When Cherry Vann was added to a Whatsapp chat, some of her more orthodox colleagues were ‘dismayed and horrified’ a gay bishop had been appointed to lead Church in Wales
Cherry Vann has been chosen as the 15th Archbishop of Wales (Image: Church in Wales)
One of the largest Anglican provinces in the world has severed its ties with its Welsh counterparts – all because the new Archbishop of Wales is gay. Cherry Vann, the Bishop of Monmouth for the past five years, was chosen as the 15th Archbishop of Wales at the end of July.
Originally from Leicestershire, Archbishop Cherry Vann was elected as the the leader of the Church in Wales with a two-thirds majority and will be enthroned at Newport Cathedral in due course, she has pledged to bring “healing and reconciliation”.
Yet already, she has also come into conflict with colleagues from more orthodox countries. The day after she was elected, Vann was added to a WhatsApp group containing every Anglican chief in the world.In an interview with The Sunday Times, she said two immediately criticised her appointment to their ranks.
“They were dismayed and horrified,” she says. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here.
The Church of Nigeria, one of the largest Anglican provinces in the world, said it would sever ties with the Church in Wales. Henry Ndukuba, the Archbishop of Nigeria, said: “We do not recognise the so-called Archbishop of Wales and cannot share communion with a church that has departed from the teachings of the Bible.”
The chairman of Gafcon, an influential conservative group of archbishops and bishops, called her election an “act of apostasy”.
Other Christian groups and publications have also criticised her appointments. She told the journalist interviewing her that on the morning they were meeting she received a letter through the post calling her “an abomination”.
But she said it didn’t impact her faith, although it was “hurtful”. “I just rest in the fact that a lot of people are rejoicing, and I know where God wants me to be”.
In the interview, the new Archbishop of Wales criticised the institution she is part of, a “number of times”, the author says with Bishop Vann saying the institution is “full of human beings who are flawed and failing”
“I think the church can so often get in the way of God,” the 66-year-old said.
She was ordained into the Church of England in 1994, and was one of the first female priests, before spending 11 years as Archdeacon of Rochdale in Manchester.
But she said she knew because she was gay, she knew her career wouldn’t last in England. The Church in Wales has different rules to the Church of England, gay clergy in England are permitted to enter into civil partnerships only if they remain celibate.
So, for almost 30 years, she had kept her relationship with Wendy Diamond, a retired council employee, secret with her partner “hiding upstairs” when visitors came to see them.
“It was an appalling state of affairs,” says Vann. “It felt as though I was being dishonest but I didn’t feel at the time that I had any choice. I was living in fear.”
When she became Bishop of Monmouth, she said she finally felt comfortable enough to be open about her sexuality.
“When we first came to Wales we had a party,” the new archbishop of Wales told The Times. “We invited guests to my home and for the first time Wendy was able to come to the front door with me and welcome people as my partner. That, for her and for me, signalled what a massive change it meant being here.”
She has taken over after the resignation of Bishop Andy John, in the wake of two reports, commissioned by the Church in Wales over concerns about the culture surrounding the Bangor Diocese.
Bishop Vann said: “I don’t think there’s something rotten in the clergy themselves,” says Vann, “but the church has a culture of wanting to protect its own. It’s a shocking thing to say but perpetrators have been protected and the survivors have been left to flounder”.