herself as an instrument of the Lord just like the Virgin Mary when she was visited by the archangel, and that that spirit would guide his papacy.
At the end of her enthronement and again at the end of the ceremony, Sarah Mullally – a woman who spent half her life as a nurse before her conversion and subsequent ordination – received a round of applause from those in attendance.
It was evident that it was the women who applauded the most on a day of great significance for them and for the future of the Anglican church.— (By Javier Otazu).
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