The Archibishop of Canterbury leads the Anglican Communion, with some 100m adherents worldwide. For the first time since its founding the position is now held by a woman, Sarah Mullally, elected earlier this year and installed Wednesday.
Although Sarah Mullally, 63, formally became the archbishop of Canterbury in January, Wednesday's event marks the beginning of her public ministry as both the head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The communion is an association of independent churches, including the Episcopal Church in the U.S., that together have more than 100 million members.
"I intend to be a shepherd who enables everyone's ministry and vocation to flourish, whatever our tradition," Mullally said when named last year. "Today I give thanks for all the women and men … who have paved the way for this moment. And to all the women that have gone before me, thank you for your support and your inspiration."
The Church of England claims 597 as its point of origin, when the pope sent St. Augustine to Britain, but a more salient date is 1534's Act of Supremacy, making King Henry VIII its head so he could annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.
Mullally's appointment appears to have accellerated the Anglican communion's disintegration, as conservative branches don't think much of women in the first place, let alone being led by one. The Episcopalian Church, the major U.S. branch, is all for it (and is now more progressive than the Church of England itself, which is otherwise backsliding.) Women were first ordained in 1994, Mullally in 2002.
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