Sarah Mullally has been appointed the new Archbishop of Canterbury, the first time a woman has been named leader of the Church of England in the 1,400-year history of the role.

Mullally also becomes the ceromonial head of some 85 million Anglicans worldwide, with the appointment of a woman risking deeper theological divides with some of the more conservative branches of the church in African nations.

Reforms introduced 11 years ago made it possible for a woman to hold the office, and by being named as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, Mullally becomes the female leader of one of last areas of British public life to have been led by men.

But for Anglicans globally, about two-thirds of whom live in countries like Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda, the appointment of the first female Archbishop

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