Two gay priests - one born in New Zealand - have exchanged vows and rings in Britain's first ever church "wedding" ceremony for a same-sex couple.

The Rev Peter Cowell and the Rev Dr David Lord - who was born in Hamilton - exchanged vows at St Bartholomew the Great in the City of London last month, using one of the church's most traditional wedding rites - a decision seen as blasphemous by conservatives, reports the UK's Telegraph newspaper.

News of the ceremony emerged days before a crucial summit of the Anglican Church's conservative bishops and archbishops, who are threatening to split the worldwide Church over the issue of homosexual clergy.

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