First Anglican same-sex marriage in UK takes place in Scotland

The first same-sex wedding in an Anglican church in the UK has taken place in Edinburgh.

Peter Matthews and Alistair Dinnie were married at St John's in Edinburgh, part of the Scottish Episcopal Church.

The ceremony took place shortly before next week's Primates' meeting in Canterbury, when the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is attempting to heal divisions over sexuality with a gathering of Anglican archbishops from around the world.

Some conservatives are boycotting the meeting over the issue because they say the 'consequences' applied to liberal provinces on the gay issue after the last meeting have not been maintained. 

Last year, Dinnie was commissioned as the Scottish Episcopal Church delegate to the Anglican Consultative Council in Lusaka. 

Dinnie's marriage to Matthews was possible because the Scottish Episcopal Church voted at its last general synod meeting in June to amend canon law and allow same-sex marriage.

A spokesman for Gafcon told Christian Today: 'Mr Alistair Dinnie made his position on same-sex marriage well known prior to attending ACC-16 in Lusaka, Zambia, and is one of the revisionists whom The Episcopal Church voted onto the Standing Committee. It is tragic that the President of the Anglican Consultative Council, Archbishop Justin Welby, allowed this nomination and election to move forward, but this is symptomatic of the ecclesial deficit in the Anglican Communion, and a situation that the Primates will need to address.'

Rev Markus Dunzkofer, Rector of St John's, told The Times: 'I have blessed marriages in other Anglican provinces and always had to stop short of the vows. It is the first gay wedding to be held in a church in the UK. It felt like something was cut off, like something wasn't right.

'Finally being able to do the whole thing felt like the fulfilment of where the Spirit had been telling us to get to. It completely made sense, it all came together.'

An Anglican Communion spokesman declined to comment.