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First UK same-sex church wedding takes place in Edinburgh

The gay couple were the first to marry in a church ceremony. (Twitter/St John’s Choir)
The gay couple were the first to marry in a church ceremony. (Twitter/St John’s Choir)

A gay couple have made British history as the first same-sex pair to marry in an Anglican church ceremony.

Peter Matthew and Alistair Dinnie celebrated the UK first when they tied the knot at St John’s Church, in Edinburgh, which is run by the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC).

Although a joyous occasion, the same-sex wedding was subject to dispute from the Anglican Communion , who is firmly of the belief that marriage should be a ‘union of one man and one woman’.

In June, the SEC voted to allow same-sex marriage in church, during the General Synod in Edinburgh.

Peter and Alistair’s friends and family join them for the landmark UK wedding. (Twitter/St John’s Choir)
Peter and Alistair’s friends and family join them for the landmark UK wedding. (Twitter/St John’s Choir)

After a two-hour debate the canon was revised, allowing clerics to legally marry couples of the same sex .

However, the law states that any cleric who does not agree with same-sex marriage will not be compelled to carry out a ceremony.

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The Rev Markus Dunzkofer, the rector at St John’s, told The Times: “I have blessed marriages in other Anglican provinces and always had to stop short of the vows.

“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 SEC spokeswoman confirmed that more same-sex marriages have taken place in Glasgow and Moray, and others are lined up.

St John’s Choir provided the musical accompaniment for the historic nuptials. (Twitter/St John’s Choir)
St John’s Choir provided the musical accompaniment for the historic nuptials. (Twitter/St John’s Choir)

Matthews and Dinnie are thought to currently be on their honeymoon, but the debate surrounding the new canon has not stopped.

A meeting next week held by the Anglican Communion could see action being taken against the church after the Secretary General said their decision was “at odds with the majority stance that marriage is the lifelong union of a man and a woman.”

Rev Dunzkofer told The Times he is hoping for no action, but that: “quite literally, God only knows what will happen.”