Nigeria: Will a Black Man Be Allowed to Head the Church of England?

A major test to the equality and openness of anti-racism in the Church of England, also called the Anglican Communion, will soon commence following the impending resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams.

The church authorities appear to be in a quandary regarding who will succeed Williams. Ordinarily, there should be no succession crisis given the well-defined Episcopal order and structure in the church. But there is a snag, somewhat. The very next in ecclesiastical ranking to the Archbishop is Dr. John Sentamu, a black cleric from Uganda.

Sentamu, 62, the Archbishop of York, by hierarchy is the front-runner to replace Williams when he leaves at the end of this year. He emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1974 having fled Uganda where he was a critic of the late dictator, Idi Amin.

But his ascension to this elevated position has attracted controversy especially for speaking out against gay marriage. He even got racist e-mails due to his stance. Keep reading