At the recent Installation of Sarah Mullally as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, the first woman to be elected to that ministry, the Revd Dr Tessa Henry-Robinson, one of the Presidents of Churches Together in England and Moderator of the Free Churches’ Group, took part in the historic and joy-filled service by asking the new Archbishop to sign an Ecumenical Covenant.

During the service, Tessa, a URC Minister with churches in Gants Hill, Grange Park, Wanstead and Walthamstow, who served as Moderator of the General Assembly from 2023-2024, asked Dame Sarah to “add your signature to the Covenant we share as Presidents of Churches Together in England, and join your voice to ours in prayer and in the service of the Gospel in our nation.”

The Archbishop responded by saying: “Willingly I share with you the service of the churches of this country, and pledge myself to strive for the full, visible unity of Christ’s Church in truth and love,” before signing the Covenant.

In an interview with the BBC, Dame Sarah said that she recognised the significance of being the first female archbishop, but that she was “also aware of the women that have supported me in my ministry, and the men as well. …The installation service will have women’s voices right the way through it, so there’s something about celebrating women, but also being able to say to other people, in a sense, it’s entirely possible for you to follow your dreams.”

Guests included the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Prime Minister and leader of the opposition, representatives from local and national government, the Commonwealth and the United Nations, members of the Church of England clergy and lay, 100 people from the wider Anglican communion around the world including 26 Primates, 150 people from different Christian denominations in England (the URC was represented by Catriona Wheeler, Moderator to the General Assembly, John Ellis and Andy Jackson), representatives from a broad range of other faith groups, charity workers and nurses from Canterbury.

The service included prayers, hymns, readings and liturgical texts in many languages including the kyrie in Urdu, the gospel in Spanish, choral songs in languages from the Democratic of Congo and Namibia.

The Bible on the Archbishop took her oath is the heritage edition of The Saint John’s Bible, the first hand-scribed, illuminated manuscript commissioned by a Benedictine Monastery since the invention of the printing press more than 500 years ago.

She was then led to St Augustine’s Cathedral, a seat made from Purbeck marble in the 13th century. Bishop Anthony Poggo presented her with a Compass Rose pendant, the symbolic badge of the Anglican Communion, and other prayers were led by people from the diocese.