A SERVING bishop in the Church of England is to disclose his homosexual lifestyle in an autobiography to be published on his retirement.

He will criticise the church’s “hypocrisy” for forcing him to conceal his sexuality to protect his career, even though he believes his homosexuality has “fired” his ministry.

The bishop claims some of the greatest Anglican pastors were gay — and confirms that at least seven of the present 113 Church of England bishops are either gay or bisexual.

The disclosures will inflame the row within the church on the eve of a critical summit of the world’s Anglican primates called by Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, to try to resolve the crisis about homosexuality.

It follows the controversy over the election of the first openly gay priest as a bishop in America and the debacle about the failure to carry through the appointment of Jeffrey John, a self-confessed celibate gay priest, as Bishop of Reading.

Although the Church of England accepts gay priests, it bans them from any sexual activity. However, such is the taboo that no priest who is open about his homosexuality — even if celibate — has been promoted to a senior post.

Yesterday the bishop said he was not prepared to be named for fear of “derailing” his present work as the result of any ensuing publicity. “I don’t think you need to tell everybody what you do in bed, any more than you would expect a heterosexual to, but I think you should be able to say to someone, ‘This is my partner, this is my friend’, without sniggers or black marks against you.

“It should be possible to walk with integrity in society. We are a mixture of heterosexuality and homosexuality. I don’t think people should be forced into boxes. When I write I shall try not to even use the word homosexual. I want to talk about friendships in my life that have meant the most to me, those people in my life who have been close to me and most intimate.”

The bishop, who has a commission with a leading publisher for the book, criticised the culture that has led to so much secrecy and hypocrisy within the Anglican Church: “A judgmental fundamentalist culture breeds hypocrisy and fear.”

Because of the need for secrecy, a whole subculture has grown up around gay priests. Many belong to private supper clubs where they know each other by women’s names. Even though the use of such names is said to have originated in one theological college, the practice has spread further with senior clergy having nicknames such as “Walsingham Matilda” (who is not part of the Norwich diocese), “the Madre” and “Jennifer”.

Attempts to “out” gay bishops have been mounted by the gay rights group OutRage!, led by Peter Tatchell. However, the bishop said: “The presence of gay clergy, both bishops and parish priests, has been a fact of life in all churches at all times, throughout the whole history of the church.”

Speaking of his own life in holy orders, he said: “My sexuality has fired my ministry. One’s sexuality does fire one’s spirituality. Some of the finest priests were homosexual. The saintly Edward King (Bishop of Lincoln), according to the book by Lord Elton, was homosexual.

“I would say the same of Eric Abbott (Dean of Westminster, 1959-74). These great pastors in Anglican history found a way through of integrity which incorporated their sexuality into their spirituality. It gave them that extra something.”

At the Anglican summit this week, Williams will acknowledge that the warring factions will never agree on the issue of gay priests. Instead, he will argue that the debate should focus on whether the primates opposed to homosexuality in the church still want to retain an Anglican communion.

Additional reporting: Sarah Keenlyside

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