TWO GAY clergymen were appointed bishops in the Church of England in the 1990s without encountering objections, it has emerged.

The appointments were confirmed by senior church sources last week as they tried to quell the row over the appointment of Canon Jeffrey John as Bishop of Reading.

Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, is understood to be perturbed by the double standards and has told aides he is committed to ordaining John. Williams is said to be “steeled” for a confrontation with the church’s evangelicals.

One aide said: “This is an appointment endorsed by the archbishop, approved by Downing Street and commanded by the Queen. The archbishop would have to resign if he did not ordain John.”

Church sources said last week that gays held positions throughout its hierarchy, including the two bishops ordained in the 1990s. Williams wanted a reasoned debate on the issue, they said. He sympathises with liberal elements of the church who are angered that many churchmen are forced to conceal their sexuality.

It is understood that Williams believes the church’s policy on gays, outlined in a 1991 document, is “fundamentally flawed”. The row over John’s appointment will be used as an opportunity to debate the policy.

His ordination is due to be conducted by Williams at Westminster Abbey on October 9 and could prove to be highly embarrassing. As part of the ceremony Williams must ask the congregation: “Is it your will that he (John) should be ordained?” The congregation must answer: “It is.”

Tony Sadler, the archbishop’s appointments secretary who shortlisted John for appointment by the Bishop of Oxford, said: “We are not in the business of discriminating on grounds of sexual orientation.”

Sadler, one of the archbishop’s most senior aides, has not previously spoken about the furore and his comments will cause fresh anger among evangelicals.

Debate is likely to focus on the church’s 1991 document Issues in Human Sexuality. David Jenkins, the former Bishop of Durham who helped write it, admitted last week that the policy was flawed.

“It was obviously a fudge, but we got away with it, and that’s often how things are kept together,” he said.

The problem for the church is how to reassess the policy without causing the break-up of the Anglican communion. Peter Akinola, leader of the Anglican Church in Nigeria, has threatened to split from the church over John’s appointment.

In Britain, dozens of clerics and lay readers have said they may break from the Oxford diocese if John’s appointment is not rescinded. Nine bishops in England have signed an open letter condemning the appointment but eight bishops have voiced support for John.

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