JEFFREY JOHN, the gay cleric who stepped down from promotion to Bishop of Reading in the face of fierce opposition from convervatives, becomes Dean of St Albans today and still firmly believes that he is worthy of an episcopal seat.

Evangelicals will mark the installation at the historic abbey church with a statement expressing their “regret” that the appointment to dean should have gone ahead, with the worldwide Anglican Church facing schism over the issues of ordinations of homosexuals and same-sex blessings.

Dr John will be installed by the Bishop of St Albans, the Right Rev Christopher Herbert, in front of a congregation of 2,000 early this evening. He was persuaded by Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to stand down before his enthronement at Reading last summer over fears that it would split the Anglican Church and irrevocably damage relationships with other churches, in particular the Orthodox.

Protests against his latest appointment were voiced by the evangelical wing again, but they did not gather as much international support as last time.

A bishop’s post is more controversial than a dean’s because of the teaching responsibilities it carries. It is for this reason that Dr John still feels he merits an episcopal role. Sources close to him said last night: “He is glad to have the St Albans job but does not feel it makes best use of his talents. His job will be an administrative one, running the cathedral, when really he is a teacher and theologian.”

The disclosure that Dr John still harbours hopes of elevation to the episcopacy will confirm the fears of conservative evangelicals who are adamantly opposed to today’s installation but who fear there is determination among liberals to see homosexual clerics reach the top of the Church.

They oppose Dr John even though his relationship with his partner of 27 years, also an Anglican priest, is an abstinent one, in line with bishops’ guidelines published in 1991.

In a further development, it is also understood that his partner is to sell his home in southwest London and will be a “frequent visitor” to the Deanery at Sumpter Yard in St Albans. A source close to the gay cleric said: “There are issues around the acceptance of his partner. He is not countenanced in the deanery. He has to keep, at least on paper, another address. What he will do is move in with some friends in Banstead in Surrey, but in reality he will be a frequent visitor at the deanery.”

The source also said that Dr John was keen to develop his work in many areas and was determined not to be identified solely with the gay controversy. The source said: “While he stands by his writings, he is fed up with being identified as a single-issue cleric. He did not want to be the gay bishop of Reading, he wanted to be the good bishop. It is the same at St Albans. His ministry is far, far more than the advocacy of gay issues.”

The installation will not pass without dissent. Some parishes have decided to cut their “quota”, or parish payments, to central funds in protest. Anglican Mainstream, the international evangelical lobby group set up in response to Dr John’s appointment to Reading, and which went on to engineer his withdrawal, will this morning put out a strongly worded statement expressing its unhappiness at his appointment to St Albans.

The group has published guidelines on its website to all parishes on financial obligations and on how to withhold quota contributions if a parochial church council decides on it.

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