S'pore Anglican Church Bishop expresses 'unease' over new Archbishop of Canterbury's view of same-sex marriage

The Church of England, or the Anglican Church, has announced the upcoming appointment of its first woman leader in history.

Sarah Mullally, 63, was named the next Archbishop of Canterbury after the previous archbishop, Justin Welby, resigned over the handling of an abuse scandal.

Mullally, who was formerly the Chief Nursing Officer of England and a member of the UK Parliament's House of Lords, will formally assume the role after a ceremony in Jan. 2026.

However, news of her appointment has stirred "unease" and "reservation", including in Singapore, over her views on same-sex relationships.

Letter expressing reservation and unease

Titus Chung, Bishop of Singapore, wrote in a letter to Anglican churches that as a Province, their unease and reservation must be expressed over Mullally's appointment, even as they pray for the Church of England.

Chung is also the Archbishop of the Province of the Anglican Church in Southeast Asia.

The letter also represented other leaders in the Province, the Bishops of Kuching, Sabah and West Malaysia.

Chung elaborated that Mullally chaired the "Living in Love and Faith" project, which led to the 2023 decision by the Church of England to allow blessings of same-sex marriages.

Mullally described the decision as a "moment of hope", which Chung objected to.

"This is a departure and total mis-alignment from what Scripture teaches regarding marriage and sexuality. It is also a departure from traditional Anglican orthodoxy.

As such, the appointment of an Archbishop of Canterbury who, in the course of her work, was instrumental in the unacceptable compromise of Scripture places us in a challenging and invidious position.

With respect, under God’s overarching presidency, we will not be able to recognise her as the ‘first amongst equals’, both in terms of leadership and influence within the Global Anglican Communion."

Same-sex marriage is illegal in Singapore, with the government amending the Constitution in 2022 to safeguard the definition of a marriage, as being between one man and one woman.

This occurred when Singapore's parliament repealed section 377A of the Penal Code, officially decriminalising sex between men.

Conflicting views

There are about 85 million Anglicans worldwide, with the Guardian describing previous archbishops "walking a tightrope" between the more liberal views of the West and more conservative Anglicans elsewhere.

Other media outlets have reported opposition to Mullally's appointment from churches in other conservative nations.

India news outlet WION and Nigerian media outlet Vanguard reported that the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Henry Ndukuba, described the appointment as "devastating" and "insensitive."

The Nigerian church further described Mullally's views on same-sex marriage as dividing the global Anglican community.

Top image from Archbishop of Canterbury Facebook page.