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The 63-year-old former NHS chief nurse has been named as the new Archbishop of Canterbury designate - making history as the initial female to be chosen for this significant position.

A former NHS chief nurse, the sixty-three-year-old entered the priesthood in 2006 and was appointed as the initial woman to serve as Bishop of London in 2018 - occupying the third highest position of religious leadership in the Anglican Church.

This signifies the first time in nearly 500 years of tradition that the Church has nominated a woman to guide its direction.

Groundbreaking Selection

The Anglican Church has been without someone in the top job for approximately twelve months after Justin Welby resigned over a safeguarding scandal.

He resigned following a damning report into a serial offender associated with the religious institution. The investigation found that he "could and should" have reported the misconduct by John Smyth of male youths to law enforcement in 2013.

The Archbishop of York took on most of Mr Welby's responsibilities in an temporary arrangement, and was among those casting ballots of the committee charged with choosing his replacement.

Official Procedure

Following established custom, the procedure of selecting a new archbishop involves a candidate being presented to the Prime Minister and then passed to the monarch.

Sir Keir has applauded the selection of Dame Sarah, stating: "This position will play a key role in our national life. I wish her every success and look forward to working together."

While, technically, the monarch is leader of the Church of England, the person holding the role of spiritual leader is the most senior bishop and is the religious guide of the religious institution and the global Anglican community.

Royal and International Response

The monarch has congratulated Dame Sarah on her appointment, "which is of such importance in the UK and across the global Anglican Communion", Buckingham Palace stated.

The international conservative Anglican group, which represents conservative views, has questioned the selection, stating that although some will welcome it, "the majority of the Anglican Communion still believes that the scriptures requires a all-male bishopric."

Transition Period

She does not legally take on her position until a confirmation of election in January, and an enthronement service comes later, after they have paid homage to the monarch.

In a declaration on the announcement day after her appointment was finalized, she commented: "I recognize this is a significant undertaking but I undertake it with a feeling of calm and faith in divine guidance to support me as He always has."

Speaking from the historic church, she noted that "during a period that craves certainty and group identity, Anglicanism provides a more subtle approach but stronger."

Responding to Attack

Addressing the "terrible attack" of the previous day's incident on a Jewish house of worship in Manchester, she said "we observe hatred that rises up through divisions across our society."

She added: "The religious community have a responsibility to be a group who stand with the Jewish community against antisemitism in every manifestation. Hatred and racism of any kind cannot be allowed to tear us apart."

Professional History

Married with two children, she devoted more than three decades in the National Health Service, achieving the position of the most junior person to serve as chief nurse for England in 1999.

Although she was volunteering in the religious community at the period, it was just a few years later that she chose to enter a priest and was promptly assigned helping make reforms in the way the organization addressed misconduct.

In that year she became canon treasurer at the historic church before becoming Bishop of Crediton in the regional church administration in 2015.

As Bishop of London she was seen as someone who applied her background as an health service manager to help modernise the diocese.

Guiding Principles

"People frequently inquire what it has been like to have had two careers, initially in the health service and currently in the Church.

"I like to consider that I have consistently maintained a single calling: to follow Jesus Christ, to know him and to share his message, continually striving to demonstrate empathy in the assistance to people, whether as a nurse, a religious leader, or a bishop."

Upcoming Responsibilities

Perhaps the most urgent thing in her agenda is still to chart a better path towards dealing with abuse and treating with more compassion those impacted by such incidents.

There has also been a decline in church attendance, though London has to some extent resisted this pattern.

A particular subject she has been most outspoken about is assisted dying - she is a vociferous opponent, as was her predecessor.

When the law was passed in the Commons, she characterized it as "unworkable and unsafe and poses a risk to the most vulnerable people in our society."

Modern Positions

Among her responsibilities as London's religious leader was to lead a body trying to steer the religious institution's determination on whether to sanction gay unions.

She described the determination to ultimately permit clergy to sanction gay relationships in last year as "an optimistic development for the religious community."

Rowan Williams, summarised her position as necessitating a "awareness of current affairs and a understanding of scripture."

The former spiritual leader explained to journalists "the pressure of having an position on all matters is quite heavy."