The announcement of the choice of the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mallally, to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury has been accompanied by frequent references to the Archbishop of Canterbury as the ‘head of the Church of England’ or the ‘head of the Anglican Communion.’  In this post I shall explain why both of these statements are misleading, what roles the Archbishop of Canterbury actually has in the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion, and the implications of the fact that these roles are very limited.

What do we mean by ‘head?’

When thinking about these topics, the first thing we need to be clear about is what we mean when we say that someone is the ‘head’ of something. When we use the word head in this connection we are using analogical language. An analogy is being drawn between the role of the head (and more specifically what is inside the head, the brain) in the human body and the role of an individual in a particular organisation.

The analogy is between the role of the brain in determining how a human body shall act and the role of an individual in determining what happens in an organisation. Calling some the head in this way (as in the terms ‘head of state,’ ‘head teacher’ and ‘head of the armed forces’ ) means that they are the person who has the authority and ability to govern the life of the state, the school, or the armed forces. They have the right to say what will happen.

By extension, when it is said that the Archbishop of Canterbury is head of the Church of England or the Anglican Communion, what is being claimed is that the Archbishop of Canterbury has a similar governing authority over these bodies. The problem with this claim is that it is untrue for three reasons.

Read it all.

Martin Davie–'The…problem with this statement is that the idea that the Church of England does not have a ‘straightforward statement of doctrine’ is simply untrue. The Church of England does have a straightforward statement of its doctrine, and this is found in the Thirty Nine… pic.twitter.com/8jtUCwrQDb

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) November 21, 2024

Mullally has been closely involved with the so-called “Prayers of Love and Faith”, proposed marriage-like prayers for same-sex couples. When PLF was approved she described it as “a moment of hope” for the church, leaving little doubt as to her own opinion. It is this position, rather than anything about the ordination of women, that has caused the most consternation from conservatives. GAFCON and GFSA, two large alliances in the worldwide Anglican Communion, both speak of it as a key driver for continued suspension of ordinary relations with Lambeth.

Once again the history of the church is instructive; any kind of acceptance of same-sex unions was unknown to Christianity before about the last hundred years, and has only found widespread traction in about the last thirty. (Of course, popes, televangelists and many others have had their moral failings, but these were always recognised as failings and a subject of scandal when revealed.) And once again this is in part because of extremely plain statements in Scripture. Such behaviour is an “abomination”; those who practice these things “will not inherit the kingdom of God”. There is a famous story about Sodom and Gomorrah with which you may be dimly aware. Scripture is at pains to point out that this sin, like all others, will be forgiven for anyone who repents; but it is a sin, and forgiveness does require repentance. (Of course, for all the creative reinterpretations that have flourished here as well, the real reason for the church’s shift is evident to anyone with half a brain: the culture moved, and the church wanted to move with it.)

Here there is an important difference from the issue of women’s ordination. While Scripture is clear on that topic, it is silent on its precise seriousness; most conservatives would not suggest that disobedience around women’s ordination is necessarily the death of faith. But the matter is very different with sexual immorality (of which same-sex unions are of course only one example); here God repeatedly warns us that unrepentant disobedience means judgement. To our culture, obsessed with sex and thereby cheapening it, this seems a strange overreaction. In reality, however, God could hardly do otherwise. Sex is deeply significant, the closest you can get to another human being and therefore an act with enormous power. Any parent can testify to its life-giving strength; any victim of sexual abuse, to its destructive force. God takes it seriously because it is serious.

Read it all.

Why Christians have an issue with Sarah Mullally — by @petermileach https://t.co/S0KODGQZhf

— The Critic (@TheCriticMag) October 11, 2025

Oh God, who called your servant Edward to earthly throne, that he might advance your heavenly kingdom, and give him zeal for your Church and love for people. Mercifully grant that we who remember him this day, may by your Spirit be fruitful in good works and attain to the glorious crowns of your saints, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns with you as one God in glory everlasting, Amen.

Everyone is welcome to join us in worship as we stream the First Evensong of the Translation of St Edward the Confessor at 3pm (BST) today.

The service will be sung by @WAbbeyChoir with music by Weelkes, Gibbons and Bruhns, and you can watch live or on demand at:… pic.twitter.com/BDeeSNDL9o

— Westminster Abbey (@wabbey) October 12, 2025

Happy Thanksgiving to our ATU members and their families across Canada.#Thanksgiving #Solidarity #Thankful pic.twitter.com/oN3P5kRTS5

— ATU Canada (@atu_canada) October 13, 2025

O God, our refuge and strength, true source of all godliness: Graciously hear the devout prayers of your Church, and grant that those things which we ask faithfully, we may obtain effectually; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Peterborough Cathedral, in its misty magnificence. pic.twitter.com/J3LHiaV0Um

— Gawain Towler (@Towler) October 12, 2025

Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water,
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

–Psalm 1

Autumn view overlooking the town of Brigus Newfoundland. pic.twitter.com/4fTAjHlXOG

— Gord Follett Photography (@gord_follett) October 12, 2025