UK’s First Openly Gay Archbishop Says Same-Sex Church Marriages Are Inevitable
The UK’s first openly gay archbishop, the Most Rev. Cherry Vann, says gay marriage in the Anglican church is “inevitable.” Vann, 66, reflects on hiding her sexuality and her journey as a female priest.
The Most Rev. Cherry Vann, newly appointed Archbishop of Wales, has stated that same-sex marriage in the church is “inevitable.” At 66, Vann has become the first female and openly gay archbishop in the UK and the first partnered lesbian bishop to serve as a primate in the global Anglican communion.
In an interview with The Guardian, Vann opened up about the decades she spent keeping her sexuality hidden while trying to be accepted as a female minister within the Anglican Church.
“I wouldn’t have survived if I hadn’t believed that God had called me to this,” she said. “It happens that I’ve lived in a time that’s meant I’m a trailblazer, but I’m not a campaigner. I just try to be true to what I think God’s asking of me.”
Vann, who was born in Leicestershire, was one of the first women ordained as a priest in the Church of England in 1994. She has been serving in the Church in Wales since 2020, where clergy are allowed to be in same-sex civil partnerships a contrast to the Church of England’s current position on same-sex relationships.
She acknowledged that working in Wales has offered a more inclusive environment, while also highlighting the cultural shift underway within the wider Anglican communion.
Despite her groundbreaking role, Vann says she is not focused on activism but rather on quietly honoring her calling and creating space for future generations of clergy regardless of gender or sexual orientation.
Her comments arrive during a time of growing debate and division within global Anglicanism over LGBTQ+ inclusion, particularly around marriage equality. Yet, Vann remains hopeful and confident in the church’s evolution: “Gay marriage in the church is inevitable,” she said.
