An openly gay bishop could become the third-highest ranking cleric in the Church of England.

Dr. Jeffrey John, Dean of St. Albans, is being considered for the role of Bishop of Durham, a position previously held by the now-leader of the Anglican Church Archbishop of Canterbury Rev. Justin Welby.

According to British newspaper The Telegraph, the panel responsible for appointing the next Bishop of Durham was told on Friday (26 April) that the new appointee should be able to establish ‘positive relationships’ with gay Anglicans.

New Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby admits gay relationships have value but won’t shift on same-sex marriage, activist Peter Tatchell has said after meeting with him.

Tatchell urged Welby to reconsider gay marriage equality, apologize for past church persecution of LGBT people and engage with activists in Africa where parts of the Anglican church are leading a wave of homophobic hate.

But Tatchell emerged from meeting Archbishop Welby this afternoon (18 April) with an agreement to further dialogue as the biggest concession he could secure.

The former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, had an article published in the Daily Mail in which he essentially said Christians are being marginalized and persecuted because they weren’t able to marginalized and persecute the LGBT community.

Lord Carey says gay marriage is an example of PM David Cameron’s ‘aggressive secularisation’.

In an article written for British newspaper The Daily Mail, the former Bishop of Canterbury, who has previously said that gay marriage will lead to polygamy and could turn Britain into Nazi Germany, went on to liken the PM’s religious persecution to the government’s support of same-sex marriage.

The new Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, was inspired to join the clergy by an anti-gay American pastor, The Times has claimed.

The British newspaper says the head of the world’s Anglican Christians took holy orders after hearing California Pastor John McClure speak in London.

McClure is a vocal opponent to gay marriage and abortion. He also believes the Apocalypse has started, that the ‘new Babylon’ is on America’s East Coast and will burn in an hour and that the world will end in the first half of this century.

The new Archbishop of Canterbury is set to use his first official day in office to attack gay marriage.

Right Reverend Justin Welby will be formally confirmed as head of the Church of England at a ceremony in St Paul’s Cathedral today (4 February).

But a source has told the Daily Telegraph he will step in to the battle over marriage equality, ahead of tomorrow’s vote in the UK parliament on extending marriage to same-sex couples in England and Wales.

The head of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM) has said new Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby’s plan to attack same-sex marriage as ‘absolutely horrific’.

Reverend Sharon Ferguson of the LGCM told Gay Star News that Welby shouldn’t use his first day in the job to attack gay and lesbian couples but should be trying to welcome them back into the Church of England he now heads.

Welby is being formally confirmed in his new job today (4 February) at a service in St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

It is thought that Justin Welby, an opponent of same-sex marriage and gay bishops ordination, will be named tomorrow (9 November) as the new Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Anglican Church.

According to reports by AFP, the Crown Nominations Commission put his name forward to the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, who is expected to formally name Welby as the next Archbishop of Canterbury tomorrow.

The former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, claims Britain will become like Nazi Germany if it goes ahead and legalizes gay marriage.

Lord Carey made the outrageous comments while addressing a 1,000 strong rally  against same-sex marriage in Birmingham today (8 October).

During the event to coincide with this week's Conservative Party conference, he warned that Christians who dared to speak out against the government's equal marriage reforms could face persecution similar to the Jews under the Third Reich.

In one of his last interviews as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams has admitted he did not do enough to prevent divisions within the Anglican Church over homosexuality.

Williams, who will be stepping down as the head of the Church of England in December, has said the church was wrong for its past treatment of gay people.

A leading member of the Church of England who believes gays can be counselled to change or repress their sexual desire is helping select the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

Glynn Harrison, professor of psychiatry at Bristol University, is on the 16 member panel to choose a successor to Dr Rowan Williams who will step down from his position in December.

Harrison was chosen to be a member of the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC), and has triggered alarms among liberal Anglicans who fear it could deepen divisions within the church.

Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams will step down from his position as the head of the Anglican church in December.

The 61-year-old church leader, who in 2010 came close to splitting over the ordination of gay clergy and women bishops, has said in a statement on his website that standing down was not an easy decision.

Williams was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 2002 and will take the position of Master of Magdalene College at Cambridge University in January.