Eleven years after the Church of England authorized the ordination of female bishops, for the first time one of them will be its head. Sarah Mullally, 63, until now head of the Archdiocese of London, was appointed this Friday as Archbishop of Canterbury. Starting in January, when she takes office, she will assume the highest pastoral authority of the denomination. In his first statements after being appointed, the archbishop stated that he faces the new ministry "with a spirit of service to God and others," a commitment that, he recalled, has accompanied him since embracing the faith as a teenager. "I know it is an enormous responsibility, but I do so with peace and confidence that God will sustain me, as He always has," he added.