The Church of Ireland Dean of Clonmacnoise and rector of Trim, the Very Rev Andrew Furlong, has said he will not be changing his unconventional views on Christianity.
Dean Furlong has denied the divinity of Jesus and the validity of Christmas.
His authority as priest has been withdrawn for three months by the Bishop of Meath and Kildare, the Most Rev Richard Clarke, until March next.
This, according to a statement from the bishop, is "to facilitate a period of quiet during which the Dean may reflect on his statements".
Dean Furlong said last night that he had held his views for 30 years, during which time he has had to deal with the question of his integrity as a priest, but even now having gone public on his lack of belief in Jesus as saviour he continued to wonder whether there might not be a place in the church for people such as himself.
He pointed out that 70 years ago if the Church's current position allowing women priests or birth control, had been proposed by such as he, it would have been described as "unbiblical" and he would have been suspended then too.
The wisdom and experience of the church indicated its need for reformers and for keeping the fiercest critics within.
He noted that there were many with his views among the clergy and laity of the Church of England and who were accommodated within that Church. This was "part of the history of the Church reform".
There was a place in the Church of Ireland for people such as himself, "though my day may not yet have come".
Christmas, he said, was a time for giving presents and it was the traditional, mainstream Church view that it was at this time God gave us "this wonderful package - Jesus, saviour of the world and the answer to all human needs." He does not believe this. He believed Jesus had his place in history and that it was time for the pilgrim church to move on.
Reflecting on the words in John's gospel that "God so loved the world he gave his only Son," he felt they "encapsulated both what I believe and don't believe".
"I believe God is a God of infinite love and that human beings are of sacred and ultimate worth, but I don't believe Jesus is his son or that he is divine or saviour," he said.
"He was a remarkable and wonderful member of the ancient community of Israel and he and his contemporaries would not have believed it possible for God to become human."
"So I share two things with Jesus Christ; I believe in his God and, like him, I do not believe in the incarnation of his God," he said.
He agreed that certain parts of the New Testament, in particular sections in John's gospel, suggested that Jesus was conscious of being divine, but felt these words were attributed to Jesus.
Jesus, he believed, was "a self-effacing man who pointed people to God".
He agreed many would see his views as "a betrayal of the heart of the Christian gospel" but in England "lots and lots" of clergy and lay people thought similarly and it was felt there it would be a great loss to the Church if they were to leave.
He continues to live at the rectory in Trim and to draw his usual salary from the Church of Ireland, and will do so at least until his position within the church is reviewed on March 4th.
His statements are available at http://www.cathedral.meath.anglican.org/dean.html or at
http://www.trim.meath.anglican.org/dean.htm.
They may also be accessed at http://www.anglicansonline.org/resources/theological.html