John Sentamu

Vocation

Traits

Family

Ugandan-British Anglican bishop, serving as the 97th Archbishop of York, Metropolitan 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. 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 in 1974 to the United Kingdom, where 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 expresses support for some traditionalist positions within the Church of England, as he has publicly criticized multiculturalism and the legalisation of same-sex marriage, but contrary to traditional Christian moral teaching, he supports cohabitation before marriage, stating "We are living at a time where some people ... want to test whether the milk is good before they buy the cow." He has also received attention for his vocal criticism of former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe. In 1973, he married his wife Margaret. He has two children. Link to Wikipedia biography