A Nigerian gay priest in the Church of England, Jide Macaulay, wants the church to allow him marry his partner who is also a Nigerian.
The Church allows Macaulay to be openly gay but won’t sanction marriage between him and his partner though they can live in a celibate relationship.
Macaulay risks losing his job in the Church if he forces marriage to his gay partner.
In a BBC documentary ‘Too Gay for God?’ Macaulay said: “To me, that is a great disservice and discrimination against same-gender-loving individuals.”
The cleric’s partner lives in Nigeria which in 2014 proscribed same-sex marriage, the same year it became legal in Great Britain.
On his arrival in the United Kingdom at age 20, Macaulay joined Celestial Church of Christ where he focused on praying his homosexuality away.
At Age 24, he got married and had a son with his wife. But it only lasted for three years after he confessed to her.
“So when I told her I’m gay, unfortunately, the separation became acrimonious,” Macaulay said.
The preacher questioned the relevance of Leviticus 18:22 – “Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind: it is an abomination” – in today’s society.
A statement provided to the BBC by the Church of England on the issue read: “While the Church of England understands marriage to be between a man and a woman…we recognise there are different views, especially given the legalisation of same-sex marriage in this country.”
A Church of England bishop, who spoke with Macaulay in a personal capacity in the documentary, said he hoped the church would some day recognise same-sex marriage.
Macaulay hopes that the Church of England would soften its stance against same-sex unions one day.
“My hope is that, sooner rather than later, the Church will change its position, but I don’t think that any decision that is going to change the course of history is going to be easy,” he said.
