Archbishop of Canterbury latest: Dame Sarah Mullally becomes first woman to ever lead church - as heckler interrupts ceremony

We're ending our rolling coverage of the confirmation of Dame Sarah Mullally as the first-ever female Archbishop of Canterbury, some 1,400 years after the role was created.

Dame Sarah has thus become the first woman to assume the spiritual leadership of the Church of England in its nearly 500-year history.

Watch the moment back in the video...

As we explained, the newly confirmed archbishop will meet with the prime minister, the King and leaders of other Christian denominations in the coming weeks.

Her official installment is to follow in March at Canterbury Cathedral.

Dame Sarah Mullally's confirmation marks the first time in 500 years that a woman serves as the spiritual head of the Anglican Church. 

While, technically, the position of the church's head (Supreme Governor) is vested in the British monarch, the Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior bishop and is the spiritual leader of the church and the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Here's a quick rundown of the reasons behind this special arrangement, which goes back to the 16th century Reformation and the break with Rome.

Henry VIII and the annulment crisis

The Roman Catholic Church had been the dominant form of Christianity throughout Britain.

The break came with King Henry VIII, who sought to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, after she didn't give birth to a male heir. Pope Clement VII refused, however.

Henry subsequently sought to take control over religious matters within his country:

• In 1531, English clergy recognised Henry as the Supreme Head of the Church in England and gave up their power to formulate church laws without the King's assent one year later;
• In 1533, Henry secretly married Anne Boleyn, with Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer granting the annulment;
• In 1534, Henry was officially declared the Supreme Head of the Church of England by parliament in the first Act of Supremacy;
• Henry then seized monastic lands and wealth, weakening Catholic influence in England.

Religious conflicts between the two denominations continued to haunt Britain into the 17th century, as Protestant English kings wrestled with their Catholic Scottish counterparts for control over British territory.

Why is the Archbishop of Canterbury the CoE's leader?

In 597 AD, Pope Gregory sent St Augustine to England for missionary purposes. He set up his base in Canterbury, the capital of the Kingdom of Kent, making Canterbury the oldest and original centre of English Christianity.

The Archbishop of Canterbury assumed and kept the "first among equals" role among the Church of England's 26 bishops.

It was therefore the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, who granted Henry's divorce and largely wrote The Book of Common Prayer.

There is another archbishop, the Archbishop of York, but the Canterbury office outranks York because it's older and historically closer to royal and political power in the south.

After the affirmation from the bishops, we've heard the Gospel Choir of Christ's Hospital School perform an anthem as the Royal Commissioners, bishops and legal officials returned to their seats.

This is now followed by the Archbishop of York "giving the charge" to Mullally, a formal, solemn address given to neawly ordained clergy.

Interventions will come from actors from the Anglican community.

After this, the congregation will join in for several prayers. 

Finally, the newly confirmed Archbishop of Canterbury will give the congregation her blessing before departing to the tune of a hymn by Timothy Dudley-Smith.

At the end of the confirmation, the bishops on the dais stand and affirm the confirmation of the archbishop.  

"We welcome you," they shout.

Our royal commentator, Alastair Bruce, says:

"It's been a long process since Archbishop Justin Welby stepped down in resignation last year and the process of discerning the views of the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion as to who it would be to succeed as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury. 

"The Bishop of London was chosen, and now her task begins."

Dame Sarah Mullally's appointment is historic in many ways. We have summarised below what makes it so special:

• Sarah Mullally is now officially the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury;

• She is the first woman to serve in the office since its inception 1,429 years ago, in 597 AD;

• She is also the first woman to serve as spiritual leader of the Church of England in its 492-year history;

• Mullalley will preside over an estimated 1.02 million regular worshippers across the Church of England (as of 2024);

• There are also said to be 85 million people in more than 165 countries around the world forming the Anglican Communion.

 Next up, the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, read the final sentence and final decree of the court of law.

It consists of Cottrell and his fellow bishops, with the assistance of the Vicar General of the Province of Canterbury, and has to decide whether the procedural steps have been properly carried out so that the election of the new Archbishop can be confirmed.

Cottrell said:

"Having weighed and considered the matter with the assistance of the learned in law, we do, by virtue of the authority vested in us, confirm the election of the Right Reverend and Right Honourable Dame Sarah Elizabeth Mullally to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and we commend unto the Archbishop, now elected and confirmed, the care, government and administration of the spirituals of the Archbishopric of Canterbury."

With the reading, the confirmation of Dame Sarah Mullally becoming the 106th Lord Archbishop of Canterbury is now complete. 

Watch the moment back in the video...

It is now time for the Archbishop-elect to make obligation on the Bible as she takes her oath, kneeling and standing with the Royal Commissioners. 

With her subsequent signature, she obligates herself to that oath. 

Dame Sarah Mullally is taking her final steps towards officially becoming the first ever female Archbishop of Canterbury.

These are the latest scenes from inside St Paul's Cathedral - as a reminder, you may also watch along in the live stream at the top of this page.

Next up, the Archbishop-elect was brought to the single chair in front of the Royal Commissioners.

The confirmation of her election as the 106th Lord Archbishop of Canterbury has properly begun. 

But as the ceremony progressed, shouting could be heard.

That came as (and here comes a technical explanation) the proctor for the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Christ, Canterbury, read out that public notice for objection to the confirmation was duly given - and no person had appeared in opposition to the confirmation.

As we pointed out in the post below this one, one objection to the election had been made at a late stage. But the respective officials considered it "in law irrelevant to the present proceedings and it fell outside the jurisdiction of the Royal Commissioners". 

In other words, no actual objections can now be made, despite one member of the congregation's apparent attempt.

"As perhaps you expected, an announcement of disagreement from the congregation," said our royal commentator Alastair Bruce. 

"But there can be no disagreements at this point.

"And the process, as set out by the act of 1533, has been met and will proceed."

We're joining as the vicar general of the Province of Canterbury, Timothy Briden, explains the process of the confirmation of Dame Sarah Mullally's election.

He says: 

"One objection to Bishop Sarah's election was made at a late stage, and has been considered by the commissary, appointed for the purpose. 

"The judgement handed down after hearing the objector held that the grounds of objection were in law irrelevant to the present proceedings, and fell outside the jurisdiction of the Royal Commissioners. 

"Accordingly, an extension of time for objecting was refused and the objection was dismissed. 

"The confirmation of the election must therefore now proceed on the basis that there is no opposer whose objection may lawfully be heard. 

"The court will now proceed with the confirmation of election."