Last updated at 1:09 AM on 23rd April 2010
John Sentamu
John Sentamu: We should be proud
The Archbishop of York has called for a display of patriotism today, St George’s Day.
Failure to celebrate the English patron saint is a sign of ingratitude for the country’s heritage and a mark of cynicism, said Dr John Sentamu.
He added that it was time for the English ‘to rejoice in the land that we live in.’
Uganda-born Dr Sentamu, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury in the hierarchy of the Church of England, made his plea for patriotism after a survey showed that many believe England has lost its national identity and feel ashamed of their nationality.
The Archbishop has long been an opponent of the multiculturalism fashionable among some of his C of E colleagues, which sees English history as disreputable and English patriotism as sinister.
He announced that he will fly the red cross of St George from his palace at Bishopthorpe in York today.
A group of schoolchildren have been invited to play rounders on the palace lawn as part of a day of celebration.
Dr Sentamu said: ‘To be patriotic is to appreciate and be grateful for all that is valuable in the country you live in. It does not require you to be a xenophobe or a blinkered nationalist.
The George and Dragon pub Snailwell, Cambridgeshire with flags out
Patriotic: The George and Dragon pub Snailwell, Cambridgeshire with flags out
‘The failure to recognise and appreciate the goodly heritage of one’s country of residence is a sign of all-round ingratitude. Ingratitude in turn breeds cynicism.’
This week a poll by the magazine This England rated England as the least patriotic country in Europe and said that many believed if they tried to fly a St George’s flag from their house they would be told to take it down.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1268205/Fly-flag-St-George-celebrate-English-patron-saint-urges-Archbishop-York.html?ITO=1490#ixzz0lu7ZIMUZ