The principal Church of England vicar to wed his same-sex accomplice is taking a religious administrator to a work tribunal after an occupation offer as a clergyman to the NHS was withdrawn when the diocesan rejected him the important permit.
The vicar, Canon Jeremy Pemberton, will contend that the priest unlawfully oppressed him in denying the permit, without which he couldn't take up the employment.
So what does the case say about the Church of England's position on same-sex marriage?
When Parliament made same-sex marriage legal in England and Wales with effect from March 2014, it created a headache for the Church of England and other organised religions whose teachings, tradition and doctrine hold that marriage can be only between a man and a woman.
While organised religions have specific legal opt-outs from the Equality Act 2010 and the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, the case being brought by Canon Pemberton at an employment tribunal in Nottingham is the first significant legal test of the Church's position and will be closely watched by all sides in the debate.
The Church of England maintains that its doctrine is clear, and that while it supports vicars in same-sex civil partnerships, marriage is between a man and a woman.
The facts of the case are these: after Jeremy Pemberton became the first Church of England vicar to marry his same-sex partner, Laurence Cunnington, last year, the acting Bishop for Southwell and Nottingham, Richard Inwood, revoked Mr Pemberton's permission to officiate as a priest in that diocese and wrote to the NHS trust in Nottinghamshire saying he would not give Mr Pemberton the licence he needed for the new job.
The NHS then withdrew its job offer, as its chaplains must show that they are "in good standing" with their own religious organisation before taking up a post.
However, Mr Pemberton has continued to work as a chaplain in his old job in another NHS Trust in a different diocese, in Lincolnshire.
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