The Archbishop of Wales, Cherry Vann. (Photo: Church in Wales)
The first openly gay Archbishop of Wales says her appointment has caused some people to leave the Church in Wales.
Speaking to BBC Wales, Archbishop Cherry Vann, who is in a same-sex civil partnership, said their departure was something she took “very seriously”.
“There are still patches all over the place where people continue to struggle with women in leadership and I have to respect that,” she said.
“The Church in Wales is working hard to welcome LGBT+ people, but also I respect that there are people in the Church in Wales who find that really difficult.
“Some, sadly, have felt the need to leave and I take that very seriously.”
Archbishop Vann also became the first openly gay Archbishop in the UK and worldwide Anglican Communion when she succeeded Andrew John in the summer.
Her appointed prompted outcry from traditionalist Anglicans around the world, with the Gafcon movement saying that her appointment “shatters” the Anglican Communion and was “another painful nail in the coffin of Anglican orthodoxy”.
Gafcon chairman, Archbishop Laurent Mbanda, said at the time that it stood ready to be “a safe refuge for the faithful in the Church in Wales who in good conscience must now leave”.
“We must confront serious error that compromises God’s glorious and authoritative word on human sexuality,” he said,
“We must speak up and take a stand.
“As we met to reform and renew the Anglican Communion in 2008, Gafcon delivered the Jerusalem Statement which outlined the true heart of Anglican orthodoxy.
“We took a stand about the truth of God’s word, and we continue to stand in fellowship with the majority of the world’s Anglicans who grieve this rejection of God’s voice.
“We must stand again against the relentless pressure of Anglican revisionists who blatantly impose their immorality upon Christ’s precious church.
“And we stand with our Anglican brothers and sisters in Wales who are dismayed and disheartened by this act of apostasy.”
Vann, who is also Bishop of Monmouth, told BBC Wales that most people were supportive of her election but some were “quite hostile”.
She said that she did not want to “shut down” or silence people who disagreed with her appointment, even if their attitudes were “very hurtful”.
“It’s hard to hear some of the things that people say, but I think it’s important that there is the space for them to say that,” she said.
“I don’t want people to feel shut down or silenced just because I hold a different view.”
