Norway's only woman bishop has avoided a decision on whether to sack a woman priest who defied church rules by "marrying" her lesbian lover.
Bishop Rosemarie Koehn, of the Lutheran Church of Norway, which is state-supported, gave the Rev Siri Sunde an extension of leave from her post which was due to run out yesterday, bringing criticism from some politicians that the church was defying sexual equality laws.
Bishop Koehn said the Rev Sunde would instead have a temporary job as a consultant to the Diocese of Hamar, in southern Norway, while a church advisory group comprising 12 bishops, four theologians and four lay people reviewed her case.
"I believe that I will eventually get back my job as a priest," the Rev Sunde told Norway's NTB news agency. "Time is on the side of the homosexuals' case in the Norwegian church. The solution the bishop has come up with is the second best I could imagine, even though I might have won if I had gone to court."
Bishop Koehn had been due to decide yesterday whether to sack the Rev Sunde or let her go back to her job as a priest despite church rules barring active homosexuals - defined as those living with a partner - from religious posts.
The Rev Sunde was suspended from her job earlier this year after she entered a legal gay marriage with her lesbian partner. Bishop Koehn has said that the Rev Sunde assured her at her ordination that she had no intention of entering a gay partnership.
The church, unlike other employers, is allowed to decide for itself whether to employ homosexuals.
Ms Grete Knudsen, a member of the opposition Labour party who heads the church affairs committee in parliament and favours wider rights for homosexuals, said she was disappointed by Bishop Koehn's decision.
"As I see it, this is not a solution, merely a further delay. I consider that Siri Sunde's case is a test of whether we really have an open, inclusive and tolerant church for the people."
Disputes over the Rev Sunde led to a storm in parliament last month after the Church Affairs Minister, Ms Jon Lilletun, of the Christian People's Party, said she should resign.
The Prime Minister, Mr Kjell Magne Bondevik, is also an ordained priest who wants more stress on morality - ranging from banning Sunday shop-opening to cutting alcohol consumption.
Norway is one of the few nations to allow same-sex marriages and recognises gay partnerships in terms of property ownership, tax, pensions, social benefits, inheritance and divorce. Under a 1993 law, they are barred from adopting children.