The dismissal of a Church of England cleric from a preaching position following his marriage to his same-sex partner has been upheld by an employment tribunal in Britain.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the Rev Canon Jeremy Pemberton, a hospital chaplain in Lincolnshire took a case for discrimination when his licence to preach in the Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham was removed by Church authorities whom, it was alleged, viewed him as being no longer “in good standing” following his same-sex union. This action, Rev Pemberton alleged, had denied him the chance of promotion to a senior chaplaincy post.

However, hearing the case, Judge Stephen Britton rejected the cleric’s claim and ruled that while the licence removal was “direct discrimination”, it was done so for the purpose of “an organised religion”, thereby offering the Church of England a defence for its action.

After the ruling, a spokesperson for Southwell & Nottingham said: “We are thankful to the tribunal for its work on this complex case and for its findings.”

Expert witness, Bishop Alan Wilson of Buckingham, a liberal Church member who had addressed the tribunal on behalf of Rev Pemberton, denounced the outcome and railed against the Church of England as “a laughing stock” for having defended its position.

Commenting on the case, theologian Rev Ian Paul described the ruling as “a breath of fresh air”, which defended the freedom of the Church to decide its doctrine.

“It would have been a curious situation if the Church had to bow to what the current view of culture and society and law was,” he said. “If the tribunal had gone with that it would have had very serious implications.”

Meanwhile, Rev Pemberton has announced plans to appeal the tribunal’s ruling.