A gay Church of England Priest has become the first clergyman to marry his boyfriend.
Canon Jeremy Pemberton has defied the Church of England’s ban on same-sex marriage to become the first priest to marry his long-term, same-sex partner Laurence Cunnington. The couple wed on Saturday afternoon, the Telegraph has reported.
The law in the UK that allows same-sex marriage came into force on the 29th March. However some religious organisations are forced by law to not be able to conduct same-sex marriages, the Church of England was one of them.
The couple did not marry within a C of E Church.
The Church, earlier this year, decided to ban gay clergy from marrying. The decision means that Priests who marry their same-sex partners could face disciplinary actions.
Speaking in his blog over at The Telegraph Damian Thompson suggested that the punishment for Mr Pemberton’s marriage could be:
‘the withdrawal of his licence to officiate at services (he doesn’t have a parish). Technically he could be defrocked, but that would involve a messy legal process…’
