A special ceremony will take Oct. 5th, 2005 to formally install the Church of England’s first black Archbishop at Mary-le-Bow Church, London.
Dr John Sentamu’s confirmation makes him the 97th Archbishop of York. The ceremony will be led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and six senior bishops.The Confirmation of the Election ceremony follows Dr Sentamu’s election to the seat by York Minster’s college of canons in July.
Today’s confirmation will be followed by another ceremony on 30 November to enthrone Dr Sentamu at which time he will begin his public ministry in the post – the second highest position in the Church of England.
Dr Sentamu, who fled Uganda under the notorious Idi Amin in 1974, has been a major advocate for racial equality within the church and society, following the public enquiry into the death of black teenager Stephen Lawrence.
Dr Sentamu was one of the contributors to the recently published book, ‘Rejection, Resistance and Resurrection’ by Mukti Barton which laid bare racial discrimination within the Church of England.
In the foreward, to the book, launched last month in Birmingham Cathedral, Dr Sentamu said: “The stories in this book speak of the pain of what it is to undergo institutional racism.
“The cost is in terms of the lives of people who are hampered in their growth into the image of God created in them.”
Dr Sentamu succeeds Dr David Hope, now Lord Hope of Thornes, following his resignation as Archbishop of York in February to take up a more modest post as parish priest in Ilkley, West Yorkshire.
