A gay man was rejected for a post as a youth worker because of his sexual lifestyle, not his sexual orientation, a Church of England bishop told an employment tribunal yesterday.

The Right Rev Anthony Priddis, the Bishop of Hereford, said that John Reaney did not get the job because he had admitted having had sex outside marriage.

The Bishop denied unlawfully discriminating against Mr Reaney, saying that he had been complying with the teachings of the Church.

He said that he told Mr Reaney that any person in a sexual relationship outside marriage, whether they were heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or transgender, would have been rejected for the post.

“Such sexuality in itself was not an issue, but Mr Reaney’s lifestyle had the potential to impact on the spiritual, moral and ethical leadership within the diocese,” he said yesterday.

He added that his views on sex outside marriage were backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the General Synod, the national assembly of the Church of England, and the Lambeth Conference.

Mr Reaney, 41, from Llandud-no, North Wales, claims that being openly gay cost him the job. His claim for unlawful discrimination against the Hereford Diocesan Board of Finance is being backed by the gay rights group Stonewall.

Under equality legislation introduced in 2003, it is illegal to discriminate against people because of their sexual orientation, although organised religions were given exemptions. The hearing is believed to be the first test case of how it applies to the Church of England.

The tribunal in Cardiff was told that Mr Reaney had been offered the job last July after an interview before a panel of eight. The Bishop, 59, was told that he had indicated on his form that he was homosexual.

Mr Reaney was called in for a discussion, during which it emerged that he had recently ended a five-year homosexual relationship.

The Bishop said that, although Mr Reaney undertook not to start a new gay relationship, he felt that he was not emotionally in a position to be making such a promise.

He told the tribunal: “The end of a five-year relationship leads to a lot of grieving and it can take much time for someone to recover. It would not have been right for me to take an undertaking of his head that his heart could not keep. It remains my judgment that Mr Reaney had not met the standards required. It was not a risk I was prepared to take.”

He said that Mr Reaney did not seem overwrought, humiliated or distressed when he was told that his application was being turned down.

The tribunal was told that the job was not offered to anyone else. Bishop Priddis said that, because of the diocese’s limited finances, even if Mr Reaney had been appointed he might have been made redundant “sooner rather than later”.

The Bishop denied that he had breached the diocese’s equal opportunities policy. He said: “The Church’s teaching draws distinction between sexual orientation and practice and lifestyle. We didn’t discriminate against Mr Reaney on the grounds of sexuality. Had we done so we wouldn’t have called him for an interview.

“What is at issue is the lifestyle, practice and sexual behaviour, whether the applicant is homosexual, heterosexual or transsexual.”

The Bishop added that his diocese had ordained a transsexual woman as a priest. In September 2005 Sarah Jones, who was a man for 29 years, was described by Bishop Priddis as a “superb candidate” for the post.

The hearing continues.