Llandaff Cathedral in Wales. (Photo: Getty/iStock)
The new Archbishop of Wales, the Most Reverend Cherry Vann, expects the Church in Wales to conduct gay marriage ceremonies “in the not too distant future”.
The selection of Vann as the 15th Archbishop has generated significant controversy due to her sexuality. Since 2015 Vann has been in a civil partnership with Wendy Diamond.
A number of Anglican leaders, particularly in the Global South, have condemned the appointment as flagrant disregard for Biblical teachings on human sexuality.
The Most Rev Dr Laurent Mbanda, Chairman of the Gafcon Primates Council, called her election an “act of apostasy” and a “failure in leadership”.
He also said her election was “another painful nail in the coffin of Anglican orthodoxy.”
Vann responded by appealing, not to the Bible, but to her own experiences. Speaking to Premier, she said, “[I] never heard God say to me, who you are is wrong. Who you love is wrong. You are living in sin. I have never heard that from God, and that’s all I can say.”
She continued, “Christians hold different views on all manner of subjects, divorce, remarriage, abortion, assisted dying, to name but a few. I mean, we are not all of one mind on most things. And you know, the church changes its position. It learns a broader understanding of God’s love.”
Vann also stated that while she expects the Church in Wales to accept homosexual marriages in the near future, she would not use her position to force it through.
She was elected last month by a two-thirds majority in the Electoral College after serving as the Bishop of Monmouth for the past five years.
Writing to Gafcon members, Archbishop Mbanda called on orthodox Anglicans to “take a stand” against the “relentless pressure of Anglican revisionists who blatantly impose their immorality upon Christ’s precious church”.
“It is with a heavy heart that I write to you of grievous events in our beloved Anglican Communion,” he said.
“The decision by the Church in Wales to elect the Rt Revd Cherry Vann as Archbishop and Primate is another painful nail in the coffin of Anglican orthodoxy.
“By celebrating this election and her immoral same-sex relationship, the Canterbury Communion has again bowed to worldly pressure that subverts God’s good word.
“For the Bible is clear about those who ‘exchange the truth about God for a lie’ (Romans 1:25).”
He added, “We must confront serious error that compromises God’s glorious and authoritative word on human sexuality.
“We must speak up and take a stand.”
Christian Concern’s Andrea Williams called her appointment “tragic” and “a clear sign of apostasy”.
Church in Wales’ new archbishop thinks gay marriage stance will soon change
