Michael Sadgrove (born 13 April 1950) is a Church of England priest and noted theological author. Between 2003 and 2015, he was Dean of Durham. From 1995 to 2003, he was Provost, then Dean of Sheffield Cathedral. He is now Dean Emeritus of Durham.

Early life

Sadgrove was born on 13 April 1950 of mixed Anglican-Jewish parentage. He was educated at University College School, a private school in London. He first studied mathematics and philosophy, followed by further studies in theology at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1971; as per tradition, his BA was promoted to a Master of Arts (MA Oxon) degree in 1975. In 1972, he entered Trinity College, Bristol, an Evangelical

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

theological college, to train for ordained ministry.

Ordained ministry

Sadgrove was ordained in the Church of England: made a deacon at Petertide 1975 (29 June) at St Andrew's Church, Headington, and ordained a priest the Petertide following (13 June 1976) at Balliol College Chapel, both times by Peter Walker, Bishop of Dorchester. He held permission to officiate in the Diocese of Oxford from 1975 to 1977, and served his curacy at St Andrew's Headington where he was ordained deacon. He was a Tutor in Old Testament studies at Sarum College from 1977 until 1982 and an honorary Vicar Choral at Salisbury Cathedral. He was then the Vicar of

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish bor ...

, Northumberland, between 1982 and 1987. From 1987 to 1995 he was Vice Provost, a

Canon Residentiary A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, i ...

and Precentor at

Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The curren ...

. Between 1995 and 2003, he was provost, then dean from 13 April 2000, of Sheffield Cathedral. In October 2002, it was announced that he would be moving to

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...

as their new dean. He was installed as Dean of Durham in March 2003. During his incumbency, the Cathedral opened up choristerships to girls as a separate top line in the choir on an equal basis to the boy choristers. He was instrumental in initiating a major development project "Open Treasure", a reconfiguring of the historic spaces round the cloister as an interpretation of the North East's Christian heritage. He played a significant part in bringing the Lindisfarne Gospels back to their historic home for a three-month residency in Durham during 2013. Sadgrove briefly achieved national prominence in the same year when he wrote an open letter questioning the political attitudes of the then manager of Sunderland FC, Paulo di Canio. In March 2015, it was announced that he would be retiring from full-time ministry. He led his final service as Dean on 27 September 2015. He officially retired on 31 December 2015. As Dean of Durham, he was an

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

a governor of

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

. Until June 2016 he was also

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

(titular head) of

St Chad's College, Durham , motto_English = Not what you have, but who you are , scarf = , established = 1904 , principal = Margaret Masson , senior_tutor = Eleanor Spencer-Regan , undergraduates = 409 , postgraduates = 150 , website = , coordinates = , location_map ...

. In early 2016 prior to the UK referendum on membership of the European Union, he launched "Christians for Europe" advocating the UK's continued membership of the EU from a Christian perspective.

Personal life

Sadgrove is married and has four children; three daughters and a son. His wife is a

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...

. He lives in Northumberland where he continues to be engaged in theological writing and speaking, church matters, European issues, arts and heritage, and the culture of North East England. He blogs regularly on a variety of subjects. On 9 June 2011, he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, a title he relinquished on leaving the County on his retirement.

Selected works

* *Sadgrove, Michael (1995). ''A picture of faith: a meditation on the imagery of Christ in glory''. Kevin Mayhew. *Sadgrove, Michael (2006). ''The Eight Words of Jesus in the Passion according to St John.'' London: SPCK. . * * * * *Sadgrove, Michael (2015). ''Christ in a Choppie Box: sermons from North East England''. Sacristy Press. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sadgrove, Michael 1950 births Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Living people Deans of Durham Provosts and Deans of Sheffield Deputy Lieutenants of Durham 20th-century English Anglican priests 21st-century English Anglican priests People educated at University College School Academics of Sarum College Alumni of Trinity College, Bristol