Dame Sarah Mullally will become the first female Archbishop of Canterbury [View all]
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c179yvn08njo
"If you want to go fast, go alone - if you want to go far, go together," Dame Sarah Mullally said in her first public address as the new Archbishop of Canterbury designate.
But Friday's choice for the first time ever - of a woman as the spiritual leader of both the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion already seems like it may exacerbate the deep fissures within that community.
The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (Gafcon), which is a network of conservative Anglican churches across Africa and Asia, received the news "with sorrow".
The Church of Southern Africa, on the other hand, called the appointment "historic" and said "we heartily welcome the announcement".
The Church of England which some people call "The Mother Church" because it was the first Anglican Church is broadly considered to have moved in a more liberal direction than some churches elsewhere, not least in Africa, where it is estimated that two-thirds of Anglicans live.
The issues which divide the global Anglican Communion included the ordination of women bishops in 2014 and the acceptance of same-sex relationships in 2023.
Many conservative Christians believe that only men should be consecrated as bishops.
Have the Episcopalians inthe US weighed in?