Benjamin Wani Yugusuk (1928, in Thobole,

Juba Juba () is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria State. It is the world's newest capital city to be elevated as such, and had a populatio ...

– 23 May 2000, in Kosti) was a Sudanese

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 ...

(Episcopalian) bishop. He was the second

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

and

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

of the

Episcopal Church of Sudan The Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, formerly known as Episcopal Church of Sudan, is a province of the Anglican Communion located in South Sudan. The province consists of eight Internal Provinces (each led by an archbishop) and 61 d ...

, from 1988 to 1998.

Early life

He was born to parents of the Lulubo ethnic group, who practised the worship of ancestors. He studied at Lomega Elementary School, from 1939 to 1944. He was baptized in the Anglican church on 25 December 1941. He moved afterwards to Juba Teacher Primary School. He entered Yei Teacher Training Institute in 1946, where he earned a certificate in teaching in 1947. He was a teacher at Juba Elementary School, from 1948 to 1950.

Ecclesiastical career

He decided to study Theology at Gwynne College in Mundri, where he graduated in 1952. He was ordained as a deacon on 17 January 1953, and as a priest on 5 May 1955. He was the priest at the Lomega and Lainya parishes in 1956. He was also secretary to the Diocese of the Sudan, in

Khartum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing nor ...

, in 1960. He moved to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where he studied at the

London College of Divinity St John's College, Nottingham, founded as the London College of Divinity, was an Anglican and interdenominational theological college situated in Bramcote, Nottingham, England. The college stood in the open evangelical tradition and stated that i ...

, earning a diploma as M.D. in 1969. He was consecrated bishop in

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

, on 24 January 1971, during the Episcopal Synod of the Middle East, by the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

Michael Ramsey Arthur Michael Ramsey, Baron Ramsey of Canterbury, (14 November 1904 – 23 April 1988) was an English Anglican bishop and life peer. He served as the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury. He was appointed on 31 May 1961 and held the office until 1 ...

. He was transferred as acting bishop to the Diocese of Yei in 1975. The Province of the

was created on 11 September 1976; he then became bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Rumbek, the largest in the province, where he would serve until 1988. He became dean of the province in

, in 1986, and served as acting archbishop of the

, from 1986 to 1988. Yugusuk was enthroned as Archbishop and Primate on 28 February 1988. Bishop

John Baker John Baker or Jon Baker may refer to: Military figures *John Baker (American Revolutionary War) (1731–1787), American Revolutionary War hero, for whom Baker County, Georgia was named *John Baker (RAF officer) (1897–1978), British air marshal ...

, of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

, was the representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury,

Robert Runcie Robert Alexander Kennedy Runcie, Baron Runcie, (2 October 1921 – 11 July 2000) was an English Anglican bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980 to 1991, having previously been Bishop of St Albans. He travelled the world widely t ...

, at the ceremony. During his tenure, his church experienced an unprecedent growth, which saw the creation of several new dioceses. He retired in February 1998. He died suddenly in Kosti, on 23 May 2000, and was buried at All Saints Cathedral, in

Family

Benjamin Yugusuk's son, Paul Pitya Benjamin Yugusuk, followed his father into ordination, and is currently the Archbishop of Central Equatoria, a metropolitan archbishopric within the

Episcopal Church of South Sudan The Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, formerly known as Episcopal Church of Sudan, is a province of the Anglican Communion located in South Sudan. The province consists of eight Internal Provinces (each led by an archbishop) and 61 d ...

References

External links

Benjamin Wani Yugusuk at the Dictionary of African Christian Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yugusuk, Benjamin Wani 1928 births 2000 deaths People from Juba Sudanese Episcopalians 20th-century Anglican bishops in Africa 20th-century Anglican archbishops Anglican archbishops of South Sudan Anglican bishops of Rumbek