On Religion: Canterbury Cathedral Graffiti Art Installation Draws Criticism
(ANALYSIS) In ordinary times, the arrival of a new archbishop of Canterbury would be a headline that stood alone, especially if England's monarch had just approved the first woman to serve as the symbolic leader of the Anglican Communion.
But the recent decision to add decorative graffiti inside Canterbury Cathedral, founded in 597, added tension to debates surrounding the Oct. 2 appointment of the Right Reverend and Right Honorable Dame Sarah Mullally as the 106th successor to St. Augustine.
The “Hear Us” exhibition added flashy decals to the columns, walls and floors of the iconic sanctuary, imitating the spray-paint art form common in alleys, road underpasses and urban neighborhoods. The images offered bold challenges, such as: “God, what happens when we die?”, “Are you there?”, "Why did you create hate when love is by far more powerful?” and “Do you ever regret your creations?”
Cathedral Dean David Monteith explained: “There is a rawness which is magnified by the graffiti style which is disruptive.” The exhibit, which ends in January, “allows us to receive the gifts of younger people who have much to say.”
Among Anglicans, Monteith's leadership role has fueled debates because of his public decision to enter a same-sex civil partnership -- a stance rejected by traditional clergy in England and around the world. He also made headlines in 2024 with "Rave in the Nave" disco nights, with a temporary alcoholic bar located near where St. Thomas Becket was martyred in 1170.
In her first sermon after being named archbishop of Canterbury, Mullally alluded to the messy divisions inside the worldwide Anglican Communion, with its 85 million to 110 million believers.
“In an age that craves certainty and tribalism, Anglicanism offers something quieter but stronger: shared history, held in tension, shaped by prayer, and lit from within by the glory of Christ,” she said.
“Across our nation today, we are wrestling with complex moral and political questions. The legal right of terminally ill people to end their own lives. Our response to people fleeing war and persecution. ... The deep-rooted question of who we are as a nation, in a world that is so often on the brink.”
With her career in public service — a cancer nurse who was promoted to top leadership posts in England's National Health Service — Mullally has thrived in Anglican debates since becoming a priest in 2001, a bishop in 2015 and the first female appointed bishop of London in 2018. She helped shape church policies during the coronavirus pandemic and led the team that prepared the Prayers of Love and Faith for optional public blessings of same-sex couples in the Church of England. Now 63, she is the married mother of two adult children.
Cardinal Kurt Koch, leader of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, offered the “good wishes of the Catholic Church" to Mullally, before adding: “I pray that the Lord will bless you with the gifts you need ... equipping you to be an instrument of communion and unity for the faithful among whom you will serve.”
Unity was a topic stressed by the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches, an important network of booming churches in Africa, Asia and elsewhere -- regions in which the vast majority of Anglicans now live and worship.
The group’s letter noted that Mullally called the General Synod move toward same-sex blessing rites “a moment of hope,” but this “was a moment of lament” in the Global South. Thus, the fellowship restated its 2023 decision to no longer recognize the "Archbishop of Canterbury as the 'first amongst equals' leader of the global Communion.”
The Church of England is huge on paper, and in recent decades its leaders have claimed 23 million or more baptized members. Currently, church statisticians prefer to report the number of “regular worshippers,” rather than baptized members. Recent reports said there were 1.02 million “regular worshippers” in 2024, with 582,000 in pews on a typical Sunday.
The worship attendance numbers have actually improved -- but are not back to pre-pandemic levels. In fact, England is experiencing what some call a “quiet revival” — especially among young adults who, according to news reports, appear to be flocking into churches offering traditional worship and faith.
In her first sermon, Mullally promised to be fair to Anglicans who disagree with her approach to doctrine, even those who reject her as a bishop.
“Some will be asking what it means for a woman to lead the Church of England, and to take on the archbishop of Canterbury's global role in the Anglican Communion," she said. “I intend to be a shepherd who enables everyone's ministry and vocation to flourish, whatever the tradition.”
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Terry Mattingly is Senior Fellow on Communications and Culture at Saint Constantine College in Houston. He lives in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and writes Rational Sheep, a Substack newsletter on faith and mass media.