Vicar who performed 'wedding' ceremony for two gay clergy expresses regret

The London vicar who performed a “gay wedding” for two homosexual clergy in his church in the City is to escape without any sanction or reprimand, The Times has learnt.

The Bishop of London, the Right Rev Richard Chartres, launched an investigation after the Rev Martin Dudley presided at a Prayer Book-style service of blessing for the Rev Peter Cowell, a London hospital chaplain and priest at Westminster Abbey, and the Rev David Lord, a priest from New Zealand.

In the service, comparable to a traditional wedding, the couple exchanged rings and vows at the historic church of St Bartholomew the Great.

After protests from evangelicals that Mr Dudley had flouted Church of England guidelines that prohibit such ceremonies, Bishop Chartres asked one of his archdeacons to investigate and there was speculation that Mr Dudley’s future might be at risk.

But The Times has learnt that both sides have agreed to put the incident behind them after Mr Dudley issued a “letter of regret” to the Bishop and pledged not to do it again. Read more
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