The Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu, accompanied by his wife, the Revd Margaret Sentamu, laid down his crozier of office on the high altar of York Minster on Sunday 7 June.
The Dean of York, the Rt Revd Dr Jonathan Frost and Head Verger Alex Carberry were witnesses to this final act as Archbishop.
The Dean of York said, “Today, in the simple and symbolic act of laying down his crozier, Archbishop Sentamu brought his ministry as Archbishop of York to a close. In current circumstances we have been unable to fulfil our hope to gather together for a service. However, in households and communities across the Diocese of York, the North and Nation, those whose lives have been graced by Sentamu and Margaret give thanks for their witness to the joy, simplicity and compassion of the good news of Jesus Christ.”
On 8 June 2020, Archbishop Sentamu concludes nearly 15 years in his role as Archbishop of York. He has served in ordained ministry within the Church of England for 41 years. The Archbishop will continue to live in the North of England, and has said he will continue with his work on the case for income equality and sustainability.
- Photos taken by the Diocese of York are available here
- The Diocese of York has released an online video tribute to Dr Sentamu, made during the ‘lockdown’ response to the COVID-19 virus outbreak, and based on a series of recollections recorded by lay and ordained people from across the Diocese which has been led by Archbishop Sentamu since the 30th November 2005.
- The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby gave a General Synod address to Archbishop Sentamu which is available here.
It has been my impression that Sentamu has been corrupted, deeply, by his tenure of the Archbishop’s office. He began as what seemed to be a holy man (maybe I was mistaken in this?); and has ended as an active supporter and participant in all the worst kinds of dishonesty, bureaucracy and anti-Christian value inversion. I have seen the same thing happen to the people I have known personally who have taken high positions in large modern institutions in medicine, health services and academia – their corruption has been rapid and extreme. I hoped for better from the CofE but clearly that hope was misplaced.
I believe you are correct. I recall that his prior reputation far exceeded his current job performance. I note that he plans to focus on the Millennium Development Goals of income equality and sustainability.
MDG? A few years ago TEC was all about MDG (marxism). Looks like we’ll have to wait until 2022 at least for the next progress report.
If you are suggesting it’s an irresistible force, I think you are being rather too kind. I will struggle to get past the image of his put-down of Andrea Williams in Synod.