The new archbishop of Wales, the Most Rev Cherry Vann, has said that gay marriage in church is inevitable.
Vann, 66, stated this while speaking to the Guardian of how she kept her séxuàlity private for decades as part of her struggle to be accepted as a female minister in the Anglican communion.
Vann became one of the first female priests to be ordained in England in 1994. Now, she is UK’s first female and first openly gay archbishop, and the first openly lesbian and partnered bishop to serve as a primate within the Anglican communion.
She said that without the strong belief that God had called her to the priesthood she “would not have survived” her journey through the ranks of the church.
“It happens that I’ve lived in a time that’s meant that I’m a trailblazer, but I’m not a campaigner,” the Leicestershire-born archbishop said during an interview at the Church in Wales’s offices in central Cardiff,” she said.
“I’m not somebody to be out there all the time but I do seek to be true to what I think God’s asking of me.”
Working in the Church in Wales since 2020 has been very different from the many years Vann spent at the Church of England, she said, as clergy are permitted to be in same-sex civil partnerships. In the Anglican church in England, same-sex relationships are technically allowed, but gay clergy are expected to remain celibate
Upon becoming bishop of Monmouth five years ago, Vann publicly disclosed her civil partnership with Wendy Diamond, her partner of 30 years, for the first time.
But the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has strongly kicked against it, publicly condemning the election of Rt. Rev. Cherry Vann, an openly lesbian cleric, as the Archbishop of Wales.
The Church described the development as a “serious departure from biblical teaching” and a threat to the unity of the global Anglican Communion.
In a statement signed by its Primate, The Most Rev’d Henry Ndukuba, the Nigerian Church said the election of Bishop Vann signaled “spiritual decadence” and “an outright abandonment of the faith once delivered to the saints.” The statement reflects growing tensions within the global Anglican body over questions of sexuality, theology, and ecclesiastical authority.
Archbishop Ndukuba warned that Bishop Vann’s elevation could severely undermine the credibility and mission of the Anglican Church, not only in Wales but across the Communion. “The recent election of Bishop Vann is a clear revelation that many who claim to be members of the body of Christ cannot endure sound doctrine,” he said, citing 2 Timothy 4:3–4.
Drawing historical parallels, Ndukuba referenced the tenure of Most Rev. Katherine Jefferts Schori, who led the Episcopal Church in the United States between 2006 and 2015 and was similarly criticized by conservative factions for her progressive stance.
The Church of Nigeria further accused Bishop Vann of being complicit in the “ongoing crisis” surrounding same-sex issues in the Anglican Church. It warned that unless the Church in Wales repents and returns to what it termed “biblical teachings,” it risks losing spiritual relevance altogether.
In a firm declaration, Ndukuba stated: “The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) condemns, unequivocally rejects, and will not recognize the election of Rt. Rev. Cherry Vann as Archbishop of Wales.”
He called on global Anglicans to reject what the Church described as “rebels” and “apostates,” urging them instead to align with conservative bodies such as the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), known for defending traditional scriptural positions.
Credit: lindaikejisblog.com
