An Anglican priest was removed from the formal election service of Dame Sarah Mullally as the first female archbishop of Canterbury at St. Paul's Cathedral on Wednesday after he shouted his objection to her confirmation.
The Rev. Paul Williamson, who was ordained in 1973 and has since been outspoken against the ordination of women, shouted, "I object!" during the service before he was removed, according to Church Times.
Williamson's eruption, the rest of which was inaudible, came during the part of the ceremony when the proctor, who represents the College of Canons of Canterbury Cathedral, declared: "No person has appeared in opposition to the Confirmation."
Williamson subsequently said the rest of his objection was related to what he characterized as Mullally's false allegations against the late Rev. Alan Griffin, who died by suicide in August 2020, "after a prolonged period of suffering, resulting from the false allegations of a sexual nature," according to a petition launched by Williamson calling for her resignation.
Williamson claimed he was "nearly pushed down the stairs" outside by "four heavies" during his removal from the cathedral on Wednesday.
The solemn ceremony, known as the Confirmation of Election service, was attended by Anglican bishops, clergy and dignitaries, to mark Mullally's formal consent to serve as the 106th archbishop of Canterbury, which has historically been the most-senior bishop in the Anglican Communion. She will be formally installed on March 25 during another service at Canterbury Cathedral.
The Most Rev. Stephen Cottrell, who serves as the archbishop of York and second-most senior bishop in the church, told Mullally during the service that "while the world may be very interested in the fact that you are the first female archbishop of Canterbury, I think God is very interested in the fact that this is the first time Sarah has been the archbishop of Canterbury."
"Continue to be the person who exercises the gifts, wisdom and experience that your life has given you; and continue to be the one whose life is shaped and nurtured by the Gospel of Jesus Christ," he advised her.
The Rev. Calvin Robinson, now a conservative Catholic whose ordination in the Church of England was reportedly blocked because of his conservative theological views, claimed the assertion that nobody has objected to Mullally's confirmation is "untrue," and that he has personally "seen the paper trail" proving otherwise.
"Woe to you, Pharisees!" Robinson posted to X on Wednesday.
Williamson's protest highlighted ongoing divisions over Mullally's appointment within the Anglican Communion, which has been fracturing for years over sexuality and gender. Mullally has also been accused of misleading the public over the status of a clergy abuse case.
Mullally's appointment last fall drew sharp criticism from Gafcon, a conservative global Anglican movement, which accused the Church of England of abandoning biblical teaching by choosing a woman who has affirmed homosexuality as its leader.
Rwandan Archbishop Laurent Mbanda, who serves as chairman of the Gafcon Primates Council, said at the time that the Church of England had "chosen a leader who will further divide an already split Communion" and repudiated the spiritual authority of the archbishop of Canterbury.
"For over a century and a half, the Archbishop of Canterbury functioned not only as the Primate of All England but also as a spiritual and moral leader of the Anglican Communion," Mbanda said. "In more recent times, the See of Canterbury has been described as one of the four 'instruments of Communion,' whilst also chairing the other three Instruments, namely the Lambeth Conference, the Primates Meeting and the Anglican Consultative Council."
"However, due to the failure of successive Archbishops of Canterbury to guard the faith, the office can no longer function as a credible leader of Anglicans, let alone a focus of unity," he continued. "As we made clear in our Kigali Commitment of 2023, we can 'no longer recognize the Archbishop of Canterbury as an Instrument of Communion' or the 'first among equals' of global Primates."
Global orthodox Anglican bishops are set to meet in Abuja, Nigeria, in early March for the G26 Bishops Assembly to discuss the tension within the Anglican Communion.
Gafcon expects the meeting to be the most significant gathering of "faithful Anglicans" since they first met in Jerusalem in 2008.