The first female archbishop in the United Kingdom has responded to critics who have condemned her lesbian lifestyle by claiming God never told her not to be gay.
The Most Rev. Cherry Vann, 66, whose election last month as the 15th archbishop of Wales has led some conservatives to warn of apostasy in the Anglican Communion, told Premier Christian News she always believed she was gay and “never heard God say to me, who you are is wrong, who you love is wrong, you are living in sin.”
“I have never heard that from God, and that’s all I can say,” added Vann, who lives with her civil partner, Wendy, and their two dogs.
Church teachings, she argued, are subject to change throughout history, and that modern views are coming to understand a more loving view of God regarding sexuality.
“Christians hold different views on all manner of subjects: divorce, remarriage, abortion, assisted dying, to name but a few,” she said. “I mean, we are not all of one mind on most things. And you know, the Church changes its position. It learns a broader understanding of God’s love. There is not one view on this matter, even [among] theologians and Christians.”
She believes that the biblical strictures on sexuality, traditionally understood to prohibit all homosexual relationships, applied only to abusive relationships.
“My understanding is that the kinds of relationships that the Bible talks about are purely sexual for sexual gratification. They are abusive. They are not talking, in my view, about long-term loving relationships that I and many other LGBT+ people enjoy.”
“I cannot see how loving somebody as I love my partner could be wrong,” she added.
Vann’s appointment has drawn criticism from conservative Anglican groups such as the Anglican Church of Nigeria, which broke ties with the Church of Wales earlier this month over the issue.
The Most Rev. Henry Ndukuba, who serves as primate of the Church of Nigeria, told delegates at the opening of the 14th Church of Nigeria Conference of Chancellors, Registrars and Legal Officers that his province rejected Vann’s election, which he described as an “an abomination” and grievous departure from the Bible.
Ndukuba’s characterization echoed that of the Most Rev. Laurent Mbanda, who serves as chairman of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (GAFCON) Primates Council.
In a scathing Aug. 1 statement, Mbanda described Vann’s appointment as “an act of apostasy” and “another painful nail in the coffin of Anglican orthodoxy” that merits sundering ties. He cited the warning in Romans 1:26: “Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.”
“We must stand again against the relentless pressure of Anglican revisionists who blatantly impose their immorality upon Christ’s precious church,” he wrote.
Vann acknowledged the increasing tension within the Anglican Communion her election has caused, telling Premier that she hopes conservative Anglicans do not feel called to leave the denomination, which she said is hopefully becoming “more inclusive and more diverse.”
“It’s the beginning of a conversation, a relationship, hopefully, of mutual respect, where we’re not trying to change each other’s minds, but we recognize that we’re all children of God, and God calls us to love one another as Jesus loves each one of us,” she said.
She also hopes the Anglican Church becomes one that “reflects the nature of God as we see it in Jesus Christ, open, transparent, honest, accountable, so that when people look at us, they see the good news of the gospel, not the bad news of human failing.”
“I am the person for this moment. I know that I’m where God wants me to be, and that’s all that matters,” she said.
Vann, who served the bishop of Monmouth, was chosen by an electoral college composed of clergy and lay members to lead the Church of Wales, which became an independent part of the Anglican Communion in 1920.
Vann replaced the Rt. Rev. Andrew John, who resigned in June after only three-and-a-half years in office. Though he was not directly implicated, his departure followed the release of a safeguarding review at Bangor Cathedral that found evidence of a culture involving sexual misconduct, bullying, blurred sexual boundaries and excessive drinking.
The office of the archbishop of Canterbury, which the English monarch appoints, has remained vacant since January, when the Rt. Rev. Justin Welby stepped down following an inquiry that found that he failed to promptly alert police about serial abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps.
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to jon.brown@christianpost.com
