ALL hope of preventing a schism in the Anglican Church will end if an openly gay cleric becomes the next Bishop of Southwark in Britain.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has allowed Jeffrey John’s name to go forward. Although Dr John, the Dean of St Albans, is understood to be celibate, which means he is in line with Church of England teaching, he has registered a civil partnership with his long-term companion Grant Holmes.
The Crown Nominations Committee was meeting overnight and today to decide on two names to go forward in order of preference to British Prime Minister David Cameron, to be approved by the Queen.
The unity of the 70-million strong Anglican Communion already hangs on a knife-edge after the consecration of the second openly gay bishop, Mary Glasspool, in Los Angeles.
Conservative Anglicans forced Dr John to step down shortly after his appointment as bishop of Reading in 2003 and will resist his elevation to Southwark.
They might be less successful this time because the Prime Minister is understood to support his candidacy.
Dr Williams became Archbishop of Canterbury because of his liberal record. But months after his appointment, he forced Dr John to withdraw as bishop of Reading because of the strength of evangelical opposition in the Oxford diocese. Dr Williams was concerned that if appointed , Dr John would be unable to fulfil the mandate that a bishop should be a figure of unity.
The futility of Dr Williams’s attempts to maintain unity by toeing the conservative line, which he has done in spite of his liberal convictions, was shown last week with the resignations of several conservative leaders from the key Anglican policy body, the standing committee of the Anglican Communion. Among those who stood down were Bishop Azad Marshall of the Diocese of Iran and Archbishop Henry Orombi of Uganda.
Southwark is a liberal diocese, the legacy of previous bishop Mervyn Stockwood, who was known to be gay but celibate.
Colin Slee, the Dean of Southwark, who is a member of the Crown Nominations Committee and who, like all the others, has been sworn to silence over its deliberations, was among those determined that Dr John’s name should go on to the first shortlist.
Although some churches will certainly object and possibly look for episcopal leadership elsewhere if Dr John becomes bishop, the majority will unite behind him.
Colin Coward, who was one of the first Church of England priests to “come out” and who founded the gay rights organisation Changing Attitude, said: “That Jeffrey’s name is on the list for Southwark is an extremely positive sign. It shows someone who is potentially a bishop of huge gifts is being considered seriously.”
However, in a joint statement, Philip Giddings and Chris Sugden of Anglican Mainstream, the group set up in the last Dr John crisis that campaigned successfully against him, said: “Given the contested state of the Anglican Communion, an appointment which does not meet those requirements in the Church of England would bring to an end any hope there might be of holding the Communion together.”
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