The Queen’s Chaplain, Who Questioned Quran Prayers in a Cathedral has Stepped Down After Attempts to ‘Silence Him.
Less than a week after one of the Queen’s Chaplains spoke out against an Islamic Prayer denying the divinity of Jesus Christ being read in a Scottish Cathedral, the senior churchman has tendered his resignation from that office.
Former Chaplain to Her Majesty the Reverend Gavin Ashenden announced his resignation on his personal blog anticipating that a BBC Radio 4 segment on him and the controversy surrounding the Quranic readings in a Scottish Cathedral to be broadcast on Sunday morning would reveal his resignation despite his requests to the contrary. Remarking that the decision to step down was “the most honorable course of action” and had come after years of attempts to silence him, Rev. Ashenden said he had spoken out in the past on controversial matters as a “matter of integrity and responsibility”.
Earlier this week Rev. Ashenden called the decision to allow sung prayers from the Quran in a Scottish Cathedral service that demands Allah is worshipped and denies the divinity of Jesus Christ, “blasphemy”, and said the Cathedral should apologize to persecuted Christians worldwide.
He added, “I am fairly clear in my own mind that my duty to my conscience, to my orders, to my understanding of Christianity and my vocation, is that I’m supposed to be speaking out in the public space on behalf of the Christ I serve”.