Anglican gay bishop
Cherry Vann becomes first woman and LGBTQ cleric named archbishop in Britain
LONDON — Bishop Cherry Vann has been elected as archbishop of the Church in Wales, becoming the first woman and LGBTQ cleric appointed to lead any of Britain’s Anglican churches.
While the broader, international Anglican Communion has had openly gay bishops before, most notably Gene Robinson in the United States, Vann will be the first lesbian to serve as archbishop globally.
The Church in Wales, which broke away from the Church of England in 1920, elected Vann to the post on Wednesday.
Vann was among the first women ordained as priests in the Church of England in 1994 and later served as Archdeacon of Rochdale, in northern England, before moving to Wales.
She is affiliated with the Open Table Network, a Christian initiative that offers worship and support for LGBTQ people.
According to her official biography, Vann lives with her civil significant other, Wendy, and the couple’s two dogs. While the Church in Wales does not conduct homosexual marriages, it permits clergy to penetrate into civil partnerships.
Vann will replace Andrew John, who resigned in June obeying the publication of two internal church report
Australia's Anglican Church splits over same-sex marriage, conservatives establish new diocese
Australia's Anglican Church has split, with a conservative group of bishops opposed to same-sex marriage forming a breakaway diocese — but progressives argue they are "entirely faithful to scripture".
Key points:
- Tasmanian bishop Richard Condie said the modern diocese would be a "safe place for Anglicans" who "can no longer sit under the leadership of their bishop"
- The novel group will be led by retired Sydney archbishop Glenn Davies
- But progressive Anglicans disputed claims same-sex marriage was not in line with teachings
Described as an "Anglican lifeboat for devoted Christians", the newly formed Diocese of the Southern Cross was announced at the Global Anglican Future Conference in Canberra over the weekend.
Bishop of Tasmania and conference chair Richard Condie said decisions made at a recent Synod of church leaders "opens the way to blessings for same-sex marriages".
The Right Reverend Dr Condie said: "Those of us who hold to scriptural teaching believe that that's not what the Bible teaches about marriage&quo
Gay US bishop Gene Robinson to divorce husband
Gene Robinson, the first openly lgbtq+ bishop in the US Episcopal Church, has announced he is divorcing his partner of 25 years.
Writing on the Daily Beast website,, external Bishop Robinson said he was "forever grateful" to Mark Andrew and that details of their split were private.
The pair were married in a civil ceremony in 2003.
Gene Robinson's ordination as a bishop of the New Hampshire diocese in 2003 divided the global Anglican communion.
In the US, hundreds of parishes broke away from the Episcopal Church - the US branch of Anglicanism - in protest, forming a new Anglican Church in North America.
The bishop became a symbol of the LGBT rights movement and an advocate for identical marriage.
In his letter, Bishop Robinson, who retired in 2012, said it was "a compact comfort" to grasp that gay and lesbian couples "are subject to the same complications and hardships that afflict marriages between heterosexual couples".
"My faith in marriage is undiminished by the reality of divorcing someone I hold loved for a very long day, and will last to love even as we separate," he sai
Factsheet: Sexuality timeline in the Church of England
The Church of England is locked in increasingly bitter internal debate over LGBTQ+ issues and same-sex marriage. This is the culmination of decades of wrangling and discussion, which began more than half a century ago, with no unmistakable resolution yet in sight
Introduction
In 2021, the Church of England published a notify on sexuality, marriage and LGBTQ+ issues. Living in Love and Faith is the fruit of three years’ work by committees of bishops, clergy, scientists, historians, theologians and others, including representatives from the LGBTQ+ community.
It did not propose any adjust in the church’s official doctrines, but instead offered resources summarising the latest thinking on how the Bible, church tradition, and society understands flashpoints such as gay marriage or transgender rights. Living in Love and Faith marks the latest in a decades-long struggle within the CofE to decide how to respond to the rapidly changing social climate around sexuality.
1950s and 1960s
During the prolonged public debates about homosexuality, the church and its senior bishops, including Michael Ramsay, then Archbishop of Canterbury,
Sexuality and Identity: A Pastoral Statement from the College of Bishops
January 2021
Preamble
The Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) offer this pastoral declaration to the Church after prayer, study, careful listening to disparate voices, and a collaborative process involving contributions from across the Province. As a outcome of this process, we have become even more acutely aware of the power we all depend on to live faithfully in Jesus Christ as He redeems the whole of our identity, including our sexuality.
The College of Bishops asked for the formation of this statement in January of 2020 after we heard reports of varied application among ACNA leaders regarding the utilize of language about sexual identity, especially within provincial events. We recognize there are a multiplicity of realities in our current national, political, and global circumstances into which an episcopal voice could be presented. In the midst of this tragic pandemic, we desire to continue to minister the Gospel into all aspects of our common life that own been distorted by sin such as racism, persecution, injustice, and violence, while also speaking to this specific issue of culture