page_title: Michael Sadgrove
section_title: Ordained ministry
hierarchical_section_title: Michael Sadgrove / Ordained ministry
caption_attribution_description: The Very Reverend Michael Sadgrove, Dean of Durham Cathedral, with Virgin Trains East Coast locomotive 91114 at Durham railway station. Original description: Dean of Durham Michael Sadgrove welcomes the 'Durham Cathedral' locomotive which features his name as part of the special design.
context_page_description: Michael Sadgrove 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.
context_section_description: 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, Northumberland, between 1982 and 1987. From 1987 to 1995 he was Vice Provost, a Canon Residentiary and Precentor at Coventry Cathedral.
  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 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 a governor of Durham University. Until June 2016 he was also Rector (titular head) of St Chad's College, Durham. 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.
caption: Sadgrove naming a Virgin Trains East Coast locomotive at Durham railway station in 2015
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