Gay marriage first for chaplain in defiance of C of E
Canon Jeremy Pemberton risks disciplinary action from Church of England after marrying Laurence Cunnington
The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, last week suggested Christians in Africa could be killed if the church accepted gay marriage. Photograph: Rex
A Church of England chaplain has become the first clergyman to enter a gay marriage, saying afterwards that it had been "a wonderful day".
Canon Jeremy Pemberton, a hospital chaplain, who married Laurence Cunnington in front of friends and family at a hotel on Saturday could face disciplinary action from the church.
Its House of Bishops' guidance issued in February explicitly bars such unions for clergy on the grounds they undermine traditional teaching that marriage can only be between a man and a woman. It also bars them from conducting gay marriages and from blessing them in church.
But Pemberton, 58, told the Mail on Sunday : "I love this man and I want to be married to him, That's what I want. It is the same as anyone who wants to get married."
The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, last week suggested that Christians in Africa could be killed if the church accepted gay marriage. He and the archbishop of York, John Sentamu, had warned in a pastoral letter accompanying the bishops' guidance: "The introduction of same-sex marriage in our country is a new reality and has consequences for the life and discipline of the Church of England."
The first same-sex marriages in England and Wales, pushed through by David Cameron in the face of opposition within his own party, took place last month. Scotland is due to follow suit later this year.
In tweets after the ceremony, Pemberton, a former parish priest and a divorced father-of-five, said: "Thank you to all well-wishers. Nay-Sayers: we can talk another time maybe? Signing off for now – my husband gets my time", as well as posting a picture of the couple leaving for their honeymoon.
In December 2012, he was one of dozens of clergy who signed a letter to the Daily Telegraph warning that if the church refused to permit gay weddings in its own churches they would advise members of their congregations to marry elsewhere.
Pemberton said he had told the bishop of Lincoln, the Rt Rev Christopher Lowson, of his intention to marry Cunnington, 51.
The bishop said: "I am aware that a member of the clergy who works in the diocese of Lincoln has married a partner of the same sex.
"The priest concerned wrote to me in advance to explain his intention and we had a subsequent meeting in which I explained the guidelines of the House of Bishops."
He added: "The Church of England is shortly to enter a process of facilitated discussions about its response to same-sex marriage. I am committed to entering that process in a spirit of honesty and integrity, seeking to discern the spirit of God at work in the church as we seek to understand the nature of marriage in the future."
Canon Jeremy Pemberton, a hospital chaplain, who married Laurence Cunnington in front of friends and family at a hotel on Saturday could face disciplinary action from the church.
Its House of Bishops' guidance issued in February explicitly bars such unions for clergy on the grounds they undermine traditional teaching that marriage can only be between a man and a woman. It also bars them from conducting gay marriages and from blessing them in church.
But Pemberton, 58, told the Mail on Sunday : "I love this man and I want to be married to him, That's what I want. It is the same as anyone who wants to get married."
The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, last week suggested that Christians in Africa could be killed if the church accepted gay marriage. He and the archbishop of York, John Sentamu, had warned in a pastoral letter accompanying the bishops' guidance: "The introduction of same-sex marriage in our country is a new reality and has consequences for the life and discipline of the Church of England."
The first same-sex marriages in England and Wales, pushed through by David Cameron in the face of opposition within his own party, took place last month. Scotland is due to follow suit later this year.
In tweets after the ceremony, Pemberton, a former parish priest and a divorced father-of-five, said: "Thank you to all well-wishers. Nay-Sayers: we can talk another time maybe? Signing off for now – my husband gets my time", as well as posting a picture of the couple leaving for their honeymoon.
In December 2012, he was one of dozens of clergy who signed a letter to the Daily Telegraph warning that if the church refused to permit gay weddings in its own churches they would advise members of their congregations to marry elsewhere.
Pemberton said he had told the bishop of Lincoln, the Rt Rev Christopher Lowson, of his intention to marry Cunnington, 51.
The bishop said: "I am aware that a member of the clergy who works in the diocese of Lincoln has married a partner of the same sex.
"The priest concerned wrote to me in advance to explain his intention and we had a subsequent meeting in which I explained the guidelines of the House of Bishops."
He added: "The Church of England is shortly to enter a process of facilitated discussions about its response to same-sex marriage. I am committed to entering that process in a spirit of honesty and integrity, seeking to discern the spirit of God at work in the church as we seek to understand the nature of marriage in the future."
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