A well-known
Anglican cathedral dean in the United Kingdom and his
male partner have entered into a domestic partnership. The
Very Reverend Jeffrey John, the Dean of St. Albans who
was forced to resign as bishop of Reading in 2003
because he is gay, officially registered his
relationship with another Anglican priest, the Reverend
Grant Holmes, last week, London's Daily
Telegraph reports.
The private event, at which the couple wore
clerical collars, was attended by only a few witnesses
in an effort to avoid media attention, the
Telegraph reports. The civil partnership, as it
is known in the U.K., now gives the two men nearly the same
legal rights under British law as those of a married couple.
Anglican clergy are allowed to enter into such
partnerships if they assure their superiors that they
are celibate. John has said that he and Holmes are no
longer sexually active, according to the Telegraph.
Whether they are or not, their union is sure to
galvanize opposition to gays in the worldwide Anglican
communion, especially since John is a close friend
of the church's international spiritual leader,
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. (The
Advocate)
