Supporters of Jeffrey John, who claims he was not appointed bishop of Llandaff over his sexuality, say he has been discriminated against

The Church in Wales has been urged to reconsider its decision to exclude a senior gay clergyman from its appointments process for the next bishop of Llandaff amid accusations of homophobia.

The chapter of St Albans Cathedral, where Jeffrey John is dean, said on Monday that “the fact that it appears Jeffrey’s sexuality and civil partnership have been used against him in the selection process is wholly wrong, and it is only right that the bishops in Wales review the process before making an appointment”.

It also said that John was “a highly respected and much loved leader of our flourishing and inclusive cathedral, the oldest site of Christian worship in Britain”. Its statement was issued without the dean’s involvement, said the chapter.

OneBodyOneFaith, an LGBT Christian organisation, called for an inquiry into the Church in Wales’s process before an appointment and for a public apology to be issued to John “for homophobic remarks and attitudes”.

Jeremy Pemberton, on behalf OneBodyOneFaith, said the church’s behaviour had been “unjust and discriminatory”, and bishops must abide by their own guidelines regarding candidates who are gay and in civil partnerships.



Jayne Ozanne, a prominent campaigner for LGBT equality within the Anglican church, said: “Jeffrey is already a bishop in many of our eyes – he has been the ‘chief pastor’ to those of us who have felt discriminated against and vilified for the sake of our sexuality. His treatment at the hands of the church – both in England and Wales – has been despicable, and is one of the clearest examples yet of the high levels of institutional homophobia. I salute his courage and dignity in bringing matters into the open.”



John was a candidate for appointment as the next bishop of Llandaff, and has claimed he had the unanimous support of the electoral college’s 12 members from the diocese. But when the college met last month to vote on candidates, he fell short – reportedly by two votes – of the required two-thirds majority.



John Davies, the bishop of Swansea and Brecon, and currently the most senior figure in the Church in Wales, wrote to John last week to inform him that the appointment would now rest with Welsh bishops, and that his candidacy would not receive further consideration.



Davies also criticised breaches of confidentiality regarding the electoral college process and said there would be a thorough investigation.



In his reply to Davies, which he made public, John said he had found that “bishops and other ecclesiastical authorities routinely abuse confidentiality as a cloak for injustice and deception”. In this case, those who had breached the college’s confidentiality had “acted with courage and principle”.



John had been told that “a number of homophobic remarks were made and left unchecked and unreprimanded by the chair” of the electoral college. The only arguments made against his appointment – by two bishops in particular, he said, out of five Welsh bishops currently in post – were “directly related to my homosexuality and/or my civil partnership – namely that my appointment would bring unwelcome and unsettling publicity to the diocese.”



A bishop present at the college’s deliberations had told John that “the bishops were just ‘too exhausted’ to deal with the problems they believed my appointment would cause. I put it to you that this is not a moral or legal basis on which to exclude me.”



In 2003, John was appointed as bishop of Reading but the then archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, asked him to stand aside after some traditionalists threatened to leave the Church of England if his consecration went ahead.



John has a long-term relationship with Grant Holmes, another C of E clergyman, and the couple entered a civil partnership in 2006.



The Church in Wales allows clergy to be in same-sex relationships and civil partnerships and – in contrast to the C of E – does not insist on celibacy in such relationships.



Last year, Welsh bishops issued a statement saying the church should be a place where lesbian and gay people can be “honest and open, respected and affirmed”. They apologised to gay and lesbian people for persecution and mistreatment at the hands of the church.



Although the church was not ready to authorise same-sex marriage or formal blessings of civil partnerships, the bishops published a series of prayers clergy could say with couples following a civil marriage or partnership.



In 2015, the church’s governing body voted 61 in favour of allowing gay marriages, while 50 voted for no change and nine to allow blessings. Despite a majority in favour of gay marriage, the margin was not high enough to change church law.



The former archbishop of Wales Barry Morgan publicly backed gay marriage four months before he retired in January.

