I'd do it all again says vicar after gay church 'wedding'

The rector of one of London's finest churches who "married" two gay men said today that he would do the same again - despite possibly facing the sack.

The Rev Martin Dudley of St Bartholomew the Great in Smithfield conducted the blessing for two other clergy - the Rev Peter Cowell and the Rev David Lord - after the couple had registered their civil partnership.

The blessing on 31 May had all the accoutrements of a traditional wedding with words from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, rings, vows and St Paul's first letter to the Corinthians.

The Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, has ordered an urgent inquiry into the blessing and said last night: "Services of public blessings for civil partnerships are not authorised in the Church of England or the Diocese of London.

"I will be asking the Archdeacon of London to investigate what took place."

If the Archdeacon's inquiry finds against him, Mr Dudley - whose church was founded in 1123 and featured in Four Weddings And A Funeral - could face anything from a reprimand to dismissal.

But the priest insisted today that he had done nothing wrong and that he was not concerned for his job. "It went against the guidelines but I happen to disagree with the guidelines," he said. "We weren't making a statement. It was because a friend asked me to do it."

The priest, who is married with two children, added: "I believe marriage can only be between a man and a woman, but I do not see anything wrong with blessing gay couples. I disagree with the guidelines because there are a lot of gay people, both male and female, in the church, and a lot of gay clergy.

"It seems to me that Jesus would have been sitting in the congregation."

Mr Dudley is a friend of the 50-year-old Mr Cowell, chaplain of St Bartholomew's hospital, who met his partner when Dr Lord was working as a medic at the hospital.

Dr Lord, from New Zealand, was ordained last December but has now quit as a priest after the furore surrounding his "wedding".

The ceremony is likely to form the focus for next month's Lambeth Conference - a 10-yearly gathering of Anglican leaders. Canon Chris Sugden of conservative breakaway group, Gafcon, said: "The timing appears deliberate."

It also emerged that Mr Dudley, 54, had officiated at the second marriage of a woman he had had an affair with while she was married to her first husband. He married Penny Cadle and Paul Crane four years ago. His parishioners gave a mixed response yesterday. Chorister Phillipa Murray said: "I was singing at the service. It was a very beautiful occasion but I'm not sure about gay couples getting married in church."