John Sentamu
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| The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dr John Sentamu DD DLitt FRSA |
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| Archbishop of York | ||
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| The pectoral cross Sentamu is seen here wearing is decorated with images and words associated with Oscar Romero. | ||
| Enthroned | 10 May 2005 | |
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| Ended | Incumbent | |
| Predecessor | The Most Revd. and Rt. Hon. Dr David Hope | |
| Other | Bishop of Birmingham (2002-2005) Suffragan Bishop of Stepney (1996–2002) |
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| Born | 10 June 1949 Kampala, Uganda |
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John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu FRSA (born 10 June 1949 in Kampala, Uganda) is the 97th Archbishop of York, Metropolitan of the province of York, and Primate of England. He is the second most senior cleric in the Church of England, after the Archbishop of Canterbury.
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[edit] Biography
John Sentamu was born in 1949 in a village near Kampala, Uganda, the sixth of thirteen children. He read law at Makerere University, Kampala, and practised as an advocate of the High Court of Uganda. Dr Sentamu practised both Law at the Bar and at the Bench until 1974. He incurred the wrath of dictator Idi Amin because of his judicial independence and was locked up for ninety days, three weeks after his marriage.In a speech in 2007 he described how during that time he had been "kicked around like a football and beaten terribly", saying "the temptation to give up hope of release was always present"[1]. In 1974 he fled to the United Kingdom.
He read theology at Selwyn College, Cambridge (BA 1976, MA 1979, PhD 1984), and trained for the priesthood at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, being ordained a priest in 1979. He worked as assistant chaplain at Selwyn College, as chaplain at a remand centre, and as curate, priest and vicar in a series of parish appointments before his consecration in 1996 as Bishop of Stepney (a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of London). It was during this time that he served as advisor to the Stephen Lawrence Judicial Enquiry. In 2002 he chaired the Damilola Taylor review. That same year he was appointed Bishop of Birmingham, where his ministry, according to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, was praised by "Christians of all backgrounds". Dr Sentamu became President of Youth For Christ in 2004 and President of the YMCA in April 2005.(http://www.archbishopofyork.org/780)
On 17 June 2005 the Prime Minister's office announced his translation to York as the 97th Archbishop.[2] He was formally elected by the Canons of York Minster on 21 July,[3] legally confirmed as Archbishop in London on 5 October, and enthroned at York Minster on 30 November 2005 (the feast of Saint Andrew), at a ceremony with African singing and dancing and contemporary music, with the Archbishop himself playing African drums during the service.[4][5].
On 16 July 2007, John Sentamu was presented with an Honorary Degree from the University of Hull by the chancellor of the university Virginia Bottomley at Hull City Hall during the graduation ceremony for graduands of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.[6]
On 19 July 2007, he was presented with an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Letters) from the University of Sheffield in recognition of his distinguished career as a scholar and theologian.[7]
In October 2007, Dr Sentamu was awarded the Yorkshireman of the Year title by the Black Sheep Brewery. In his acceptance speech, Dr Sentamu praised the welcome he had received from the people of Yorkshire, and made reference to the African-Yorkshire DNA connection, joking that perhaps his parents had this in mind when they gave him the name Mugabi, which spelled backwards is Ibagum (ee-by-gum). [8]
[edit] Views
Dr Sentamu has spoken out on a range of issues. The plight of young people, the importance of the family, freedom from slavery, and injustice and conflict abroad are particularly close to his heart. In an interview a week before his enthronement he, among other things, called for a re-discovery of English pride and cultural identity, warning that zeal for multiculturalism had sometimes "seemed to imply, wrongly for me, 'let other cultures be allowed to express themselves but do not let the majority culture at all tell us its glories, its struggles, its joys, its pains'."[9] Just as at Birmingham, Sentamu has expressed a desire to be known informally as Archbishop for York (rather than of).
Early in 2006, Archbishop Sentamu was featured prominently in the British press for his comments on what he saw as injustices over the treatment of alleged prisoners of war in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.[10]
For a week, starting August 14, 2006, Archbishop Sentamu pitched a tent and camped in York Minster, foregoing food in solidarity with those impacted by the Middle East conflict.[11][12][13]
In 2006 he claimed that the BBC is frightened of criticising Islam.[14]
One of Sentamu's favourite references is to "The Chocolate Trinity" of God-fearing Quaker capitalists who were involved in developing the chocolate industry:[15][16]
- George Cadbury: "More than just a sweet man"
- Joseph Rowntree: "…an adventurer to the end of life, forever peering forward, never content with what had been achieved."
- Joseph Storrs Fry II (J. S. Fry): "…the very model of the pre-1860 Quaker, with his plain dress a relic of the past and a reflection of his narrow conservative approach to both religion and business."
In 2006, he turned down the chance to appear in the reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother, saying "Celebrity can be malign in that it becomes a form of idolatry, and people live their lives vicariously through the rich and famous rather than attending to their own lives."[17]
In a speech to the House of Lords on November 19, 2007, he opposed elements of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill for seeking to remove a child’s “need for a father” in the IVF process. He said: “We are now faced with a Bill which is seeking to formalise the situation where the need for the ultimate male role model – that of the father – is removed in entirety.”[18]
On 9 December 2007, during a live television interview with Andrew Marr on BBC One Dr Sentamu made a protest against Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe. Dr Sentamu ripped off his clerical collar and cut it up stating that
| “ | ..as an Anglican, this is what I wear to identify myself that I'm a clergyman. Do you know what Mugabe has done? He's taken people's identity and literally if you don't mind, cut it to pieces. This is what he's actually done, to a lot of - and in the end there's nothing. So as far as I'm concerned from now on I'm not going to wear a dog collar until Mugabe's gone.[19] | ” |
His protest follows criticism against Mugabe at the EU–Africa summit in Lisbon.
