In an announcement risks deepening splits within the Church of England, the Very Rev Dr David Ison, 57, said he had performed ceremonies for homosexual couples who had had civil partnerships as Dean of Bradford, even though the Church still forbids formal blessings.
The leadership of the Church of England remains resolutely opposed to gay marriage, with Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, saying “marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman”.
He said David Cameron would be acting like a “dictator” to change the law.
He said David Cameron would be acting like a “dictator” to change the law.
Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, said the proposals are “grotesque” and akin to legalising slavery.
But in his first interview since being appointed to St Paul’s by the Queen, Dr Ison said marriage should be available to same-sex couples.
He added it was better to refer to “Christian marriage” than to homosexual or heterosexual unions, and claimed the Church of England is “obsessed with sex”.
“You can regard two Christian gay people as wanting to have the virtues of Christian marriage,” Dr Ison said.
“As a Christian who is committed to marriage, I would say that for people to take on board, in their relationships, a commitment to lifelong chastity and being together is actually the best pattern for how to flourish if you’re going to be in a relationship… whether you’re gay or straight. I’m encouraged that a good number of gay people want to take on the virtues of marriage. For Christian gay people to model that kind of faithfulness, in a culture which, historically, has often been about promiscuity, is a very good thing to do,” he told The Times newspaper.
He added he believes gay people should be able to adopt. While the Government still has questions to answer about its proposals, he insisted: “Marriage doesn’t belong to the Church.”
He warned the language used by some clerics could drive homosexuals away from Christianity, saying: “I don’t think it’s going to help. The role of the Church is to be both inclusive and challenging.”
He indicated he would continue to provide ceremonies in the cathedral to affirm and pray for homosexual couples.
“The Bishops’ regulations say you can do things which are pastorally appropriate... Marriage is an institution, but the definitions of that, and how you get into it, and quite what its responsibilities are, have changed over time,” he said.
He added: “I just wish we weren’t so obsessed about sex. I was talking to someone the other day who said, ‘Why is the Church always going on about women bishops and gays?’ Justice
and poverty should be the concerns.”
Dr Ison, who will welcome the Queen to St Paul’s as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebration, added the Church should allow women to become bishops. “We’ve had a woman Prime Minister, we have a Queen . . . Why should women not be able to use their God-given gifts in leadership in the Church?”
The married father of four and grandfather of two, added: “I think the Church has had gay bishops... It’s about learning to live in openness with the reality of who people are.”
Dr Ison’s predecessor, the Right Rev Graeme Knowles stood down over the Cathedral’s handling of the Occupy protestors.
In language that would be welcomed by many of those camped outside, he warned of “revolution” if their concerns were not addressed.
The country is “in danger of drifting apart, with the financiers, politicians and others at the top and people ‘lower down’ feeling that they are not being heard,” he said.
“Historically, if the top and bottom of society drift too far apart, there comes a point where there’s an explosion. We must get on and deal with the reform of our institutions while we still can, before it turns into a situation of revolution.”
He added: “We need to develop a way of doing economics which is going to take account of the need for people to care for one another. It’s hard for a person obsessed with riches to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, whether they are rich or poor.”