A gay senior clergyman has accused church leaders of being homophobic after he was denied a bishop’s job

The Dean of St Albans, the Very Rev Jeffrey John, was rejected as the bishop of Llandaff earlier this month.

He claims that he was told that bishops considering his appointment were “just too exhausted” to deal with the problems his appointment might cause.

A replacement for Dr Barry Morgan, the former bishop of Llandaff, will now be chosen by a panel of bishops. Mr John won more than half of the votes in the electoral college, but failed to secure the necessary two-thirds majority.

He wrote to the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, the Rt Rev John Davies – currently the Welsh church’s most senior bishop - and said several homophobic remarks had been made at the electoral college meeting.

He said: “The only arguments adduced against my appointment - in particular by two of the bishops - were directly related to my homosexuality and/or civil partnership - namely that my appointment would bring unwelcome and unsettling publicity to the diocese.

"I put it to you that this is not a moral or legal basis on which to exclude me.”

In 2003, Mr John was nominated as bishop of Reading but was asked by the archbishop of Canterbury to stand down after a number of traditionalists threatened to leave the Church of England.

Mr John entered a civil partnership with Grant Holmes, a Church of England clergyman, in 2006. In Wales, the Church allows clergy to be in same-sex relationships and civil partnerships and does not insist on celibacy.

A statement released by St Albans Cathedral yesterday morning, said: "Dean Jeffrey is a highly respected and much loved leader of our flourishing and inclusive cathedral, the oldest site of Christian worship in Britain.

"We are aware that Jeffrey has been under consideration for the position of Bishop of Llandaff.

"The fact that it appears Jeffrey's sexuality and civil partnership have been used against him in the selection process is wholly wrong and it is only right that the bishops in Wales review the process before making an appointment.

"Our prayers are with the people of the Diocese of Llandaff, the bishops in Wales and with Jeffrey."

The Church in Wales has “strongly denied” the accusations.