A serving bishop has openly called on the Church of England to welcome gay marriage in a letter announcing he has a terminal illness.
Rt Rev John Wraw, Bishop of Bradwell in Essex, said the Church's obsession with same sex relationships had 'severely weakened our contribution' to national life.
In a moving letter telling clergy his illness was terminal, the bishop, who has myeloma, called for blessings for gay couples to be immediately introduced.
Speaking on his condition, a form of cancer, he wrote: 'There is much that can still be done in terms of symptom control and pain relief, but little to keep the myeloma itself under control.'
He added: 'This is palliative care and not treatment,' saying he intends to keep on working.
Wraw used the opportunity to reflect on the state of the CofE, saying its attitude to gay couples meant it had failed to champion the 'fundamental and core values of commitment, fidelity, openness, trust, intimacy and indeed faithfulness, both within the Church and more widely in society'.
He admitted there were deep disagreements between the more liberal Anglican churches in America and Canada and the deeply conservative African provinces. But he said they had much more to agree on than disagree on.
'Unity in Christ is a fact, a command, a promise; not simply something we can opt in and out of as we pick and choose, he wrote. 'We need to live with our differences, not simply listening to those who see differently but offering true attentiveness.'
The Church's ruling General Synod refused to accept a bishops' report this month that kept the traditional line that marriage is between one man and one woman. The largely conservative report was criticised by those on the liberal wing for its tone, that they said depicted gay Christians as a problem rather than as members of the Church.
Although Wraw did not criticise his fellow bishops he said: 'There is still a lack of pastoral understanding and care shown in public pronouncements and a lack of venturesome and creative theological reflection on the nature of relationships and the place of marriage within that.
'More time does need to be given to a well-founded theology of relationship, friendship and marriage which I hope will lead in time to a full acceptance of same sex marriages in the Church of England.
'That will take time. However, that should not hold us back in the immediate from proper recognition through prayers, blessing, celebration and affirmation of all that is good and wholesome in a wide variety of relationships including stable, faithful, committed and God given same sex relationships.'
