England's First Black Arch-Bishop

[Dartzap]

First Black CoE Archbishop-BBC

The Bishop of Birmingham, the Rt Rev John Sentamu, has become the Church of England's first black archbishop.

The Ugandan-born cleric takes over as Archbishop of York from Dr David Hope who quit in February to become a parish priest in Ilkley, West Yorkshire.

Bishop Sentamu said his appointment to the second-highest post in the Church of England was "an exciting prospect".

Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams welcomed the news and praised the bishop's efforts to combat racism.

Bishop Sentamu worked on inquiries into the 1993 racist killing of Stephen Lawrence and the stabbing of Nigerian schoolboy Damilola Taylor in 2000.

Dr Williams said: "He is someone who 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.

[The Grim Squeaker]

Good for him.

Are there any other black bishops in the world?

[Robert Walper]

Good for him.

Are there any other black bishops in the world?

That depends...how many chess boards are there in the world? ;)

[frigidmagi]

There are a number of black bishops in various sects. Mostly in (wait for it...) Africa. However due to the falling numbers of Europeans interested in the priesthood, African priest are growing more numberous in the Catholic church and in some cases are even being imported.