The Church of England on Friday named Sarah Mullally as the next Archbishop of Canterbury, the first woman to serve as ceremonial head of Anglican Christianity worldwide, prompting immediate criticism from conservative church leaders in Africa.

The 63-year-old bishop, who once served as England’s top nurse, will, like her predecessors, face a Communion divided between conservatives and more liberal Christians over the role of women in the Church and the acceptance of same-sex couples.

While the appointment was welcomed by many religious leaders in Britain, Laurent Mbanda, archbishop of Rwanda and chairman of a global grouping of conservative Anglican churches, told Reuters that Mullally would not unite the Communion. A bishop in Nigeria said the choice was “very dangerous” because women

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