In April and May 2007, Dr Sentamu campaigned for the release of BBC journalist Alan Johnston from his captors in Palestine. He led prayers of thanks at Bishopthorpe Palace after Mr Johnston was freed two months later and the pair met up in December, 2007.[20]
In September 2007, the Archbishop called for an end to the “whispering campaign” against the parents of missing child Madeleine McCann who disappeared in Portugal, and said energies should be concentrated on finding her.[21]
Dr Sentamu met church leaders in Kenya following post-election conflict there in February 2008.[22]
Sentamu has become a season ticket holder at York City FC, and has attended as many games as his busy schedule allowed during the 2007/08 season.[23]
On Easter Sunday, 2008, the Archbishop of York baptised 20 people by full immersion in a tank of water outside St Michael-le-Belfrey Church in York. Hundreds of people watched the yearly ceremony which involves a network of churches in the city.[24]
[edit] Skydive for the Afghanistan Trust
On Friday 6 June 2008, Dr Sentamu completed a charity skydive from 12,500 feet with a member of the Red Devils parachute team. The dive took place over Langar Airfield in Nottinghamshire, with Dr Sentamu aiming to raise £50,000 for the Afghanistan Trust. Yorkshire businessman Guy Brudenell had challenged Dr Sentamu to do the jump at a charity dinner and Brudenell also took part in the jump on the day.[25]
The pair managed to exceed the amount of money which they aimed to raise, with the figure thus far totalling approximately £75,000.[26]
[edit] Styles
- Mr John Sentamu (1949-1979)
- The Revd. John Sentamu (1979-1984)
- The Revd. Dr John Sentamu (1984-1993)
- The Revd. Canon John Sentamu (1993-1996)
- The Rt. Revd. Dr John Sentamu (1996-2005)
- The Most. Revd. and Rt. Hon. Dr John Sentamu (2005-)
Dr Sentamu was title entitled to use "Dr" during his time as an Honorary Canon of Southwark Cathedral between 1993 and 1996. However, his title during this time was the Revd. Canon John Sentamu since it is convention not to use "Dr" in addition to "Canon", with "Canon" taking preference.
[edit] References
- ^ 24dash.com Archbishop tells his captivity story in call to free Alan Johnson http://www.24dash.com/communities/20416.htm Retrieved 10 May 2007
- ^ "New Archbishop of York appointed", BBC News. Retrieved on 2006-08-12.
- ^ London Gazette: no. 57706, page 9331, 19 July 2005. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
- ^ "First black Archbishop enthroned", BBC News, 2005-11-30. Retrieved on 2006-08-12.
- ^ "First black Church of England archbishop appointed", Guardian Online, 2005-06-17. Retrieved on 2006-08-12.
- ^ http://www.hull.ac.uk/news/july07/archyork.html
- ^ "Archbishop of York awarded honorary degree", University of Sheffield, 2007-07-23. Retrieved on 2007-07-23.
- ^ "Speech by the Most Revd & Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu on accepting the Yorkshire Man of the Year Award", The Diocese of York, 2007-10-26. Retrieved on 2007-11-30.
- ^ "Multiculturalism has betrayed the English, Archbishop says", Times Online, 2005-11-30. Retrieved on 2006-08-12.
- ^ "'The Americans are breaking international law...'", The Independent, 2006-02-18. Retrieved on 2006-11-30.
- ^ "Anglican archbishop's solidarity fast", The Irish Times, 2006-08-12. Retrieved on 2006-08-12.
- ^ "John Sentamu to fast", BBC News, 2006-08-12. Retrieved on 2006-08-14.
- ^ "Inside is a strange place to pitch a tent…", The Guardian, 2006-08-17. Retrieved on 2006-08-17.
- ^ "BBC frightened of criticising Islam, says archbishop", 2006-11-15. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
- ^ Bishop’s lecture notes on York Diocese website.
- ^ His Ebor Lecture in York Minster (13 September 2006.
- ^ "Archbishop turns down Celebrity Big Brother", Ananova, 2006-12-21. Retrieved on 2006-12-22.
- ^ "Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill", Press release containing text of speech, Archbishop of York's press office, November 19, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
- ^ Archbishop makes Zimbabwe protest. Retrieved on 2007-12-09.
- ^ "Free at last, Free at last", Press release, Archbishop of York's press office, 4 July 2007. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
- ^ "We must have faith for Maddie", Press release of article originally written for The Sun newspaper, Archbishop of York's press office, 4 July 2007. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
- ^ "Archbishop of York visit to Kenya", Photos of trip, Archbishop of York's press office, 08 February 2008. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
- ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/kevin_eason/article2182531.ece timesonline.co.uk
- ^ Archbishop leads outdoor baptisms. BBC News Online. BBC (23 March 2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
- ^ Archbishop skydives for soldiers. BBC. British Broadcasting Corporation (6 June 2008). Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
- ^ Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, performs skydive. Telegraph.co.uk. Telegraph Media Group (6 June 2008). Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
[edit] External links
- Enthronement of the Archbishop of York, Timetable of Events
- ITN interview, 7th February 2007
- Archbishop of York cuts up his Dog Collar in Mugabe protest (VIDEO) 9th December 2007
| Church of England titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mark Santer |
Bishop of Birmingham 2002 – 2005 |
Succeeded by David Urquhart |
| Preceded by David Hope |
Archbishop of York (Primate of England) 2005 – present |
Incumbent |
| Order of precedence in England and Wales | ||
| Preceded by The Rt Hon Jack Straw MP Lord Chancellor |
Gentlemen Archbishop of York |
Succeeded by The Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP Prime Minister |
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