Church of Uganda sad over Mullally appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury

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The Church of Uganda (COU) is unhappy over the recent appointment of the Rt Rev. Sarah Mullally as the next Archbishop of Canterbury. 

The Most Rev. Dr Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu, the Archbishop of COU, shared the “sad news” with the faithful in a letter dated October 3, 2025.

“Our sadness about this appointment is her support and advocacy for unbiblical positions on sexuality and same-sex marriage that reveal her departure from the historic Anglican positions that uphold the authority of Scripture for faith and life,” he said.

He stated that COU considers this appointment to further deepen the tear in the fabric of the Anglican Communion that began in 2003 with the TEC consecration as Bishop of a divorced father of two living in a same-sex relationship.

The Episcopal Church is the "Church of England in America", often referred to as "TEC".

Kaziimba's widely circulated statement adds, “the tear in the fabric of the Anglican Communion has now reached the highest level of the Communion.

There appears to be no repentance. Make no mistake, this is a grievous decision at the highest levels of the Church of England to separate itself from the vast majority of the global Anglican Communion,” he said.

He offered the COU prayers for those in the Church of England who are disillusioned by Mullally's appointment and extended their hand of fellowship to them through Gafcon and the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans.

“As we declared in our 2023 Gafcon statement from Kigali, we no longer recognise the Archbishop of Canterbury as having global authority and the office is certainly no longer an ‘Instrument of Communion’,” Kaziimba told the Christians of COU.

He noted that with this appointment, the Archbishop of Canterbury is reduced simply to the Primate of All England.

“Likewise, we want to assure our Christians in the Church of Uganda that, through Gafcon and the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans, we are part of a worldwide communion of Anglicans who continue to proclaim the historic and Biblical faith of Anglicanism – faithfulness to Christ and submission to the authority of Scripture,” he wrote.

He noted that the future of Gospel-centred mission in their Anglican tradition is bright, saying, “The fields are ripe for harvest; we pray for labourers to go into the harvest.”

“As we declared at our 2018 Gafcon meeting in Jerusalem, ‘We will proclaim Christ faithfully to the nations,”’ he said.

What Mullally pledges

A 63-year-old former nurse, Mullally, was named as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury on Friday (October 3), pledging to improve safety at the Church of England following an abuse scandal that ousted her predecessor, Justin Welby.

The former midwife becomes the first woman to lead the centuries-old mother church of the world's 85-million-strong Anglican community.

Her nomination by a committee tasked with finding a successor to Welby, who stepped down earlier this year, was approved by King Charles III, the UK government said in a statement.

Mullally, who is married with two children, will become the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, the first having been appointed in the late sixth century, when she officially takes up the role following a ceremony due in January.

She worked in Britain's state-run National Health Service for more than three decades, rising to become its chief nursing officer for England in 1999.

Ordained a priest in 2002, she became the first female Bishop of London in 2018, only four years after the church began allowing women bishops following years of bitter factional wrangling.

Mullally acknowledged the "huge responsibility" of her new role and vowed to "confront the dynamics of power" that had led the church to cover up the abuse of dozens of boys and young men several decades ago.

She cautioned that it would "not be easy", due to a "history of safeguarding failures" that has "left a legacy of deep harm and mistrust" in the Church of England, which can trace its origins back to the Roman Empire.

"We must all be willing to have light shone on our actions, regardless of our role in the church," she said during an appearance at Canterbury Cathedral in southeast England following her appointment.

"As Archbishop, my commitment will be to ensure that we continue to listen to survivors, care for the vulnerable, and foster a culture of safety and well-being for all," Mullally added.

The Church of England became the country's state establishment church following King Henry VIII's split from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1530s.

King Charles is its supreme governor, while the Archbishop of Canterbury is seen as the spiritual leader of Anglicans worldwide.