UPDATED
The Sunday Mail and the Sunday Telegraph have reports on the news broken earlier today on The Lead of the marriage of two male priests.
The Sunday Telegraph runs this story at the top of its homepage:
Two male priests exchanged vows and rings in a ceremony that was conducted using one of the church’s most traditional wedding rites – a decision seen as blasphemous by conservatives.
The ceremony broke Church of England guidelines and was carried out last month in defiance of the Bishop of London, in whose diocese it took place. News of the “wedding” emerged days before a crucial summit of the Anglican Church’s conservative bishops and archbishops, who are threatening to split the worldwide Church over the issue of homosexual clergy.
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The Most Rev Henry Orombi, the Archbishop of Uganda, said that the ceremony was “blasphemous.” He called on Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to take decisive action if the Anglican Church were not to “disintegrate”. Archbishop Orombi added: “What really shocks me is that this is happening in the Church of England that first brought the Gospel to us.
“The leadership tried to deny that this would happen, but now the truth is out. Our respect for the Church of England will erode unless we see a return to traditional teaching.”
The Rt Rev Michael Scott-Joynt, the Bishop of Winchester – a powerful conservative figure – said that the service represented a wedding “in all but name”. He said: “Strictly speaking it is not a marriage, but the language is clearly modelled on the marriage service and the occasion is modelled on the marriage service. This clearly flouts Church guidelines and will exacerbate divisions within the Anglican Communion.”
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The service was held at St Bartholomew the Great in London – one of England’s oldest churches, which featured in Four Weddings and a Funeral – and was conducted by the parish rector, the Rev Martin Dudley.
The couple, the Rev Peter Cowell, who is a cleric at one of the Queen’s churches, and the Rev Dr David Lord, had registered their civil partnership before the ceremony.
In a second article the Telegraph reports,
Among those celebrating with the couple were some of the Church’s most senior clergy, including Canon Robert Wright from Westminster Abbey and chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons.
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A champagne reception was held in the Great Hall of St Bartholomew’s Hospital, where Dr Lord, an ordained priest, works as a doctor. It is there they met five years ago.
And in a third article there is this story in the same paper about the reactions and potential reactions to the event. It includes this: “The Rev Martin Dudley, who presided at the service, is understood to have received a plea from the Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, not to offer such a ceremony.”
The Mail says “The Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, was not told of the service.”
More from the Mail:
The pair exchanged vows and rings before 300 guests during a ceremony that was virtually indistinguishable from a traditional church marriage ceremony.
The service was held in one of London’s best known churches and included Latin verse, trumpet fanfares and rose petal confetti.
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The couple, the Rev Peter Cowell, 50, chaplain at nearby St Bartholomew’s Hospital and a priest-vicar at Westminster Abbey, and the Rev Dr David Lord, an Anglican priest from New Zealand, wore dark suits.
Each had their own ‘best man’.
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Mr Dudley said he was unrepentant. He said he had written to Bishop Chartres 18 months ago for guidance on blessings for same-sex couples in civil partnerships, but was told the Church’s House of Bishops had not approved them.
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He said he regarded the service as a blessing rather than a marriage and added that he was not worried about discipline because he had acted with integrity.
See The Lead’s earlier coverage of the marriage here, where a copy of the order of service is also to be found.
Update – Thinking Anglicans brings attention to this from Dudley,
From the comments on the Telegraph site:
19. Posted by The Revd Dr Martin Dudley on June 15, 2008 08:54 AM As the Rector of St Bartholomew the Great, who officiated at this service, I would like to add a little clarity to the story.
First, it was not a wedding or a marriage but the blessing of a civil partnership. Mr Wynne-Jones was well aware of this from his conversation with me today. If others construe it as a wedding, than they do so deliberately in order to ferment division.
Second, it was not and was [not] intended to be a provocative act. It was not undertaken in defiance of the Bishop of London and there was no plea from him that I should not officiate at the service.
Third, we should remember that this service celebrated the love that the two persons involved have for each other. I officiated at it because Fr Peter Cowell has been my friend and colleague for many years. 300 people joined in the service; nearly 200 received communion, and there were dozens of other clergy present. It was not a rally or a demonstration. If other people want to turn into a loveless battlefield for the future of the Church of England, then it is they who will carry responsibility for the consequences.