Gay clergyman breaks CoE's same-sex marriage ban

A gay clergyman has become the first ordained priest to break the Church of England's ban on same-sex marriage since it was legalised this year.

Canon Jeremy Pemberton, a hospital chaplain in Lincolnshire, reportedly tied the knot with long-term partner Laurence Cunnington yesterday.

The Church of England has barred gay ordained priests from marrying their partners.

The House of Bishops' pastoral guidance on same-sex marriage issued in February says: "It would not be appropriate conduct for someone in holy orders to enter into a same-sex marriage, given the need for clergy to model the Church's teaching in their lives."

The Bishop of Lincoln, Rt Rev Christopher Lowson, said he had been made aware of the clergyman's intention to marry his partner.

"The Church of England is shortly to enter a process of facilitated discussions about its response to same-sex marriage," he said.

"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."