THE vicar of Cumnor, Clive Gardner, announced to his congregation that he was gay and was moving to Brighton.

The reverend, who has been vicar of St Michael's Church in Cumnor for the past five years, surprised parishioners during a service by telling them he was resigning because he was a homosexual.

Speaking from his new home in Brighton Mr Gardner said it was a real wrench to leave Cumnor.

"People in the village have been extremely supportive and kind. I hope I still have something to offer the church," he added.

Mr Gardner now plans to find a job in accountancy, and may find a post as a non-stipendiary minister in Brighton.

Referring to his resignation, he said: "The reason is that I am gay and, having spent my life to date without a partner, I now feel the time has come for me to begin to allow for that possibility, should I meet someone in the future.

"Unfortunately, I do not think that it is possible to do this as a priest in the Church of England at this time with integrity, and so I find myself having no option other than to look for a new career."

He said he believed some parishioners would be shocked and some would not.

Mr Gardner added the Church of England's present stance on homosexuality made it clear it was not permitted for vicars to be in active gay relationships.

"Despite the fact that some partnered gay clergy are in full-time paid ministry, with the full knowledge of both their bishop and their parish, I don't believe my conscience could allow me to do this," he said.

"This applies all the more to another option, which is to have a discreet relationship that is kept secret from the parish."

Villagers said they were sad to lose their well-known vicar who was popular with young and old.

Peter Feben-Smith, landlord at The Vine pub, where Mr Gardner, 38, was a regular, said: "I sang at his leaving service, which was packed.

"We held a wonderful surprise lunch for him here and he came with a girlfriend and about 20 friends.

"It's a real shame he has gone. I don't think it would have mattered one iota if he had found a partner when he was here."

Michael Niblett, who runs Cumnor Village Stores, praised Mr Gardner for his honesty, and said he would be sadly missed.

He added: "It was very brave of Clive to announce this at the end of his sermon last month and it is a great shame to see him go."

"It was nice to have some young blood in the church and in his motorcycle leathers he was certainly a bit different from the usual C of E vicar.

"The kids round here liked him he was a real breath of fresh air. Everyone wishes him all the best in his new life in Brighton."

Clive Allen, postmaster at the store, added: "I thought more people would be talking about this, but not everyone in the village is a churchgoer."

Barry Blake, 64, of Forster Lane, Cumnor, who attends the church, said he had asked Mr Gardner to visit his wife Geraldine when she was suffering breast cancer. She has since recovered.

Mr Blake added: "He came here from Liverpool and at first I thought he would find someone in the parish and get married, but then I had a feeling he was gay."

In the church notices on Sunday, May 7, Mr Gardner thanked church goers for their leaving gift, which had paid for the central heating system in his new flat.

Natalie Abbott, a spokesman for the Oxford Diocese, said a new parish priest was being sought through the usual process.

The appointment of gay but celibate Canon Jeffrey John as Bishop of Reading in 2003 threatened a split in the Oxford Diocese.

The Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Rev Richard Harries, who is retiring on June 2, aged 70, appointed Dr John after deciding that his selection conformed to Church of England criteria, and that Dr John was a gifted candidate with the right qualities to be Bishop.

But conservatives in the church called for congregations to withhold money in protest, and following the controversy, Dr John declined to accept the post and is now Dean of St Albans.

The Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading, said he was greatly saddened by Mr Gardner's resignation to him.

He said: "The Church of England is now losing a fine priest.

"This sad situation reminds us that when we speak about gay and lesbian people and their place in the church, we are not speaking hypothetically about a group of people who may or may not be included, but real people who are already part of the church. Whatever our personal view, I hope that the gracious way Clive has acted will encourage us to listen more carefully to the voice and experience of gay and lesbian people as we continue to discern what God is saying to the church."