The Church of England bishop who nominated a gay clergyman to be the next bishop of Reading faced a rebellion from his own clergy yesterday.
A group of 80 clergy and 20 leading laity from the diocese of Oxford said they were seeking a meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury to plead with him to intervene to stop the appointment taking place.
If it went ahead, they would regard the leadership of the diocese as "separating themselves" from the Church of England, Dr Philip Giddings, a lay minister speaking on behalf of opponents of the appointment, told reporters at a news conference at Church House in Oxford.
However, the Bishop of Oxford, the Right Rev Richard Harries, responded immediately by saying he stood by his choice of Canon Jeffrey John for the Reading post.
Dr Giddings, a licensed lay minister at Greyfriars Church, Reading, said the evangelical clergy, including the leaders of most of the largest churches in the diocese, had written privately to the Bishop of Oxford to express their "dismay" over the appointment.
He said: "Our representatives have met twice with the Bishop of Oxford. We have pleaded with him to do all in his power to intervene so that the appointment does not take place," he said.
"We are now seeking a meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury to express the same plea."
He said they opposed the nomination because it went against the "plain meaning of scripture", 2,000 years of Christian tradition and the "divinely created order and gift of marriage".
Dr John also issued a lengthy, written statement in which he said he wanted to alleviate the "dismay" over his appointment.
He said his now-celibate relationship with another man was a "gift" from God and would continue, but he pledged not to be a "maverick".
Bishop Harries came out on to the lawn of Church House to repeat his support for Dr John. "The meeting with a number of leading evangelical clergy from the diocese of Oxford was conducted with a very great courtesy and truthfulness," he said.
"Obviously I am sad that the nomination of Jeffrey John as Bishop of Reading has proved divisive but I respect that those who oppose this nomination are acting on the basis of serious principle.
"In my judgment, he has the gifts, the very best gifts, real gifts needed to be the next Bishop of Reading." - (PA)