AS CANON PRECENTOR of Canterbury Cathedral, I recently had the privilege, alongside the Dean, of curating the liturgy for the Installation of The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dame Sarah Mullally DBE as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury. There was a desire for the service to reflect the Church of England’s intention to be “simpler, humbler and bolder”(1) and to represent the worldwide nature of the Anglican Communion. It was also inescapable that this service was making history as the installation of the first female Archbishop of Canterbury. This needed to be recognised, but also important was an obvious sense of continuity with the past. Something new was happening, but at the same time the service needed to build on what had gone before. The liturgy was a collaboration between the voices of the past, represented by the liturgies used for the two previous archbishops, and the contemporary voices of Archbishop Sarah herself and those of us at the Cathedral responsible for the liturgy. The first thing to note is that right from the outset, there was an understanding that this service was to be called an “installation” rather than an enthronement. Installation is, in fact, not new and is the commonly used legal term for what happens when a new bishop is placed in their cathedra. Justin Welby’s service in 2013 was called an “inauguration” so the move away from the use of the term “enthronement”, used for Rowan Williams’ service was not a novelty. Even before the 2020 “simpler, humbler, bolder” statement appeared, there was clearly an understanding that language to do with thrones was no longer appropriate.A visible departure from 2013 was the significant reduction in the number of clergy and others who were invited to robe and process. This did not please everyone and was the subject of complaints from a small number who had expected to play a visible part in the proceedings, but undoubtedly it signalled a simpler approach. The processions prior to the start of the service took significantly less time and fewer people participated in the main procession itself, with even fewer people moving from the nave, where the mandate was read and the oaths taken, to the Quire where the two installations took place. No members of local or national government, Parliament or of the Livery Companies of the City of London were invited to process, and the number of lawyers processing was drastically reduced, with none of the ‘legal company’ (that had been present and very visible in 2003 and 2013) invited to move up with the Chapter procession for the installations in the Quire. A difference was also signalled in terms of those who were invited to attend. Previously, to give just one example, the King’s Scholars from King’s School, Canterbury (private) were invited to attend and process. This time children were invited from schools across the city, thereby ensuring greater representation. The children welcoming the Archbishop on her arrival (in what is now an established exchange used at most installations in the Church of England) were from a Church of England Academy in Ashford (state). The Archbishop invited many personal guests and a number of representatives of the healthcare sector, reflecting her previous profession. In continuity with the previous installation, the entrance of the Archbishop was immediately followed by a penitential rite. This time the intention was clearly marked, and was enhanced and emphasised with the singing of a Kyrie Eleison, expressing a humbler church acknowledging its need for forgiveness. Only after this did the Dean welcome the Archbishop on behalf of the congregation. From here the focus moved to the nave altar for the Declaration of Assent and the Oaths. A bolder Church was indicated, first, by an Act of Commitment towards the end of the service. This was an innovation drafted by the Dean, in which Christians of different denominations, faith leaders and public servants were invited to commit to serve together for the common good. Second, at the conclusion of the service, once the Prince and Princess of Wales had been waved off, the Archbishop immediately moved out of the Cathedral to the Buttermarket, outside the Cathedral Precincts, to bless the City, Diocese and Nation. Although such blessings frequently happen following the installations of diocesan bishops and have happened previously on an informal basis here in Canterbury (there are photos which attest to previous archbishops blessing people within the Cathedral Precincts), this was the first time such a blessing had happened formally as part of the written liturgy and in a very public place. It signified the Church going out boldly into the world. On the day, the Archbishop spontaneously followed the blessing with a walkabout around the crowd that was present (safely behind barriers), where she greeted people and posed for photos and selfies. All this was in stark contrast to the conclusion of the service on at least the two previous occasions. Then, the main service was followed immediately by a procession of the Cathedral Foundation to the Chapter House where the Foundation promised canonical obedience to the Archbishop, with this ceremony ending in Latin. The composition of the entity known as the Foundation of Canterbury Cathedral was most fully laid down in a typed list by George Bell when he was Dean (1925-29). The precise nature and function of the Foundation is mysterious. Bell’s list includes the Dean and Canons (residentiary and honorary), organists, choristers and adult singers, bell ringers, virgers, the scholars and the head and deputy head of the King’s School and the holders of various offices in the Cathedral. A book is inscribed when someone is inducted into one of the foundation offices, but as a body it retains no specific functions, not least in the Constitution and Statutes of the Cathedral that were revised in 2023. The result of the procession to the Chapter House for this ceremony in 2003 and 2013 was an ending that was inward- rather than outward-facing, private rather than public, removed rather than accessible....
