Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. The Rt Rev’d John Sentamu appointed Archbishop of York
The Confessing Reader, 6/17/2005
Hallelujah!
This was the first word out of George Piwang-Jalobo’s mouth when I telephoned him with the news earlier today, that Bishop John Sentamu has been appointed Archbishop of York. (George, who is completing his doctoral studies at Duke Divinity School, is a tireless worker in the Lord’s vineyard, a powerful preacher and evangelist, a leader in the movement for reconciliation and peace in the northern Uganda conflict, and brother to Archbishop Henry Orombi.)
Anglicans everywhere should rejoice in the newly-announced appointment of the Rt Rev’d Dr John Sentamu, Bishop of Birmingham, to become Archbishop of York and Primate of England. Bishop Sentamu is a Ugandan expatriate who fled the country after his criticim of the regime of the dictator Idi Amin made him a marked man. As noted by the Most Rev’d Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of All England, Bishop Sentamu
has always combined a passion for sharing the gospel with a keen sense of the problems and challenges of our society, particularly where racism is concerned. His ministry in London and Birmingham has been praised by Christians of all backgrounds. He is a caring pastor and an exciting communicator.
In addition to these strengths, Bishop Sentamu brings his experience as a Ugandan Christian and protogé of archbishop-martyr Janani Luwum. As noted by the Rt Rev’d Richard Frith, Bishop of Hull, in welcoming the appointment on behalf of the Diocese of York,
The Bishop for Birmingham is known as a man of energy and passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ - a thinker, campaigner and teacher - but above all a man of prayer and someone who lights up the Word of God for the world around him…His wide experience of life and the Church from Africa to Birmingham has shown him to be adaptable and versatile, and ready to engage with people of all backgrounds and ways of life. He challenges boundaries and fixed ideas about the world, the Church and the Christian Gospel -
Bishop Hull also believes that the plainspoken folk of Yorkshire will find (Arch)Bishop Sentamu congenial to their own temperament: “Bishop John is known in Birmingham and London for plain speaking, and that will go down very well in the Diocese of York.”
This appointment is good for the Diocese and Province of York, for the Church of England, for the Church in Africa and the Global South, and for the Anglican Communion generally. The Most Rev’d Henry Orombi, Archbishop of Uganda, welcomed the appointment in a statement earlier today:
We are jubilant at the news of our fellow countryman’s appointment as the next Archbishop of York, and are grateful to the Queen, the Prime Minister, and the Church of England for recognizing the emerging force of the Christian Church in the Global South.
John Sentamu, a fellow Ugandan, was originally a judge in the High Court of Uganda. In 1974 when he refused to bow to pressure to deliver a ‘not guilty’ verdict to one of Idi Amin’s cousins, he was forced to go into exile. Like the Biblical Patriarch Joseph, what was meant for evil, God has now used for good.
We offer Archbishop Sentamu our heartiest congratulations. He is a product of the East African Revival Movement. May God use him to revive the wider Church of Jesus Christ, and may he stand true to the witness of the Ugandan Martyrs who we commemorate in Uganda with affection.
The honour of this high calling carries with it an equally high responsibility to proclaim the unchanging gospel in a changing world, to offer the hope of transformation through a relationship with Jesus Christ to a generation of spiritual seekers, and to work alongside the Archbishop of Canterbury to provide steady leadership to guard the historic faith of the Anglican Communion. We pledge Archbishop Sentamu our sincerest prayers.
Bishop Sentamu’s appointment may give new vigor to questions about the appointment of the Archbishop of Canterbury, with renewed calls for +Cantuar to be elected by the Communion, not appointed by the Crown. I also cannot help but think that Bishop Sentamu’s appointment will be good for confessing Anglicanism the world round, and for an understanding throughout the Churches of the power of the gospel to change lives and to challenge the unrighteousness and injustice of human societies.
Praise God that the East African Revival of the mid-20th century continues to bear fruit for the good of the Church, and Deo gratias! for the continued fruitfulness of the witness unto death of Archbishop Janani Luwum. Truly the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.
I am also reminded that, as with Joseph, sold by his brothers into exile and slavery in Egypt, God in his providence is continuing to bring good out of the exile into which many Ugandans were forced during the despotic and violently antichristian regime of Idi Amin.
Thanks to Kendall Harmon for bringing us news of the appointment early on.
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Almighty God, the giver of every good gift: Look graciously upon your Church, and upon your servant John, chosen Archbishop of your Church in York. Grant him your grace boldly to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, enlightening the minds and stirring up the conscience of your people. Pour out upon him the power of your Spirit, that he may faithfully guard the faith, unity, and discipline of your Church. Make him a faithful pastor, who will care for your people and equip them for their ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord, the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. Amen.