"I can tell you, historically, they come back to the same judge,"
Sohlgren said.

Attorneys for the diocese declined comment outside the courtroom.

Velasquez set a status conference for Jan. 14, and will set hearings
for dismissal motions by the church attorneys if he keeps the case,
Sohlgren said.

Equal Rights campaigners, however, welcomed the ruling, pushing for further government steps towards legislating gay unions.

??our case will now challenge the government to recognise, regulate and protect marriages between two people of the same sex in the same way that it does for heterosexual couples,? Paul Tilly of the Equality Project told a Sunday newspaper at the weekend.

In an interview with The Church of England Newspaper, Archbishop Eames, the Chair of the Lambeth Commission, urged the warring factions to avoid recriminations and look to the future.

Dr Eames, the Archbishop of Armagh, said: “I would welcome decisions [at February’s Primates’ meeting] more if they’re directed to how we deal with the nature of Communion rather than reiterating ‘they did something wrong’ or ‘they didn’t express regret’.

1. Its loyalty to the See of Canterbury, and to the Anglican Communion.

2. Its association with the historical legacy, the piety of the people, and the Constitution of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil.