John Sentamu

Who is John Sentamu?

John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu is the 97th Archbishop of York, Metropolitan of the province of York and Primate of England. The position of Archbishop of York is the second most senior clerical position in the Church of England after that of Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of All England.

Born near Kampala in present-day Uganda, Sentamu studied law at Makerere University before gaining employment as an advocate of the Supreme Court of Uganda. Speaking out against the regime of President Idi Amin, he was briefly imprisoned before fleeing to the United Kingdom in 1974. Here, he devoted himself to Anglicanism, beginning his study of theology at Selwyn College, Cambridge in 1976 and eventually gaining a doctorate in 1984. He studied for ordination at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, and was ordained in 1979. In 1996 he was consecrated as the area Bishop of Stepney and in 2002 moved to the position of Bishop of Birmingham. In 2005 he was appointed to the position of Archbishop of York.

Sentamu is a traditionalist within the Church of England, generally supporting socially conservative moral positions, publicly criticising multiculturalism and homosexual behaviour.