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UK: Married gay priest elected to Church of England Synod
Traditionalist fury as Andrew Foreshew-Cain, who defied bishops to marry his male partner, is voted on to Church's national assembly
By John Bingham, Religious Affairs Editor
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
October 12, 2015
One of the first priests to openly defy the Church of England's ban on gay clergy marrying has been elected to its ruling General Synod -- to the fury of traditionalists.
The Rev Andrew Foreshew-Cain announced his election to the Church of England's parliament with a message on Twitter declaring "No Surrender" in the campaign for a more accepting stance on homosexuality.
He said he hoped his election, alongside that of a handful of other openly gay clergy and laity, would create a more "caring and compassionate" church.
But some traditionalist evangelicals called for the vote not only to be declared null but for him to be sacked as a clergyman because of his decision to marry his partner despite a Church-imposed bar on clerics entering same-sex marriages.
Father Cain, vicar of two large parishes in north-west London, announced his intention to marry his long-term partner, Stephen Foreshew, in March last year, when a change in the law allowing same-sex marriage in England and Wales came into effect.
The announcement came a fortnight after the House of Bishops issued pastoral guidance making clear that clergy entering a same-sex marriage would be treated as a disciplinary matter.
Since then only a small number of clergy have openly defied the ruling.
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