Archbishop to pray for Middle East peace in first Easter sermon

The Archbishop of Canterbury will call for an end to "violence and destruction" in the Middle East during her first Easter sermon as leader of the Church of England.

Dame Sarah Mullally will pray "with renewed urgency" for peace before a congregation at Canterbury Cathedral, as the US-Israel war against Iran enters its sixth week.

She will call for all people of the Middle East and the Gulf to "receive the peace, justice and freedom they long for".

Her Easter sermon comes just shy of a fortnight after her installation as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury, during which she said her teenage self could "never have imagined the future that lay ahead".

She will tell the congregation on Sunday: "This week our gaze and our prayers have been turned towards the land where Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead.

"Today, as we shout with joy that Christ is risen, let us pray and call with renewed urgency for an end to the violence and destruction in the Middle East and the Gulf.

"May our Christian sisters and brothers know and celebrate the hope of the empty tomb - and may all people of the region receive the peace, justice and freedom they long for."

Thousands of people are reported to have been killed in the ongoing conflict that began on 28 February with widespread US and Israeli strikes on Iran, to which Iran responded by launching attacks on Israel and US-allied states in the Gulf.

Israel has also since launched broad strikes across Lebanon after the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader at the start of the war.

Preaching on St John's Gospel, the archbishop will tell the congregation that Jesus Christ's resurrection began while Mary waited at his tomb in grief.

She will also pray for people dealing with personal struggles and their "own version of the dark", such as illness or bereavement.

"I pray you know that God walks with you through that darkness," she will say.

Previously the chief nursing officer for England, Dame Sarah will pay tribute to those caring for others - such as loved ones and carers in hospitals or hospices.

"This vigil of care is the work of remaining - of staying present in the quiet and the dark."

During her installation as archbishop in late March, Dame Sarah similarly prayed for peace and justice to prevail in "all war-torn areas of the world".

She told the congregation of some 2,000 guests, including the Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales, that the conflict in the Middle East had prevented some members of the Church from being able to attend the service

It marked the symbolic beginning of her ministry as archbishop, a role to which she was appointed after her predecessor Justin Welby resigned in 2024 after criticism of his handling of a serious abuse case.

Dame Sarah will lead a global church navigating deepening divisions over issues such as sexuality and female leadership, with some traditionalists in the church and the wider global Anglican Communion still opposed to the idea of women being priests at all.