Holy Smoke: the first female Archbishop of Canterbury
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The Spectator
4.4 • 785 Ratings
🗓️ 3 October 2025
⏱️ 20 minutes
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Summary
Dame Sarah Mullally has been announced as the new Archbishop of Canterbury. Previously the Bishop of London, she becomes the first woman to lead the Church in its almost 500 year history. She also had a 40 year career as a professional nurse, rising to be the most senior nurse in England and Wales. The Rev'd Marcus Walker, rector at St Bartholemew the Great in the City of London, joins Damian Thompson to react to the news – what can we expect from her leadership?
Produced by Patrick Gibbons.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, Sweaterweather. |
| 0:02.1 | Bring on cozy duvet days, crisp air and crunchy leaves. |
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| 0:21.1 | Hot or iced? |
| 0:22.8 | PSL. |
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| 0:25.2 | Only at the Starbucks coffee company. |
| 0:27.5 | Subject to availability while stocks last. |
| 0:32.7 | Welcome to Holy Smoke, the Spectatist Religion podcast. |
| 0:41.3 | I'm Damien Thompson. |
| 0:44.9 | This morning it was announced that the next Archbishop of Canterbury will be a woman, |
| 0:50.9 | a bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, who, in addition to being an Anglican bishop, |
| 0:57.3 | spent 40 years of her life as a professional nurse. Indeed, became the most senior nurse in |
| 1:04.6 | England and Wales. She was chief nursing officer for England and Wales, and that's why |
| 1:09.9 | she's Dame Sarah Malalley, having previously |
| 1:12.8 | been a ward sister and director of patient care at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. |
| 1:17.5 | So a very interesting CV. She was fast-tracked to her current position via the suffragancy of |
| 1:24.9 | Crediton by Justin Walby. She has a reputation as a moderate liberal, |
| 1:31.6 | I think you might say, left wing on many issues, but highly regarded by quite a few |
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