Jeremy Pemberton (priest)

The Reverend Canon Jeremy Pemberton
Occupation	Canon (priest)
Known for	First male Anglican priest to marry another man Blocked chaplaincy due to Bishop opposition to his marriage Failed legal case against the CofE
Spouse	Laurence Cunnington
Ecclesiastical career
Religion	Christianity
Church	Church of England
Academic background
Alma mater	University of Oxford

The Reverend Canon Jeremy Pemberton was the first priest within the Church of England to enter into a marriage with a person of the same gender in 2014.

As a result of his marriage, he was denied a job as a chaplain for the National Health Service when a Bishop refused permission. This dismissal has been upheld by the British courts on appeal.

Journey to priesthood

After graduating from the University of Oxford, he was ordained as a priest while still in his mid-twenties, an exceptionally young age. By 2005, after serving in several posts and devoting years to working in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Pemberton was made an honorary canon. His then-Bishop advised Pemberton to consider a future as a Dean, Archdeacon, or Bishop. He also became a canon of Ely as well as Boga in the DRC.

Marriage

Pemberton met Cunnington on a website for gay fathers in 2008; both had been previously married to women for several decades.

Background

The Equality Act 2010 prevents discrimination based on protected characteristics in the Act, which includes the LGBT community. However, the Church of England and other religious groups are allowed to bar LGBT people from jobs if they're sexually active or in civil partnerships.

Same-sex marriage in England and Wales began in late March 2014, when the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 came into force. In April 2014, Pemberton married his partner Laurence Cunnington despite an official ban from the Church of England. The House of Bishops said in February 2014 that "it would not be appropriate conduct for someone in holy orders to enter into a same-sex marriage", instead allowing for civil partnerships between members of the same gender, within a celibate relationship. The Act exempts the church from performing same-sex ceremonies – and canon law, which defines marriage as between one man and one woman, is protected. These excemptions came following extensive lobbying by conservative Anglicans.

Chaplaincy move and legal action

In 2014, Pemberton lived in Southwell and sang in Southwell Minster. He had a job as a hospital chaplain in the diocese of Lincoln, but sought work closer to home (King's Mill Hospital in Mansfield). Pemberton spoke to the Bishop of Lincoln (Rt Rev Christopher Lowson) prior to his move, and he no initial objections; however, after the wedding, Lowson sent Pemberton a written rebuke which arrived during the couple's honeymoon.

The Archbishop of York John Sentamu (whose ecclesiastical jurisdiction included Southwell), a noted opponent of same-sex marriage, opposed Pemberton's move. Following consultation with Sentamu, Bishop Richard Inwood refused Pemberton permission to officiate (PTO) in the diocese of Southwell and Nottingham. The PTO is only rarely invoked, usually only when the law is broken.

In response, Pemberton threatened legal action against the Church. He approached an ecclesiastical barrister, Justin Gau and two further barristers, Sean Jones QC, an employment specialist, and Helen Trotter, an equalities expert – all of whom offered their services pro bono. The Church of England unusually hired Herbert Smith Freehills, a top international law firm which is known for sponsoring LGBT charity events.

The tribunal included a registrar of the London diocese, a "top London solicitor who was there apparently to take notes for the Archbishop of Canterbury", a legal secretary from the General Synod, also there to take notes, and a representative from the legal division of the pensions board, as well as all the barristers and solicitors from both sides. Pemberton was cross-examined for seven hours. Tom Linden QC called Pemberton "an errant priest", "not in good standing" and "disingenuous". When Pemberton began to cry over the revocation of his PTO, Linden said "Crying isn't necessarily fair to the respondent". Malcolm Brown, director of mission and public affairs for the Archbishops' Council, argued that Pemberton should refer to his marriage as a "civil partnership max", to which Pemberton's solicitor sarcastically suggested the term "morriage" be used.

If Pemberton won the case, the exemptions from same-sex marriage and equality laws (as defined by the Equality Act 2010) which the Church was afforded in law may well have been rolled back; however, the Tribunal upheld the Church's position, saying "The claimant knowingly entered into that marriage and knew what the potential consequences could be for him. ... In getting married to his partner, he was flying in the face of the clear restating of doctrine in relation to same-sex marriage". This was criticised by the LGBT rights activist Peter Tatchell, who said: "This decision sets three dangerous precedents: that the Church of England is exempt from the laws prohibiting workplace discrimination; that it is entitled to discriminate against gay clergy who have been lawfully married in a civil ceremony; and that it can legally dictate to non-religious institutions, such as the NHS, who they can employ. This contradicts the principles of the Equality Act 2010. It gives a green light to Bishops across Britain to witch-hunt married gay clergy." The LGBT rights charity Stonewall also criticised the decision.

Pemberton appealed the decision, but Employment Appeal Tribunal dismissed his appeal in 2016. The Court of Appeal also dismissed his case in 2018; Pemberton reached an agreement with the Church not to pursue his claim further and the Church would not apply for costs to be awarded against him.

Precisely five years after his marriage, Equal, the Campaign for Equal Marriage in the Church of England, was founded to end bans on same-sex marriages in Church parishes and to allow vicars to marry individuals of the same gender.