Archbishop Of York To Attend Tangi

Archbishop Of York To Attend Tangi

Media Release 16 August 2011

The Archbishop of York, the Most Reverend and Right Honourable John Sentamu will attend the tangi of Bishop Sir Paul Reeves in Auckland.

Archbishop Sentamu visited New Zealand last year when St Mary’s in Taranaki was instituted as a full Cathedral. He spent time with Sir Paul during those ceremonies and spoke strongly on the role and identity of indigenous people in Aotearoa New Zealand and across the world.

The visit of the Archbishop Sentamu, who left London today, is seen as a great honour and recognition of the mana in which Bishop Sir Paul Reeves is held in the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Speaking on behalf of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, Archbishop David Moxon says, ‘Archbishop Sentamu was born in Uganda and continues to give a new face to leadership in the Church of England. He is a prominent campaigner with a passion for indigenous rights and identity. His message in Taranaki was one of reconciliation and this was very much the message of Sir Paul who led and stated issues clearly to bring hope in society for the present and the future,” says Archbishop Moxon.

The outspokenness of Archbishop Sentamu, who was a High Court Judge in Uganda, led to him being jailed. He escaped and fled from the regime of Idi Amin, others also jailed with him were killed. Once in England he decided to enter ministry and has risen to be the highest ranked bishop in the Church of England, next to the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Archbishop Sentamu will attend the tangi tomorrow morning at approximately 11am.

The tangi for Sir Paul continues until Thursday morning at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Auckland with the public and iwi being welcomed between 8am and 7pm.

On Thursday morning Sir Paul will be taken to Holy Trinity Cathedral for the State Funeral that begins at 11am.

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