Breaking the Stained-Glass Ceiling: UK’s First Lesbian Archbishop Is Here

When Cherry Vann walked into St Woolos Cathedral in Newport for her enthronement as Archbishop of Wales on 8 November 2025, she claimed far more than a new title. According to Reuters, she made history as the UK’s first female and openly lesbian archbishop — and the first lesbian, partnered primate in the global Anglican Communion.

For queer Christians who have spent years hearing “no” from church doors, seeing a woman in purple, collar on, and partner by her side hits differently. It feels like the church finally blinked its eyes open. Here is a look at her career and her stances on LGBTQIA+ issues.

Who is Archbishop Cherry Vann?

According to the Nigerian Tribune, Vann was born in 1958 in Whetstone, Leicestershire, in a churchgoing family where music and faith shaped her early life. She studied piano and violin at the Royal College of Music in London and earned professional music qualifications before she ever put on a clerical collar.

In 1986, she shifted from concert halls to the cloister and trained for ministry at Westcott House in Cambridge. She became a deacon in the Church of England in 1989 and one of the first women priests in the Diocese of Manchester — and in the entire Church of England — in 1994, the first year women could be ordained as priests.

Vann spent decades serving parishes across Greater Manchester. She worked as a chaplain to students and to Deaf communities. In 2008, she became Archdeacon of Rochdale, the first woman to hold a senior priest role in that diocese.

The Church in Wales elected her Bishop of Monmouth in 2019. Her election was confirmed in early 2020, and she was consecrated that January before being enthroned at Newport Cathedral in February. On July 30, 2025, an electoral college for the Church in Wales chose Vann as the 15th Archbishop of Wales, giving her the required two-thirds majority on the second day of voting at Chepstow. She continues to serve as Bishop of Monmouth while leading the province, according to the Church in Wales.

Archbishop Cherry Vann Previously Hid Her Sexuality

The path to living openly did not come easily. Vann has spoken openly about hiding her sexuality for decades while trying to survive as a woman priest in a hostile environment. In an interview with The Guardian after her appointment, she said she kept her relationship with her partner, Wendy Diamond, quiet for almost 30 years while she worked in the Church of England. She feared she might wake up one day and find herself “outed” on the front page of a newspaper.

“For years we kept our relationship secret because I worried about waking up and finding myself outed on the front page of a newspaper,” she said. “Now, Wendy joins me everywhere, and when I take services, it’s just normal. But in England she had to stay upstairs if I had a meeting in the house.”

Her move to Wales changed everything. The Church in Wales allows clergy to enter same-sex civil partnerships. When she became Bishop of Monmouth in 2020, Vann publicly acknowledged Wendy as her civil partner for the first time.

Do you think Vann’s appointment will change how LGBTQIA+ people view the church? Comment below!

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