The first Church of England clergyman to enter into a same sex 'marriage', Jeremy Pemberton, is taking legal action against the CofE after he was blocked from officiating at services and taking a new job as a hospital chaplain.
Mr Pemberton, who currently works as an NHS chaplain in Lincolnshire, was told he could not work as a priest in Nottinghamshire following his "marriage" in April, just two months after the House of Bishops ruled that same-sex 'marriage' for clergy was contrary to the teaching of the Church of England.
The decision was taken by the Acting Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham, the Rt Revd Richard Inwood, who also refused to issue a licence for Mr Pemberton to work as hospital chaplain in Nottinghamshire.
Mr Pemberton is now in the process of taking legal action under the 2010 Equality Act against both Revd Inwood and the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu.
Commenting on the case, Andrew Marsh of Christian Concern said:
"Sadly Canon Pemberton has acted provocatively and defiantly. God is clear, the Bible is clear, the teaching of the Church of England is clear and the Bishops’ pastoral guidance is clear that entering a same-sex ‘marriage’ is incompatible with being a minister of the Church of England.
"The Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham is right to have taken action and Mr Pemberton surely cannot have expected that he could act in this way without consequence."
"The Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham is right to have taken action and Mr Pemberton surely cannot have expected that he could act in this deliberate way without consequence."
Watch Christian Concern's Andrew Marsh comment on the case on BBC Look North >
